Over-oaking

[CurtHagenlocher]

I left my rye porter on oak cubes a little too long and now the oak flavor is a bit overwhelming. Is this something that will dissipate (or at least mellow out) with time?

(Yes, I should have been tasting it regularly and taking it off the oak once I was satisfied with the flavor. Try and learn.)

 

[BigRob]

Oak flavour does fade with time, age it, I'm sure it'll be lovely.

 

[drainbamage]

Oaking is one of those things that is easy to overdo.

Yes, it will mellow with time, but I can't say how long. It depends on much you used, and how long the beer sat on the oak. It may take a few weeks, or a few months.

 

[HopOnHops]

As someone who is going to oak my first beer, how long did you oak for?

Were your oak cubes soaked in liquor prior to adding?

 

[runningweird]

yes, oak fades with time - bottle it off and pop one every month

 

[CurtHagenlocher]

As someone who is going to oak my first beer, how long did you oak for?

Were your oak cubes soaked in liquor prior to adding?

I soaked ~1.75 ounces of "American medium-plus toast" in rye whiskey for about four days, then put them into a carboy and siphoned 3 gallons of rye porter on top of it. I lost track of how long they were there -- that's part of my problem -- but I think it was ~6 weeks.

I don't remember how much whiskey I used, but would guess it was about a quarter of liter.

 

[drainbamage]

As someone who is going to oak my first beer, how long did you oak for?

Were your oak cubes soaked in liquor prior to adding?

I've only had one foray into making oaked beers, but I used 2 shotglasses full (sorry, not the most precise measurement) of French oak chips, toasted and soaked in 4 oz. of bourbon for 6 months. I added the whole thing (bourbon and all) to the secondary for 1 week. The final product had an assertive oak flavor at about 1 month in the bottle, without being in your face. I've set some aside for aging to see how it tastes at 6 months-1 year.