Oak-whiskey (how long to age)

[Pyg]

Made a scotch ale:
10# Golden promise
1/2 # Munich
1/2 # honey malt
1 # crystal 40
1/4 # crystal 120
1/4 # pale chocolate

1.5 oz Kent golding 60 min
.5 oz Kent Golding 20 min

WLP 028 Scottish ale yeast

Took 1 gallon and decided to add some whiskey soaked oak chips.
Used about 1 oz of medium toast American oak chips.
Submerged and soaked in Jim Beam for a week.
Added whiskey and oak to my beer today.
I am looking to bottle and have the beer conditioned to be ready for holiday.

How long does the oak need to be in the beer/whiskey to impart the flavor.
I know cubes take a longer as there is more surface area, but chips are small and thin.

Should a week in whiskey and a week in beer be enough to get the most flavor.
Or let it ride longer?

 

[Rob2010SS]

Made a scotch ale:
10# Golden promise
1/2 # Munich
1/2 # honey malt
1 # crystal 40
1/4 # crystal 120
1/4 # pale chocolate

1.5 oz Kent golding 60 min
.5 oz Kent Golding 20 min

WLP 028 Scottish ale yeast

Took 1 gallon and decided to add some whiskey soaked oak chips.
Used about 1 oz of medium toast American oak chips.
Submerged and soaked in Jim Beam for a week.
Added whiskey and oak to my beer today.
I am looking to bottle and have the beer conditioned to be ready for holiday.

How long does the oak need to be in the beer/whiskey to impart the flavor.
I know cubes take a longer as there is more surface area, but chips are small and thin.

Should a week in whiskey and a week in beer be enough to get the most flavor.
Or let it ride longer?

I'd let it ride longer honestly. I just pulled an Imperial stout from a barrel and it took 4 weeks. Haven't used chips or cubes but if they take longer you may want to let it go longer.

What are you aging in? Something where you can easily pull a sample? If so try it after a week and see what happens. Personally i think you're going to want to go longer but it's really up to individual tastes

 

[TechFanMD]

Oak and bourbon or whiskey in a beer really needs time. My advice may not be worth much, but I am going to give it specifically based on the time you have to deal with:

Leave it on the oak until Saturday, basically giving it 5-6 days. Bottle this weekend so you'll have a minimum time in the bottle to bottle carbonate and allow the flavors to mellow and come together. In my experience, oak really needs at least a month - usually longer, but to be ready by Christmas you're going to have to bottle in the next week to have good carbonation and to begin to get the flavors I think you're looking for.

Any idea how much whiskey you added? If 3oz or so, I'd expect it to be whiskey-forward and a little 'hot' at Christmas......it would be perfect by the fire served a bit on the warm side. By Valentines Day I bet you'd wonder where the whiskey went, but it will have that mellow vanilla taste that bourbon/whiskey imparts and will have a rewarding smoothness that will make you wish you had saved more for later.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Oak and bourbon or whiskey in a beer really needs time. My advice may not be worth much, but I am going to give it specifically based on the time you have to deal with:

Leave it on the oak until Saturday, basically giving it 5-6 days. Bottle this weekend so you'll have a minimum time in the bottle to bottle carbonate and allow the flavors to mellow and come together. In my experience, oak really needs at least a month - usually longer, but to be ready by Christmas you're going to have to bottle in the next week to have good carbonation and to begin to get the flavors I think you're looking for.

Any idea how much whiskey you added? If 3oz or so, I'd expect it to be whiskey-forward and a little 'hot' at Christmas......it would be perfect by the fire served a bit on the warm side. By Valentines Day I bet you'd wonder where the whiskey went, but it will have that mellow vanilla taste that bourbon/whiskey imparts and will have a rewarding smoothness that will make you wish you had saved more for later.

Pretty solid advice. +1 ^

 

[applescrap]

I have a book with the answer and its what I always use. But having soaked them, I am not sure if that extracts more or less, plus amount you used. Ill take a look when I get a chance. I seem to add liquor separate. As a sidenote, red wine sounds like it could be interesting with that one. Honestly, beers I like to serve and drink with liquor I wind up doing glass by glass. I can never settle on amount. Some nights I like more or less. I can keep a keg for a friggin year it seems.

Whoa, way off track, apologies. What an awesome christmas beer! Shoot now I am inspired. Thanks.

 

[applescrap]

My book says 1 oz chips in 5g for 2 weeks for subtle and 2 oz in 5g for more pronounced. Says nearly all flavor will be extracted by two to three weeks. This is for chips. Cubes have less surface areas. Hope this helps. Because of amount you used, yours might be ready now? If extraction happened as it soaked I would guess it could be ready. Taste to see. If aging wouldnt be as big a deal as preparing it to drink soon imo.

 

[cactusgarrett]

Because you added the whiskey that was soaking the oak to the beer, you're looking at less time than you would with just the oak - which i would estimate one week for 1oz in just one gallon. As a basis of comparison, i use a couple ounces of cubes for 5gal batches and it takes no more than 2 weeks to get the flavor I'm looking for.

Frequent tasting will be the key to this; there's no prescribed time and we all don't know your preference for target.