Mine got kegged after one week. The oak was stronger, and it was delicious. Time should help it blend and fade a little.
Somewhat of a side note, but still oak chip related.... has anyone else noticed that their oaked brew is a lot more cloudy than their other brews? It could be a lot of other things, I guess that's why I ask, but my beer has always come out amazingly clear... except the one I oaked.... it's cloudy as hell....
Somewhat of a side note, but still oak chip related.... has anyone else noticed that their oaked brew is a lot more cloudy than their other brews? It could be a lot of other things, I guess that's why I ask, but my beer has always come out amazingly clear... except the one I oaked.... it's cloudy as hell....
Notes from today:
Tasted on 4/6/09 from keg: Deelicious. Oak has come through nicely, I still wish the bourbon would fade. The beer is very much in a back seat role to the bourbon and oak. Not very carbonated yet. This one is fantastic and will only get better.
Did you decide to add the chips along with the bourbon they soaked in, or just the chips?
Absolutely....How else would I have gotten through the tedious task of bottling?
I just bottled an IPA that I used toasted oak in. I boiled 2oz oak in a cup or two of water then added the oak and water to my ipa. I put them in the primary for 3 weeks then went to secondary and dry hopped for a week with .5 of cascade (its all I had). When I sampled today it was WAY too oaky and was over powering. I hope after a month in the bottle it will be okay to drink. If not then I will just have to keep sampling every couple weeks till I like it.
I basically treat it like fruit: I add it after the primary fermentation is mostly or totally done too keep any of the yum from being carried away in CO2 bubbles. I really don't think it is picky though.
I have heard good things about french oak, namely that the flavor tends to mature more quickly.
BTW my pound of simcoe pellets came today. I was pumped to find that a HBT vendor had them and also about the coupon code.
I just searched the forums for "oak spiral" as I heard them talk about it on a bn show and have an imperial stout fermenting that I thought would be cool to try with. It's 6 gallons so dropping the two two spirals in sound like a good idea. Any idea as to when is best to do this? Fermentation has slowed quite a bit and I figure I'd just sanitize them and drop them into the carboy for a few weeks.. I may rack it first though anyway as its settled quite a bit though I'm trying to just use primaries now. I know someone here posted that they soaked them in burboun which would be kind of cool. Would french be better than american for this?
Ya, that was me. I soaked them in Ancient
French Oak has a more mellow flavor as opposed to American. I always go with French oak. I only used 1 spiral for my 5 gallon batch.
I did a Brown Ale with it so it would shine. If I had to guess, I would stick with French and use one and a half (or two if you really want to push the oak flavor). I soake the spirals in bourbon for two weeks (swelling occured here too).Thanks, that's EXACTLY what I was looking for. This is mike riddle's tricentennial stout from brewing classic styles, so far I'm just fermenting a few degrees cooler than called for (no temp control but its fairly consistent), I used way more hops and all american (apollo and summit for 133 ibus) and havent dry hopped it yet. I'm thinking when I rack it which it's ready for now (still bubbling but MUCH more slowly) using the oak spirals and some cocoa nibs. I'm trying to make a strong, oaky, chocolatey, high gravity, way-more-than-needed brew I know they say use two spirals for 6 gallons, what kind of beer was it? Was it something strong or something lighter that would allow more of the flavors from this process come through? Thanks for the insight on the swelling also, I just won't be surprised now Also how long did you soak the spirals for in the bourbon? As for american vs french, if I'm looking for strong character it sounds the american is not a bad idea.
That must be a very uncomfortable way to fly. I suggest sitting completely back in the chair. You will have less strain on your legs and lower back that way, especially on flights longer than an hour.i probably should have been taking samples as the beer sat- but i like to fly by the seat of my pants.
The "woodiness" does fade back with time...like hops...Mine lost the woody bite after about 6 weeks in a bottle...
I am super happy to hear this. I just bottled 5 gallons of an imperial stout that spent about 10 days with Maker's soaked oak chips and when i was sampling it tasted terribly bitter. I thought I used too many chips even though I could not have used more then 1.5 ozs.
English ale yeast with fast fermentation high flocculation. Recommended a large range of ale beers and is specially well adapted to cask-conditioned ales.
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