Using Oak cubes

[biohaz7331]

So I am going to be brewing a Barleywine and I have always wanted to try using oak. I have really enjoyed drinking some oaked Barleywines but I have a few questions concerning it.

I have read through a few of the threads on here about oak aging but I still have some questions

1st I have read that it is very easy to over oak and it takes a long time for it to mellow. I plan on using oak cubes which take longer to impart flavors and they should not over oak the beer too fast. I plan on sampling the beer every so often but I am curious if I should check it every week, two weeks, or every month?

2nd Many people list various ways to sanitize or soak the cubes to impart flavors or sanitize the wood. I am unsure if I want to impart any liquor flavors as I want to try to just impart some oak flavor into the beer (I am open to suggestions though). Some people use bourbon but what would be a good liquor to soak the beer in just to sanitize it but not impart too much flavor? I also considered using a food steamer to sanitize the wood without imparting too much into the wood or eliminating some of the flavors from the wood.

3rd Is it better to add the oak cubes to the secondary inside of a bag, or just add them to the keg after I transfer out of secondary(inside of the bag so I can remove them later). I plan on letting the beer ferment and then transferring it to secondary for at least a few months before letting it age in the keg. I would like to have the beer ready by June of next year for a special occasion.

Lastly, I bought American medium toast cubes which should not be too strong but should add a nice oakiness. Is there anything else I should be aware of in terms of aging? I plan on letting this beer last a long time in the keg but I don't want it to be undrinkable due to over oaking.

Thanks in advance for any information!

 

[ArcLight]

I've used Oak Cubes and its easy to over oak with them.
How many are you using, and how are you oaking?
In my case I soaked 1 once in 10-12 ounces of Bourbon for 6 weeks, then poured the Bourbon into the beer at bottling time.


To sanitize I steamed the cubes first, then dropped them into the Bourbon. You could try using Vodka instead of Bourbon. Try 8 ounces for one ounce of oak cubes.


I added the bourbon mix at bottling time.

I MUCH prefer American Oak to French Oak, and your American medium toast cubes should be perfect.

 

[Mainer]

I've done a few oaked beers, including a vanilla milk stout, a black saison, and most recently a Flanders red. Depending on how much oak character you want to impart, I find that anywhere between three weeks and three months is an acceptable period of time.
If you're looking to sanitize with liquor but not impart much liquor flavor, lots of people use vodka. It's pretty neutral. I like to soak for at least a week, two or three if I have time.
Medium toast is really useful. Personally, I tend to prefer Hungarian oak, but I guess that's all a matter of taste. I find the American a little aggressive for my taste.

 

[biohaz7331]

I've used Oak Cubes and its easy to over oak with them.
How many are you using, and how are you oaking?
In my case I soaked 1 once in 10-12 ounces of Bourbon for 6 weeks, then poured the Bourbon into the beer at bottling time.


To sanitize I steamed the cubes first, then dropped them into the Bourbon. You could try using Vodka instead of Bourbon. Try 8 ounces for one ounce of oak cubes.


I added the bourbon mix at bottling time.

I MUCH prefer American Oak to French Oak, and your American medium toast cubes should be perfect.

I am going to be using 3 oz of cubes for a 5-5.5 gallon batch. I was considering using bourbon but at the very least steaming them and then using vodka. Would the bourbon add a lot of flavor on top of the wood if I let them soak for a month or 2, or would it be a subtle flavor on top of the wood?

I also wasn't sure exactly how I was going to oak to answer your other question. Either add them to the secondary and rack to a keg to age further. Or I would add the oak to the keg and sample off of that till I was happy with the achieved flavor.

 

[biohaz7331]

I've done a few oaked beers, including a vanilla milk stout, a black saison, and most recently a Flanders red. Depending on how much oak character you want to impart, I find that anywhere between three weeks and three months is an acceptable period of time.
If you're looking to sanitize with liquor but not impart much liquor flavor, lots of people use vodka. It's pretty neutral. I like to soak for at least a week, two or three if I have time.
Medium toast is really useful. Personally, I tend to prefer Hungarian oak, but I guess that's all a matter of taste. I find the American a little aggressive for my taste.

I am looking to achieve a good oak flavor that you can notice but not so strong that it tastes like you are licking oak. I figured from the research I had done the American medium toast would be a good candidate especially for my first time trying oak.

 

[LarMoeCur]

The easiest way I've found to oak age beers is in a keg. I run fermentation in the primary until fully complete. I then rack into a keg on top of my oak cubes. I then seal the keg with 15# of CO2 and store at cellar temperatures (55F). Taking samples to taste out of a secondary is a royal pain in the ass. In the keg I can just attach a sterilized cobra tap and co2 line. I can then pull as may samples as needed without fear of contamination.

3 oz of cubes is a lot for a 5 gallon batch. I would let age 4-6 weeks then taste. After I would taste every two weeks until I got the oak flavor I want. Then I transfer to a new keg with a jumper line leaving the oak cubes behind. Carbonate and serve or bottle.

Sanitizing the wood really depends on the beer. If I'm going for a bourbon woody flavor say in a porter then I bourbon age the wood for 2-4 weeks. I make a brown Barleywine that I use rum to sanitize the oak. If I just want the oaky vanilla flavor I steam them prior to use.

I like Hungarian oak. Which is touted to be a happy middle between American and French oak. I'm not a big fan of the burnt wood flavor in beer. I think most commercial barrel aged beers the charr taste is always over the top. So, I always use light toast.

Oak is pretty forgiving. Meaning if you over oak a beer in time it will mellow or drop out.

 

[Mainer]

I am looking to achieve a good oak flavor that you can notice but not so strong that it tastes like you are licking oak. I figured from the research I had done the American medium toast would be a good candidate especially for my first time trying oak.

If you're unsure, medium toast is always a good default.
And again, American, French, Hungarian... it's all a matter of taste. Really, I don't think they taste that different from one another. I mean, I *think* I notice a difference, but it's probably only because I read a thing that tells me they're different.