I want to oak age my barleywine

[urg8rb8]

So I just finished fermenting my 1.143 OG, 15.5% ABV barleywine and I'd like to oak age it! I have a few oz of French medium toast chips and a few oz of American medium toast cubes. Any recommendations? Can I use some of the chips for a short period of time then use cubes for a long period of time? I'd like some recommendations please because I've never used oaks before. How much oak should I use and for how long?

I also found a 2.5oz bag of Oak EnoCubes (white finishing).

 

[menotu]

ive only oaked 1 beer so far and its currently bottle conditioning, but been reading a ton. From what ive read the american is stronger then the Hungarian. Chips impart and oak flavor much faster then cubes, however cubes give a more complex flavor if given the time. Seems chips are used anywhere from a few days to weeks, with regular sampling till your happy. While you can get away with months from cubes. Wish i had more to offer, hopefully someone else will chime in or do a search lot of them about oaking various beers.

 

[urg8rb8]

Thanks for the reply menuto. I wonder if anyone here has ever used chips and cubes in the same beer before.

 

[arbadarchi]

Man that is a huge beer... Make sure to share how it turns out!

 

[menotu]

Thanks for the reply menuto. I wonder if anyone here has ever used chips and cubes in the same beer before.

i havent read of anyone doing it. I cant see any advantage to using both. Chips seem to be used as a time saver. While cubes will develop more complex flavors over time. Both will give an oak flavor. My worry would be what ever you get from the chips would become much more then you might like due to the time you have the cubes in.

However absolutely nothing stopping you from experimenting and seeing how it goes. Maybe a week with chips then pull and add the cubes for a month or two or however long.

Im really curious to see how this turns out for you, keep us posted.

 

[urg8rb8]

i havent read of anyone doing it. I cant see any advantage to using both. Chips seem to be used as a time saver. While cubes will develop more complex flavors over time. Both will give an oak flavor. My worry would be what ever you get from the chips would become much more then you might like due to the time you have the cubes in.

However absolutely nothing stopping you from experimenting and seeing how it goes. Maybe a week with chips then pull and add the cubes for a month or two or however long.

Im really curious to see how this turns out for you, keep us posted.

I've read that the chips give the oak flavor with no depth. But the cubes gives the depth and flavors with really no oak flavor.

 

[Dolomieu]

Oo, I'm curious. What was your final gravity on the that barely wine? I ask because a brew buddy was wanting to do some thing huge like that.

 

[urg8rb8]

Oo, I'm curious. What was your final gravity on the that barely wine? I ask because a brew buddy was wanting to do some thing huge like that.

It finished at 1.030.

I think what I will do is 1oz french medium chips for a week. Then 2.5 oz of american medium cubes for months.

 

[urg8rb8]

Man that is a huge beer... Make sure to share how it turns out!

Will do!

 

[arbadarchi]

It finished at 1.030.

I think what I will do is 1oz french medium chips for a week. Then 2.5 oz of american medium cubes for months.

Did you do a proper starter and use O2?

 

[urg8rb8]

Did you do a proper starter and use O2?

I used three packets of dry Nottingham. I didn't apply O2 but i did splash the hell out of the wort between two buckets for ~50 times back and fourth.

 

[arbadarchi]

I used three packets of dry Nottingham. I didn't apply O2 but i did splash the hell out of the wort between two buckets for ~50 times back and fourth.

I am very interested to see how it comes out. Especially because of all the people who say "anything over 1.065 needs a starter and O2!"

 

[slym2none]

Those people are wrong, IMHO. "Need" is such a strong word. I don't like absolutes like that, esp when I've made a 1.1XX barley-wine using sprinkled-on-dry US05 and no O².

 

[urg8rb8]

Make sure to share how it turns out!

Will do!

 

[menotu]

So I just finished fermenting my 1.143 OG, 15.5% ABV barleywine and I'd like to oak age it! I have a few oz of French medium toast chips and a few oz of American medium toast cubes. Any recommendations? Can I use some of the chips for a short period of time then use cubes for a long period of time? I'd like some recommendations please because I've never used oaks before. How much oak should I use and for how long?

I also found a 2.5oz bag of Oak EnoCubes (white finishing).

did you decide what process your going to try? andhow long your gonna let it sit?

 

[urg8rb8]

I'm going to start off with 1oz of the french medium chips for a week. Then use 2.5 oz of the American medium cubes for a few months.

What do you think?

 

[menotu]

sounds like a good place to start, week on chips should be cool. the you can let it age on the cubes as long as you want. Considering it just finished fermenting any idea how long you want to age it out?

 

[urg8rb8]

sounds like a good place to start, week on chips should be cool. the you can let it age on the cubes as long as you want. Considering it just finished fermenting any idea how long you want to age it out?

I think I'd like to age it for at least 6 months. I think that's enough time for it start smoothing it the alcohol and the maltiness. And by then, the oak cubes would have already given the beer a nice flavor.

 

[brewcephus]

I'm very interested in this as well. I've got some oak cubes that came with a kit that I bought, but ended up not using them because I ended up with less beer in the fermenter than planned and didn't want to waste the oak cubes on that.

I am replanning the brew again, bourbon barrel porter, so that I can oak age, but I'm also interested in this because I would really love to do a big, big barleywine soon and let it age out for 8-12 months.

Keep us posted.

 

[urg8rb8]

I just transferred the barleywine into a keg and threw in 2.5oz of American medium toast cubes. Let's hope for the best!

 

[urg8rb8]

I just took a taste of this. Lots of oak presence. The cubes are now starting to give off this nice cinnamon and spice flavor. I wish the beer was more sweet and malty. Maybe that will become perceptively stronger over time.

I have also been sampling the beer uncarbonated.

 

[Unicorn_Platypus]

I just took a taste of this. Lots of oak presence. The cubes are now starting to give off this nice cinnamon and spice flavor. I wish the beer was more sweet and malty. Maybe that will become perceptively stronger over time.

I have also been sampling the beer uncarbonated.

How did this turn out? I have an American Barleywine 1.11 OG (1.022 FG = 11.55% ABV) that I'm contemplating aging for a few months on oak cubes.

 

[urg8rb8]

How did this turn out? I have an American Barleywine 1.11 OG (1.022 FG = 11.55% ABV) that I'm contemplating aging for a few months on oak cubes.

This thing turned out to be a malty, sweet, bomb! Lots of oak flavor still!

My advice is to taste it every couple of weeks or so until you get the flavor you want, then let it oak for like two more weeks. From my experience, the oak will slightly fade over time. So if you barely over oak it, it will settle back to where you'd like it.