Oak Chip Technique

[Skiffy]

I have never used oak before and would like some advice on how to use the oak chips.

I have searched the forum and there is plenty of info out there, but I would like some responses, from people with experience, on how they would handle my situation.

I have a ~6% abv standard porter recipe. I have med toast oak chips which I am going to soak in coffee infused rum. This is a 3 gal batch, so please take that into account or let me know your advice is for a different size.

So what I'm looking for:
-Medium to low oak flavor
-the coffee rum to come through
-I have time, so less oak for longer is preferred over more oak for shorter
-I would like to add the oak chips sooner rather than later

I heard oak chips can be harsh? Does anybody boil them or soak them in water first to remove some of the flavor?

Thanks for any help

 

[BierGut]

I have two experiences that may help. First I used 3oz. of medium toasted French oak cubes, soaked in good bourbon for 1 week then added to the secondary for an imperial stout. Aged for 3 months and wow did that have a lot of oak flavor. The bottles have aged for a year now and it's an unbelievable beer but has a strong oak presence. Second time I used oak on a standard porter recipe. Used 3oz. of heavily toasted oak this time but only aged for 3 weeks on it. Tasty beer but only a hint of oak. Now I know there's a big difference between 3 and 12 weeks. I would suggest soaking the oak in rum for a week, drain and add the oak and 3 cups of strong brewed coffee to your secondary fermenter, age for 6 weeks.

 

[Skiffy]

Thanks for the info. Did you use chips or cubes? I imagine cubes will work more slowly than chips due to the difference in surface area. Maybe I'll cut it down to 1 or 2 ounces?

Are chips different than cubes in harshness or astringency for lack of better words?

Also, fyi the rum itself is infused with coffee. It's delicious.

 

[W0GWT]

Go light on the oak; you can always add more. I over-oaked a mead and it was (and still is) awful.

 

[jekeane]

I will assume you have read this post in you research https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/tips-wood-aging-119445/

If not it has most of the answers to your questions.

One thought I'll share is chips are not for long term aging. If you want to age it a bit you'll want to use cubes.

 

[Skiffy]

I had not come across that post. Thanks for sharing. It seems to contradict itself by saying that good tannins start to extract after 2 weeks, but leaving the chips in contact for a week might lead to off flavors. I also wonder if soaking the beer in alcohol first for a week will release the tannins without over-oaking

I think I'm going for .3 oz for the 3 gal and let it soak up some rum. After a bit I may replace the liquid with fresh rum and dump chips and liquid into the secondary.

Thanks for all the responses




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[Skiffy]

Just an update to close this one out.

Ended up using .3oz of med toast french oak chips with 1.5oz of rum soaked for one week in my 3 gallon batch. The chips didnt soak up much rum. Added it all to secondary. Took sample day 2, 1 week and 2 weeks and flavor didn't really change much, probably due to the low amount per gallon. In the end it worked well, but I have to agree that the chips gave it a one dimensional, woody flavor, almost like I dropped some firewood in there, and did not age it in a barrel.

I will be using oak cubes next time I want to add oak in hopes of giving a more well rounded flavor.