Oak chips soaked in bourbon

[treacheroustexan]

I bought a christmas ale extract kit from midwest a couple months ago and I never brewed it and since then I now do all grain. Was gonna brew this up when i get bored and let it sit until christmas. Figure I don't really care too much for this kit I would like to try and add some bourbon flavor to it. I was going to just get a large mason jar and fill it with chips and then fill it with bourbon and soak it for a few months. When do you recommend adding it to my beer? Any tips would be appreciated. I will probably brew it in February and let it sit until summer at least before I bottle it that way it can condition for a few months before christmas.

 

[LLBeanJ]

Go with an ounce or two of medium toast chips and about 8 oz bourbon (I find one oz to be enough, but you may like more). Let it soak for at least a few weeks, 2 months is fine if that's your plan. When time comes to package, strain out the chips and discard them, and just add the oaked bourbon to your brew.

 

[Calder]

If you have the time to soak oak for a couple of months, I'd go with cubes. A lot more complex flavors, but takes a while to get them.

Ii often soak oak in 8 ozs of bourbon, and add it to 2.5 gallons at bottling. I basically bottle a full batch as normal, and when I get down to 2.5 gallons, I add the oaked bourbon. You get 2 slightly different beers from the same batch.

I usually add a vanilla bean in with the bourbon and oak.

After I've used the oak once, I refill the container with 8 ozs of bourbon (with the old oak and vanilla), and store it away for at least 6 months, before using in another beer.