bourbon soaked oak chips in small batches

[juskojj]

any one have a recommendation for how much and how long to soak oak chips in bourbon for a 1 or 2.5gallon batch of either porter or stout? last time i tried this it came out WAY to oaky. i've seen lots of threads for 5 gallon batches but not smaller batches. plus it doesn't seem like a consensus on just putting chips in or bourbon in or both, but it does seem like 7 days is about right..... thoughts?

 

[McKnuckle]

I have two data points:

First, 0.5 oz of American oak chips soaked in brandy for two weeks, liquor dumped out, then 3 gallons of cream stout aged on them for six months. This produced a smooth, well integrated, prominent oak/vanilla flavor.

I have 0.4 oz of the same chips, same process, currently aging with 3 gallons of old ale for about one month. This time, I think I'm about to rack the beer off the oak and into a keg.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I would soak the chips in bourbon for a couple weeks and add just the oaked bourbon to the beer at time of packaging. That way you can put as much or as little as you need to get the oak taste you are looking for. Once you have the amount of oak flavor you're want, you can add straight bourbon to the beer if you need more bourbon flavor. I know it's common to oak the beer directly, but it's not necessary on a homebrew level. Just oak the bourbon instead.

 

[-CHRIS-]

Just oak the bourbon instead.

This is good advice, I make a vanilla bourbon stout and you have to be really careful with oak. I recommend starting with oak cubes, but explore the spirals and chips as well.

Chris

 

[Anyhowe]

I just did my first 2.5 gallon batch with cubes. I have just recently cracked the keg and it is freakin awesome. I soaked 1'oz of cubes in a sealed container of whisky for three weeks. I cold crashed and racked the beer then added the cubes only to the keg and tossed the liquid. Left in there for about 2 months at about 40+ degrees (assumed a warmer aging temp than typical would mimic wine in barrel aging a bit) then racked off the cubes to a serving keg The beer has a perfect smooth balance without the typical over whisky flavor one typically gets from barrel ales/stoutsI have tasted.

Edit. SG 1.083. FG 1.017. IBU 38

 

[Anyhowe]

Edited process and added beer profile.

 

[TheBeerGuy]

I made a sweet stout SG at 1.066 and after primary was done at about 10 days I racked it to secondary and added 1/4# medium toast oak soaked in a very good black cherry bourbon (enough to just cover the chips in the vacuum sealed bag) at the beginning of fermentation. I added all the chips and liquid into the secondary tank and let it sit for 3 months in a dark room at 68. When I racked the the secondary my gravity was at 1.022 where I expected since I added a lot of lactose to keep it sweet. When I kegged it the gravity was still close at 1.020. It aged in a keg for another month with about 2.4 volumes of CO2 at room temperature. When I finally tapped that one it was very heavy on a bourbon nose with chocolate, coffee and burnt toffee with a nice subtle oak. The head was creamy, thick with small bubbles and almost dark tan in color. The mouthfeel was rich and smooth, a tiny little bitter or burnt and oaky with a back taste of cherry with a nice lingering flavor. I made that as a 5.5 gallon batch. I loved that beer so much, but really don't like to wait for it to age I have it on a rolling brew date of avast 4 months. When one is ready to go I'm making another batch. It does not last long with friends and family!

 

[juskojj]

I made a sweet stout SG at 1.066 and after primary was done at about 10 days I racked it to secondary and added 1/4# medium toast oak soaked in a very good black cherry bourbon (enough to just cover the chips in the vacuum sealed bag) at the beginning of fermentation. I added all the chips and liquid into the secondary tank and let it sit for 3 months in a dark room at 68. When I racked the the secondary my gravity was at 1.022 where I expected since I added a lot of lactose to keep it sweet. When I kegged it the gravity was still close at 1.020. It aged in a keg for another month with about 2.4 volumes of CO2 at room temperature. When I finally tapped that one it was very heavy on a bourbon nose with chocolate, coffee and burnt toffee with a nice subtle oak. The head was creamy, thick with small bubbles and almost dark tan in color. The mouthfeel was rich and smooth, a tiny little bitter or burnt and oaky with a back taste of cherry with a nice lingering flavor. I made that as a 5.5 gallon batch. I loved that beer so much, but really don't like to wait for it to age I have it on a rolling brew date of avast 4 months. When one is ready to go I'm making another batch. It does not last long with friends and family!

WOW that sounds AMAZING!!! would you mind sharing specifics? like recipe name/brand of the bourbon?

 

[Cavpilot2000]

WOW that sounds AMAZING!!! would you mind sharing specifics? like recipe name/brand of the bourbon?

In for all that too.