Best style to use oak staves/cubes?

[themill83]

I wanna do a beer for a friends wedding at the end of the summer and try to use some oak staves/cubes. I've made a BA RIS with a group of guys and still have the barrel, but I don't wanna get a big group together again to have to fill a 50+ gallon barrel - just a normal 5.5 gal batch on my own.

Any favorite recipes/styles that might be a little "out there" or different to add the oak in secondary to? Thanks in advance!

 

[motorneuron]

A few ideas, which focus on the medium part of the color spectrum (I think that works best with oak flavor):

*virtually anything Belgian, since the style can often be more elastic.
*old ale.
*barley wine (a bit obvious, but good).
*a medium-color beer with dark fruit--e.g., ESB with raspberries and oak; Scottish wee heavy with cherries and oak; dubbel with gooseberries and oak.
*an aged imperial IPA, which you might freshly dry hop again before serving.
*Flanders red (time-consuming, though).

For a wedding in August or so, you still have time to make a few of these beers, though anything very strong or complex is probably not within your timescale.

 

[Cyclman]

Belgian Quad, add sour cherries. It would not be ready in that time period, however.