Bourbon Barrel Staves

[mprokop]

Anyone have any experience wit the bourbon barrel staves on the adventures in homebrewing website?

http://www.homebrewing.org/Sliced-Bourbon-Barrel-Staves-2-ct_p_3300.html

I was thinking about ordering these for a baltic porter that I have done but not sure what the best way to sanitize these would be or if they even need it.

I'm also concerned with using staves that since the outside of the barrel was not used in bourbon, that it will create more oakiness than needed.

Anyone have experience using staves? I was also considering using bourbon soaked oak cubes as well which might be easier.

 

[bierhaus15]

I would not use staves, they impart much more wood character than whiskey. You'll get better true to form character from soaking wood chips/cubes in bourbon and then dosing the bourbon into the beer. Or adding soaked cubes.

 

[bbohanon]

I would not use staves, they impart much more wood character than whiskey. You'll get better true to form character from soaking wood chips/cubes in bourbon and then dosing the bourbon into the beer. Or adding soaked cubes.

+1 on this. I would stick with chips honestly. I tried cubes before as well, but I got the best oak profile in the shortest amount of time with oak chips soaked in some top shelf whiskey/bourbon for a week or 2 and then tossing all of it into the fermenter for a week (or longer if you are aging the beer for more than 4 months to tone down the oak a bit).

 

[mprokop]

thanks guys. think I'll stick with the cubes or chips.