Rum soaked Oak in secondary

[Tand]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking at soaking some rum chips in oak and adding it to my Imperial Stout during secondary bulk aging.

I have a few questions about the specifics though;

1) Would soaking the chips in 40% dark rum for a week or so be enough to get the flavour, and sanitise?

2) Do I discard the liquid and just add the chips?

3) Only looking at adding this oak flavour to a gallon or so of the stout, so I imagine ill need tiny amounts of actual oak chips

4) Finally, would I put the oak in for 5 - 7 days at the start of the bulk aging process (4 - 6 MONTHS) or towards the end? I was thinking the start because then it gives the flavours a chance to get to know each other before bottling? Or would the flavour fade in 5 months..?

Any help greatly appreciated!

cheers

 

[bradleypariah]

Please take my advice with a grain of salt. I have only been brewing for five years, and I have only oak-aged twice.
I bought oak chips from my LHBS, then bought some gin that I favor.
I filled a large mason jar with as many chips as I could fit.
I then poured the gin over the chips until they were all completely submerged.
The gin took on the amber color of the oak within a day.
I left the wood in the gin for about a month, but the LHBS owner told be a couple of days would be plenty to get sanitized.
When it was time for me to rack to secondary, I dropped about half of my wood chips into the carboy.
I then gassed my carboy with CO2, and let it settle for a few minutes.
I racked my beer from primary with a siphon directly onto the wood and let it soak for two weeks.
I went straight to a keg from there.
The beer had a distinct smell of oak, and the taste had a hint of gin.
I can't tell you if the flavor fades over time. I liked it so much that I drank two batches of the stuff and ran out my pipeline.
I kid you not, I have two beers fermenting and nothing in my keg. I had almost no help.

My gut tells me the oak flavor cannot fade. That's the whole point of aging. The oak flavor of a barrel doesn't go away, and the beer is in contact with it for months. If you really want the flavors to mix, I vote putting the chips in early on, and waiting as long as you can.

If you want to experiment, split your beer into separate aging vessels, and add the oak at different times.

Hopefully someone with more oak experience comes along to add to the discussion.

 

[Draken]

Great thread on a KBBA with discussions on oaking. Also a good link towards the end.

From my KBBA clone experience, I will tell you the flavor mellows over time. Nothing extreme, but a little. I'd definitely oak it up front. I'd rather the oak be too mellow than overdone.

1) I soaked for two weeks and tossed the liquid. If you want more rum flavor, add rum at bottling
2) yup toss it
3) I can't find my notes on quantity! I used cubes. Surface area will have as much impact as quantity. Huge flat chips will impart flavor more quickly than cubes.

 

[bradleypariah]

No need to discard the spirit after soaking the wood in it! I thought it made my gin taste way better! If you don't want it, ship it to me!

 

[Tand]

Great thread on a KBBA with discussions on oaking. Also a good link towards the end.

From my KBBA clone experience, I will tell you the flavor mellows over time. Nothing extreme, but a little. I'd definitely oak it up front. I'd rather the oak be too mellow than overdone.

1) I soaked for two weeks and tossed the liquid. If you want more rum flavor, add rum at bottling
2) yup toss it
3) I can't find my notes on quantity! I used cubes. Surface area will have as much impact as quantity. Huge flat chips will impart flavor more quickly than cubes.

Will take a look at that, thanks!

What did you do in regards to the secondary timing? Put the oak in at the start or leave it till the end of secondary?

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

1) Would soaking the chips in 40% dark rum for a week or so be enough to get the flavour, and sanitise?



2) Do I discard the liquid and just add the chips?



3) Only looking at adding this oak flavour to a gallon or so of the stout, so I imagine ill need tiny amounts of actual oak chips



4) Finally, would I put the oak in for 5 - 7 days at the start of the bulk aging process (4 - 6 MONTHS) or towards the end? I was thinking the start because then it gives the flavours a chance to get to know each other before bottling? Or would the flavour fade in 5 months..?



Any help greatly appreciated!



cheers

ANSWERS:
Question 1) yes
Question 2) personally I added the liquid with the chips. Some may frown and some may agree. I think it's personal preference.
Question 3) do a search is my best answer. I did a 5 gallon batch. Then added about 4 small bags worth of chips. But that's just me. Honestly with rum soaked chips you'll probably get more Rum flavor than oak. That was my experience. However, I used bourbon.
Question 4) I would do it from the start. Do breweries age in oak for 7 days? No they age for 6 months to a year.

 

[Draken]

Will take a look at that, thanks!

What did you do in regards to the secondary timing? Put the oak in at the start or leave it till the end of secondary?

I think I oaked it for about 7 days and bottled. I tasted it till it hit the oak level I was looking for.

 

[applescrap]

Great thread on a KBBA with discussions on oaking. Also a good link towards the end.

From my KBBA clone experience, I will tell you the flavor mellows over time. Nothing extreme, but a little. I'd definitely oak it up front. I'd rather the oak be too mellow than overdone.

1) I soaked for two weeks and tossed the liquid. If you want more rum flavor, add rum at bottling
2) yup toss it
3) I can't find my notes on quantity! I used cubes. Surface area will have as much impact as quantity. Huge flat chips will impart flavor more quickly than cubes.

As I get into this more, I am thinking the opposite, toss the wood. See you flavor the liquor and then all the flavor is tranferred into solution. Then strain and flavor to taste at bottling. That is my evil plan anyways. No need to "soak" the rum, that is based on laws that dont apply to us hbrewers. Splash the rum straight in. I would do it glass by glass but to each their own. Never know when you might want a splash of bourbon.

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

A little tip I forgot to add to my reply above...
I vacuum seal the spirit soaked chips so that they suck up the liquid better. As opposed to just giving them a bath.

I also vacuum sealed extras to use later.

Good luck.

 

[Tand]

I imagine the quantity of chips for a 1 gallon mini test batch would be veeeeeeery small - only downside is if it goes super wrong its a bit of a pain.
I wonder if quality of rum makes a big difference to the overall taste? It's a BIG beer, and I wonder how much the complexities of a rum would come through. Normally when adding spirits I go for the really basic supermarket stuff.

 

[kh54s10]

Mine was a Russian Imperial Stout.
4 ounces of Medium French Oak Chips in enough Bourbon to cover them.
Soaked for a week.
Bagged the chips and added to secondary for 5-7 days. (I forget exactly)
I think I added the Bourbon also (I forget also)
Bottled and tasted the gravity sample. It was like drinking a tree, but it was very good.
I aged the bottles a couple months before the first one. The oak mellowed a bit.
1 1/2 years later I drank the last. The oak mellowed a bit more but I wouldn't say it faded, just smoother.
It was still very strong.
I used Jim Beam - not very expensive.

 

[Dcpcooks]

Dark rum is enough to sanitize the chips.

Normally I'd say add the chips and the booze. In your case the batch is small so I'd only add the chips.

For a gallon of beer I'd add a couple of tablespoons of chips. I'd put the chips in now and then rack the beer to bottles once you've got the flavor you want in the beer.

Cheers

 

[Tand]

Dark rum is enough to sanitize the chips.

Normally I'd say add the chips and the booze. In your case the batch is small so I'd only add the chips.

For a gallon of beer I'd add a couple of tablespoons of chips. I'd put the chips in now and then rack the beer to bottles once you've got the flavor you want in the beer.

Cheers

So I'm planning on bulk ageing for 3 - 6 months. I could start the bulk age, and then towards the end of the process before bottling take off 1gal, add the oak, wait a week and bottle?
Trying to recreate a flavour I tried in a Cloudwater (UK) brewery imperial stout, it was fantastic, but they barrel aged in ex-rum casks. I'm probably aiming for more of a rum flavour than actual oak?

 

[Dcpcooks]

I'd think you'll have better / safer, results aging in the bottle after you infuse your rum and oak flavors into your beer.