Alternative to Barrel Aging

[brandonlovesbeer]

I don't have access to a whiskey barrel.

Sometimes I soak oak chips in whiskey then vacuum seal it so the Flavors get sucked up into the chips more completely.

But what if I were to just pour a little whiskey into the finished beer before bottling?

Thoughts.

 

[IslandLizard]

You'd miss the contribution of the wood.

 

[VagueSkunk]

Use staves from bourbon barrels. They're readily available and pretty cheap.

 

[DaWhip]

I have done what you speak of. Works fine if you are going for the whiskey flavor but not the oak. For "oaking" I keep oak chips in a quart jar filled with whiskey. I just add the whiskey to the beer until I like the taste, no fiddling with wondering how long to leave the oak in.

I also just finished an IPA that has gin in it. Same idea, I just added the gin (it had juniper berries soaking in it for about 3 weeks) to the keg and racked on top of it.