Oak stick in stopper

[TipsySaint]

so I've got a couple of brett fermentations going on and the have both had stable gravities for the last week or two. I have some stoppers that are drilled and I have some white oak dowels to put in them.

So I have two questions:

1: I soaked the oak in 170d water (sealed in a keg) for a couple of days. Drained it, and then they sat on the shelf for a couple of weeks. Do I need to clean them? If so how is best?

2. Do I need an airlock? I don't want this guy to blow up!

Thanks

 

[MileHighBrewer]

Add an airlock, skip the dowel

 

[Coff]

The oak dowel technique is a bit outdated, and proved to detrimental to the beer. The point of the dowel was to introduce o2 as well as oak flavor to mimic a barrel, but it had 2 fatal flaws. One was the dowels would expand as they got wet and crack glass carboys open. The other flaw was it let far too much o2 into the beer and was a breeding ground for acetobactor.

Use oak cubes, and an airlock, you'll be in much better shape if you do so. Or if youre set on using the oak dowel, cut it into a 2-4" chunks and toss them right into the beer.

 

[TipsySaint]

good to know! I was mainly doing it for the 02 not the oak flavor

 

[MileHighBrewer]

You'll get plenty of oxygen through your carboy cap. Or through the material if using a better bottle. 02 for the homebrewer is extremely overrated. Carry on and make sour beer

 

[TipsySaint]

making it now! one is over a year old! just trying to get better... and go in the right direction. the risk is greater with sours...

 

[mnick12]

I have not had any problems with the oak dowel in a stopper. I think my dowels are 3/8in american white oak?

Anyway when I bought them I soaked them in alcohol over night, then roasted in the oven @ 425 F until I got the desired color. I simply put them through the stopper and place in the carboy. They are just as snug, if nor more than a standard 3 piece air lock. What I like about them is the ability for them to harbor bugs. I had an old ale type brew that wasn't going anywhere, and I took the dowel from my "lambic" and placed it in the old ale. One week later a nice splotchy pellicle and geuze like smells coming from the carboy.
As far as acetic acid, I have had more of a problem with a regular old bucket. However my oldest sour is about a year old, so we will see if a problem develops in the future.

 

[TipsySaint]

I have not had any problems with the oak dowel in a stopper. I think my dowels are 3/8in american white oak?

Anyway when I bought them I soaked them in alcohol over night, then roasted in the oven @ 425 F until I got the desired color. I simply put them through the stopper and place in the carboy. They are just as snug, if nor more than a standard 3 piece air lock. What I like about them is the ability for them to harbor bugs. I had an old ale type brew that wasn't going anywhere, and I took the dowel from my "lambic" and placed it in the old ale. One week later a nice splotchy pellicle and geuze like smells coming from the carboy.
As far as acetic acid, I have had more of a problem with a regular old bucket. However my oldest sour is about a year old, so we will see if a problem develops in the future.

This is exactly what I was hoping to do! Get my bacteria a place to live and give the beer a tiny bit of O2. I have 2: 1/4" and 1: 3/8". Have you had any issues with explosions? How long did you leave them in for? Also do you clean them between batches?

Also, has anyone else had positive or negative results?

 

[mnick12]

Nope no issues with explosions/cracked carboys. The only examples I have encountered where people had cracked carboys, was when they were jamming oak table legs in there carboys. With the rubber stopper still in place there is no issue whatsoever. If I remember correctly the 1/4" is to thin for the regular stoppers, I think I use 3/8".

As far as timing, I put mine in about one month after primary has subsided then let it ride until bottling. Again the oldest bottles sour with this method is about 1yr, and I have not had any acetobacter issues. When I am done I just transfer the dowel and stopper to the next carboy, no cleaning no nothing.

 

[Calder]

For O2, I think the stopper is plenty porous enough to provide the beer its Oxygen needs.

I use 3/4 inch oak dowels; cut down to about 4 inches, roasted, and just left in the beer. ~1 piece per gallon. I really don't know if they are doing any good, but they don't hurt. If they help the bugs, then that is good. I move these oak 'sticks' from one batch to the next as I bottle them. Been doing this for several years now. I think it helps carry over the bugs to provide a more complex beer for the next batch.