3 replies to this topic

[jayb151]

Hey all,I had a question about the possibility of “flavored” oak. At a brewpub in my area they made a Syrah Kolsch. After inquiring about this beer I was told it was simply aged in syrah barrels. It was an excellent beer that was strongly flavored by both the kolsch and the syrah. I was curious if anyone on the board has had any experience doing something like aging beer in either wine barrels or something similar. I’d also be interested in hearing if anyone had tips for doing something similar but with cubes instead of a barrel. Thanks for any tips,JayB

[strangebrewer]

I've done a bit of this and all with cubes. I have a Belgian pale on tap right now that I aged on 1.5oz of medium toast Hungarian oak cubes that I soaked for 2 weeks in 3 changes of 1 bottle of relatively inexpensive chardonnay. My goal with this was to add a little more character to the beer but I was afraid of the initial sharp oak flavor that fresh cubes will impart.Every time I start with an idea of what I want the oak to impart. I'll then soak the cubes in half pint mason jars of whatever wine for 4-5 days between changes. After each change taste the wine you drain off. From my experience The first change should taste about like gnawing on an oak dowel. It won't be good at all but now you know what the cubes gave up. Next change will be very woody but less astringent. 3rd change you'll probably be able to taste the wine behind the oak and the more subtle oak character will start to come through. If I want more oak this is where I stop. If I want less oak or I plan to age the beer on the cubes a long time I might go for a 4th change.So far I've gotten nothing but compliments on the beers I have done this with. Generally I aim to make the contribution of the wine oak pretty subtle. Depending on the beer and what you are after adjust the number of changes of wine and then the exposure time the beer has to the oak just like you would if you didn't do the wine pre-soak.

[tag]

Great advice. Our club has used bourbon barrels, but not wine barrels. Several breweries use wine barrels, notably Russian River and Left Hand.

[cavman]

Wine barrels work great for Funky Belgians as well as light bodied Barleywines. My planned method is to use a charred oak dowel/spiral stored in a PVC tube of the wine of my choice, I could also use some dowels to hold and introduce bugs this way.