Prepping oak for secondary

[SauceBoss]

Hey guys,

So I spent a while today going through almost every post about using oak chips in secondary today and couldnt find any specific advice on how to prep it and then use it in secondary. If it has been posted before, than Im super sorry and this thread can be closed.

Well basically, I have a big IPA that has been in primary for a while and I want to pass it to secondary with more hops and wanted to add a bit of an oak flavor to it. In the past posts I have seen recommendations to soak in whisky, to just boil, to roast on a grill among others that I dont think I was too fond off for the style of beer I am going for.

I guess my questions is, if I dont toast the oak cubes and simply boil to santize, will I still get an oak flavor from the wood or is it recommended to toast or soak in whiskey to get a better flavor all around. I am up to suggestions for what some of you think would be good in an IPA (I loved CCBs White Oak Aged IPA, Oaked Unearthly, etc). Thank you all in advance.

 

[gregger]

Soaking them in whiskey for a week is what I'm doing, and I'm going to pour the whiskey AND oak into my secondary for a little added hint of whiskey flavor.

Soaking in whiskey is meant to help kill any nastyiness/bacteria on the chips themselves. You can soak them in vodka, bourbon, or rum or something for the same purpose.

Toasting them is kind of similar to roasting coffee beans. The flavor profile and aroma will change and strengthen the longer you roast them. I'm not sure if toasting is a way to sanitize them though.

 

[SauceBoss]

Thanks for the feedback gregger...I was just wondering what would end up providing the best taste and to see if just boiling them will in fact provide any oak flavor to the beer for added complexity.

I mean I can do the whole whiskey thing but tbh I am not sure about a Whiskey IPA lol

 

[boodyrischous]

Thanks for the feedback gregger...I was just wondering what would end up providing the best taste and to see if just boiling them will in fact provide any oak flavor to the beer for added complexity.

I mean I can do the whole whiskey thing but tbh I am not sure about a Whiskey IPA lol

Avoid boiling as that can cause harsh tannin extraction. Heat the oak in some water up to 150 (I usually go to 160) for 30 min. That should take care of the bacteria.

The wood flavor will come from the selection of oak. Medium toasts have much more wood character, and heavy toasts present more vanilla flavor. The origin also comes into play (American, Hungarian or French).

 

[SauceBoss]

Awesome, I am leaving work now and headed over to to the grill depot close to my house as they have like 30 types of wood to use Ill update with what I go for

 

[boodyrischous]

Awesome, I am leaving work now and headed over to to the grill depot close to my house as they have like 30 types of wood to use Ill update with what I go for

If you are going with raw wood, you will want to clean it well and you'd probably want to toast it.

Most homebrew shops have a nice selection of different toasts already made for you.

 

[Hoppocrates]

-Cover them with water and microwave for 30 second intervals for about 5 minutes (be careful will boil over)
-let cool, then pitch it all (water and oak)

 

[ChemE]

I'm planning on steaming 1 ounce of french oak chips for 15 minutes and then soaking in 1 fluid ounce of bourbon for a week. Both the chips and bourbon will be transferred to secondary and my barleywine will be racked on top to bulk age for 3 months. Anyone tried the steaming method? Surely steaming is just as effective as water but preserves more of the oak flavor.

 

[rege]

I've soaked in bourbon for a week to use in a bourbon barrel stout, and soaked in water for 4 hours and baked in oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes for a porter. Both worked well.

 

[SauceBoss]

i got my oak chunks last night and am going to break them down into cubes, toast on the grill, then heat in water at 150 degrees then pitch in hopes of getting a toasted woody flavor.

 

[smokinghole]

I tend to just toss them in if I just want oak flavor. If I want a specific "used" barrel aged flavor then I swirl in whiskey before I dump them cubes in the fermentor.