Oak Chip Question Regarding Dragon's Silk Imp. Stout

[modelflyer2003]

Brewed my 10th batch today. NB Dragon’s Silk Imperial Stout. The brewing went well. I have read the Recipe and it states to soak the 3 oz of oak wood chips over night in 12 oz of bourbon of choice (Jack Daniels for me). That seems a bit much for bourbon volume, so I will probably just use enough bourbon to cover the chips rather than 1 1/2 cups. I have had a few bourbon stouts that tasted like straight bourbon, but a hint would be nice. Anyway here is my real question, I have searched this forum and I get a variety of answers regarding the use of wood chips. The recipe says to transfer to a secondary once active fermentation dies down, which I usually skip and just keep in primary. So according to the recipe, I would add the wood chips in around 2 weeks and leave them in there for the next 6-8 weeks. Doesn’t leaving them in the beer for that long produce too strong a wood flavor? I will have to admit that I have never had a beer with oak flavors. I do enjoy a Jack and Coke, when I am in the mood for bourbon. I am sure that the longer you leave the chips in the stronger the wood flavor. I can understand how I can get the chips off of the beer if I do rack to a secondary, but barring that, how do I get them out of my glass carboy without contaminating my beer? I could put them in a grain sock but once they are in the carboy as a big ball of wood in a sock, I am not going to be able to pull it out of the hole without some difficulty, forcing me to rack to secondary. I KNOW I am making this more difficult than it should be, but that’s my personality. Some of the posts have said to soak them and check flavoring to know when to pull them off. This tells me nothing. Nothing to compare it to.


So…. How long to I soak the chips in bourbon? Recipe says over night, and I don’t think this is long enough.

How long should the chips be in the beer?

When do folks tend to add them?

How do they get them off of the beer if they don’t rack to secondary?

Also, I tend to wait longer than the suggested before bottling. My NB Imperial Stout sat for 8 months before bottling. Would hate to leave chips on that long and taste like I am drinking a tree. I'm a patient man.

I have high hopes (hops?) for this beer and I don’t want to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.

 

[AZBeer]

Here's some good info on using oak.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/tips-on-wood-aging.119445/

Overnight seems short to me on the bourbon soak. Most recommendations I've seen are to soak for several weeks to a month. I've never soaked oak in bourbon, so take that FWIW.

6-8 weeks seems long for chips. Cubes work better for longer applications.

I just moved a RIS to secondary for bulk aging. I racked onto cubes, could've thrown them in a bag I suppose. I used cubes, and I moved the beer off the yeast because I am not planning on bottling until November. If you are planning on having the beer on the oak for a long time, I would look into cubes vs chips.

 

[modelflyer2003]

Here's some good info on using oak.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/tips-on-wood-aging.119445/

Overnight seems short to me on the bourbon soak. Most recommendations I've seen are to soak for several weeks to a month. I've never soaked oak in bourbon, so take that FWIW.

6-8 weeks seems long for chips. Cubes work better for longer applications.

I just moved a RIS to secondary for bulk aging. I racked onto cubes, could've thrown them in a bag I suppose. I used cubes, and I moved the beer off the yeast because I am not planning on bottling until November. If you are planning on having the beer on the oak for a long time, I would look into cubes vs chips.

AZBeer,
Thank you for your response. You have been very helpful. I will check out that thread you linked.

 

[CanAm]

Consider adding unsoaked oak cubes until you like the flavor. First boil them for ten minutes to sanitize and remove some of the harshness. Discard water. When the oak is where you want it add the bourbon to taste. Control each variable separately.

I rack to secondary before adding oak.

 

[modelflyer2003]

Consider adding unsoaked oak cubes until you like the flavor. First boil them for ten minutes to sanitize and remove some of the harshness. Discard water. When the oak is where you want it add the bourbon to taste. Control each variable separately.

I rack to secondary before adding oak.

That is what I will do. Thank you.