Nateo
Well-Known Member
I had a hard time finding a comprehensive, brief break down of all the commonly available oaking options, so this is my attempt to put together a guide.
If you have anything to add, please do so.
If I got anything wrong, please let me know. I don't have firsthand experience with every toast/type so I'm mostly synthesizing what I've found elsewhere.
Varieties:
American - Big, aggressive oak flavor. Aromatic sweetness with lots of vanilla flavor (think whiskey).
French - More "noble," subdued flavor. Aromatic sweetness with cinnamon, allspice, butterscotch, milk chocolate flavors. Dark fruit/raisin flavor?
Hungarian - Lots of vanilla, with coffee and bittersweet chocolate flavors. Leather and black pepper aroma.
Toasts:
Light - Fresh wood flavor, coconut
Medium - Less wood/coconut, more caramel/vanilla
Medium + (House) - Less wood/coconut, more coffee/roasted character, mildly campfire-y
Dark - Less wood/coconut, more vanilla, more campfire/roasted character, fewer subtler flavors (cinnamon/allspice/chocolate etc)
Oak Media:
Barrel - Big, heavy, expensive. Look really cool. Not every toast/origin combination readily available.
Spiral - More expensive than chips, less mess than chips.
Dowels - A common source seems to be chair-legs from your Lowes/Home Depot type store. Toast with open flame or oven to desired darkness.
Cubes (beans) - Several layers of toast due to shape and thickness. More complex flavors than chips. 2-12 month extraction time.
Chips - One layer of toast. More "one-dimensional" flavors. 1-2 week extraction time.
How to Sanitize cubes or chips:
Do nothing - Dump from sealed bag directly into beer.
Boil - Boil several minutes in water. Dump into secondary.
Steam - Steam several minutes over boiling water. Dump into secondary
Booze - Soak in 1-3oz spirits (Bourbon, rum, etc) for 1-2 weeks. Drain (or not) and dump into secondary.
K-meta solution - Spray or rinse with K-meta. Alternately, heat k-meta solution in a glass measuring cup until steaming, place in a bowl surrounded by chips, and put a lid on the bowl.
How to use chips:
When added to primary, yeast will metabolize vanilla compounds, leaving more of the subtler flavors behind. Good for beers with short ageing requirements.
Can be used after fermentation to preserve more vanilla compounds.
Baseline usage: 1/2-1oz per 5 gallon of beer.
How to use cubes:
Add to secondary for 2-12 months. Good for bigger beers needing extended ageing.
Baseline usage: 2-3oz per 5 gallon of beer.
If you have anything to add, please do so.
If I got anything wrong, please let me know. I don't have firsthand experience with every toast/type so I'm mostly synthesizing what I've found elsewhere.
Varieties:
American - Big, aggressive oak flavor. Aromatic sweetness with lots of vanilla flavor (think whiskey).
French - More "noble," subdued flavor. Aromatic sweetness with cinnamon, allspice, butterscotch, milk chocolate flavors. Dark fruit/raisin flavor?
Hungarian - Lots of vanilla, with coffee and bittersweet chocolate flavors. Leather and black pepper aroma.
Toasts:
Light - Fresh wood flavor, coconut
Medium - Less wood/coconut, more caramel/vanilla
Medium + (House) - Less wood/coconut, more coffee/roasted character, mildly campfire-y
Dark - Less wood/coconut, more vanilla, more campfire/roasted character, fewer subtler flavors (cinnamon/allspice/chocolate etc)
Oak Media:
Barrel - Big, heavy, expensive. Look really cool. Not every toast/origin combination readily available.
Spiral - More expensive than chips, less mess than chips.
Dowels - A common source seems to be chair-legs from your Lowes/Home Depot type store. Toast with open flame or oven to desired darkness.
Cubes (beans) - Several layers of toast due to shape and thickness. More complex flavors than chips. 2-12 month extraction time.
Chips - One layer of toast. More "one-dimensional" flavors. 1-2 week extraction time.
How to Sanitize cubes or chips:
Do nothing - Dump from sealed bag directly into beer.
Boil - Boil several minutes in water. Dump into secondary.
Steam - Steam several minutes over boiling water. Dump into secondary
Booze - Soak in 1-3oz spirits (Bourbon, rum, etc) for 1-2 weeks. Drain (or not) and dump into secondary.
K-meta solution - Spray or rinse with K-meta. Alternately, heat k-meta solution in a glass measuring cup until steaming, place in a bowl surrounded by chips, and put a lid on the bowl.
How to use chips:
When added to primary, yeast will metabolize vanilla compounds, leaving more of the subtler flavors behind. Good for beers with short ageing requirements.
Can be used after fermentation to preserve more vanilla compounds.
Baseline usage: 1/2-1oz per 5 gallon of beer.
How to use cubes:
Add to secondary for 2-12 months. Good for bigger beers needing extended ageing.
Baseline usage: 2-3oz per 5 gallon of beer.