Oaking an IPA in a used wine barrel?

[aeonderdonk]

I got a wine barrel from my father in law which he used to make red wine. I've rinsed it out and it is currently full of starsanned water. I brewed an IPA yesterday and want to oak it in this barrel but am curious about a few things:

- Will my IPA taste like wine or be red?
- How long should I age it to give it a light oaky flavor (week or so?)?

 

[dcp27]

its tough to say. the oak level depends on how many times hes used it and what has been used in between batches. it also depends on the size of the barrel as well (smaller will impart more due to higher a surface area ratio). the wine flavor kinda falls into the same issue. I'd give it a week and then taste it every few days til its where you want it.

 

[Pommy]

+1 Its all hard to say, best way is to try it and see, although I would prefer to oak a porter rather than an IPA, oaked IPA's just sound wrong to me but I've only tried the one (a brewpub's not mine) and it was was overdone

 

[emjay]

+1 Its all hard to say, best way is to try it and see, although I would prefer to oak a porter rather than an IPA, oaked IPA's just sound wrong to me but I've only tried the one (a brewpub's not mine) and it was was overdone

I agree with the IPA comment, it seems like people are often just oaking for the sake of oaking (and other things, as well), to add additional flavor/complexity but ignoring the idea that less is often more. Even when oaking could work, this all holds true, and it's generally overdone. But I've never had an oaked IPA that I felt the oak flavor blended well with the beer, nor have I ever had an oak IPA and thought, "this would go better with oak."

I should add though, that despite all the "less is more"/anti-oak talk, my most recent beer is a tropical stout that will be somewhat oaked. I also agree with the idea that it works best with porter, and was initially going to do that, but tropical stout isn't all that different anyways, and I felt it better fit the circumstances. I got myself a used 5gal oak barrel recently, sourced from a rum distillery and still rum-soaked (and even containing a little bit I could pour out and drink.) I got it specifically used, because I want to use it for Flanders Reds, and while those really ought to be fermented in barrels, you don't want the barrel to actually contribute flavor (ie. you want to use a "neutral" barrel.) But first I need to extract the rest of the oak flavor from it, and since it's not every day I have a rum-soaked oak barrel to use, I figured I might as well take advantage of it, even though there are many other beers ranking higher on my "must brew" list.

So I did some head-scratching trying to figure out the best way to complement the rum flavors I'll get (whiskey is much easier IMO), and figured a tropical stout was also perfect. And just to make me *really* look like a hypocrite with this "less is more" stuff, I'm also adding a couple pounds of toasted coconut to the whole thing, so that eventually, the currently-fermenting tropical stout will be a coconut rum-barrel tropical stout.

We'll see how it turns out, but one thing I'll definitely be doing is daily tastings in order to make sure the oak isn't overpowering. Nothing worse than these beers that make me feel like I'm somehow drinking a tree.

 

[Jersh]

I agree with the others that it's hard to tell how it will turn out, too many variables involved with the barrel... I say go for it and see... For those who've not found a good oaked IPA, if you ever come across Cigar City Brewings White-Oak Aged Jai-Alai IPA, give it a try! I think that is an excellent commercial example of how a sublte oak flavor can really enhance the overall quality of an already excellent IPA.

 

[SDCore]

It's not quite an IPA but its an American Strong Ale, Oaked Arrogant Bastard is delicious and consistently a high rated beer from Stone Brewing here in San Diego.

 

[motobrewer]

how many times has the barrel been used?

If it's pretty new, i'd taste it after a week. our club just took our porter out of a Port wine barrel, it was under a month I think and it's really nicely balanced.

I think the more times you use a barrel the longer the beer needs to sit.

 

[dcp27]

great divide has an oak aged IPA that was pretty good from what I rememeber

biermuncher also has what seems to be a very good oaked IPA as well: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f77/stonehedge-oak-aged-ipa-5-gallon-ag-64522/

 

[sandcrazy97]

how long was wine stored in the barrel for? if it was over three years then the barrel will pretty much be neutral and will take a pretty long time for your barrel to impart any oak flavor or aroma. Yes your beer might have a little red tint to it depending on how dark the beer already is.

 

[upperNY01brewer]

Give Dogfish Head Burton Baton a taste, tho its a Old English Ale blended with a IIPA then aged in Oak I feel the Oak and IPA dominate the palate and it is a exceptional example of aged IPA and Oak flavors.

Ive also aged plenty of my own IPA's with oak chips and found them to be a great blend. Im looking to get a oak barrel myself to use with a few recipes I have on the too do list of brews..

 

[edb23]

Have you brewed the IPA already? if you haven'tmaybe add two ounces roasted barley specifically to compliment the oak to the grain bill. after that i would let it sit in primary and/or secondary as long as you would if you weren't going to age it in the oak. then put it in the barrel and taste every day after a week.