Oak Cubes soaked? How long and dump it all in?

[Zrab11]

So I am going to soak some Oak Cubes in markers Mark for 1 week and then add it to the secondary of my stout for 2 weeks before bottling.

I will put the cubes in a Tupperware and pour enough whiskey to just cover the tops of everything.


The question I have is after the 1 week soak...

Do I add JUST The Oak Cubes
Do I add JUST the Liquid
Or do I add the Cubes AND the liquid

to the secondary vessel?

I have heard a lot of different Ideas on the subject and just want to clarify the best option!

 

[vortexofhate]

I don't think there is a best way to do it. It just comes down to personal preference and what you are aiming to achieve. Do it whatever way you feel is best and just taste test along the way.

I just finished carbonating my porter that I soaked cubes in makers mark for 1 week then added the cubes to the Porter and let it set in the Porter for one week. It came out with a good hint of bourbon but not over powering. Another time by placing cubes in the Porter for a week or two then at kegging adding bourbon directly to the keg to give it more a bourbon flavor. It just comes down to what you are aiming for. More bourbon flavor dump some in or leave it on the cubes for much much longer. You want less well obviously don't dump any in and taste test till you get what you want.

 

[Roadie]

So I am going to soak some Oak Cubes in markers Mark for 1 week and then add it to the secondary of my stout for 2 weeks before bottling.

I will put the cubes in a Tupperware and pour enough whiskey to just cover the tops of everything.


The question I have is after the 1 week soak...

Do I add JUST The Oak Cubes
Do I add JUST the Liquid
Or do I add the Cubes AND the liquid

to the secondary vessel?

I have heard a lot of different Ideas on the subject and just want to clarify the best option!

I don't think there is only one answer to this question. If I've seen any consensus on this it's to add just the Cubes to secondary. However, I've seen plenty of people post that by following this method the bourbon and oak flavors have dissipated too much after a long secondary/conditioning time of say 6-12 months.

If you are planning for a shorter secondary time than that I'd just add the cubes, but if planning a longer time than that I would actually add the bourbon as well.

Personally, I'll be brewing an imperial stout on 1/10 that will be aged for close to a year. The recipe actually calls for port wine instead of bourbon and I'll be adding in the cubes as well as the port itself in hopes that in a year the port will still play a small part in the complexity of the brew. I plan on using medium toast Hungarian oak cubes in mine to hit the flavor profile I'm going for.

 

[b-boy]

I do an oaked bourbon RIS. Disclaimer: I love bourbon and oak flavors.

For 5-gallons I soak about 3 oz of oak cubes in bourbon for 2 weeks, drain the liquid, drop them in the carboy, let them sit for 1 month, and keg for long-term aging (~6 mos). It gives a good oak/bourbon flavor. It's a little strong at first, but mellows out over time.

Cubes don't have as much surface area as chips, so I leave them in longer. If I am using chips I probably wouldn't do longer than couple of weeks.

 

[Unicorn_Platypus]

I do an oaked bourbon RIS. Disclaimer: I love bourbon and oak flavors.

For 5-gallons I soak about 3 oz of oak cubes in bourbon for 2 weeks, drain the liquid, drop them in the carboy, let them sit for 1 month, and keg for long-term aging (~6 mos). It gives a good oak/bourbon flavor. It's a little strong at first, but mellows out over time.

Cubes don't have as much surface area as chips, so I leave them in longer. If I am using chips I probably wouldn't do longer than couple of weeks.

Have you ever tried leaving the cubes in for longer aging?

I have an American Barleywine I'm looking to age on oak in a keg for 3-4 months then dry hop before serving. Would prefer to do only one transfer to minimize O2 uptake.

Planning to go with 2oz medium toast Hungarian (should be mellower than American). Figure with the smaller amount and longer time should be ok to leave a few more months.

I like the idea of soaking and discarding the bourbon...conceptually this seems this would mimic barrel aging in a used barrell. Breweries don't typically use new oak.

 

[b-boy]

I wouldn't leave oak in for that long. It can get overpowering if left in too long.

 

[anteater8]

I've done several oak aged strong ales using this method and love the results:

• use ~0.25 oz medium toast American oak cubes per gallon of beer
• boil oak cubes in water for 3 min
• add cubes to beer in secondary, age for 6+ months
• add spirits to taste at bottling/kegging (2-4 oz liquor/gal beer)

If you are soaking the oak in liquor, I would not add that liquor to the beer. It will extract all the harsh tannins, that is why I boil my oak first and save the liquor for later.

For the next one I brew, I took some cubes and charred them black with my propane burner, then put those into bourbon to soak for a few months. I'll discard the bourbon and add the cubes for a year or so. This method sounds promising and is outlined here: http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2015/12/barrel-aged-stouts-and-charred-oak.html