5 replies to this topic

[BarelyBrews]

I have a nice IMPY Stout going to the secondary and OAK chips tomorrow. I prolly will submerge them in fresh starsan for a time and pat them dry and then add to secondary.I am afraid to boil them(im skeered and i don't know about that).I checked my FG on this beer on day four and was down to 1.020 with fermentation still going for another week or so.I want to keep it on the oak for a while, i don't want the vanilla taste, just the american oak taste.I have 8 oz of chips left, i was thinking 4oz ? seems like enough for a 5.5 gallon batch?been like 3 or 4 years since i used them i beleive.Any input is great.

[strangebrewer]

First off 4oz is to much. I'd start with 1-2oz and gauge from there. You can always add more oak cubes to get more oak flavor but once it's in there you can't get it back out. Second there is no benefit to aging on oak chips for an extended period of time. You'll get everything you are going to get out of those chips in 2 weeks. After that you're effectively just bulk aging and the oak is irrelevant. The contact time for cubes is 4-6 weeks and staves or spirals is about 20 weeks.Flavor. American oak is going to give you less vanilla and more woody flavors. You will definitely get some vanilla out of it but nothing like you would if you use French or Hungarian. I've used heavy char American Oak in an impy stout and thought it was a great pairing.Sanitation. I never boil my oak, at most I steam it or steep it in 170°F water for 15 minutes to achieve sanitation. Usually I soak in bourbon for a couple days or I've even just tossed them in sans any sanitation. I have never gotten an infection using any of the above 3 methods so choose whichever you are comfortable with.No matter what add the oak and taste it from time to time. I only ever over-oaked a beer once and that was enough. Took me a LOOOOONG time to get through it and find things to blend it with. It was a tough lesson learned.

[BrewerGeorge]

First off 4oz is to much. I'd start with 1-2oz and gauge from there. ...

Definitely. It's a surface area to volume thing. As for sanitizing them. If you have a pressure cooker, you can basically autoclave them and make them truly sterile. Otherwise strangebrewer's instructions.

[strangebrewer]

As for sanitizing them. If you have a pressure cooker, you can basically autoclave them and make them truly sterile.

I don't own a pressure cooker (yet) but if I did this is what I would do.

[BarelyBrews]

Thanks for all the help from both of you.I have a (circa-1950's?)crockpot,we use around 10 times a year.We know lots of food recipes in it,ham,roast beef,etc,,, for sanitizing oak chips would i just use a big bath of water(so it doesn't go dry)and maybe ten minutes of pressure time?

[MtnBrewer]

I don't use chips but for the cubes I put them in a strainer and rinse with tap water. This removes any dust that might be on them. Then I pour Star-San over them while shaking the strainer to make sure I get good coverage. The maker of the cubes recommends against steaming and boiling. I don't quite see how it can damage them but they say it can so I don't do it.