Aging beer with oak instead of barrels

[TheWiggman]

I can imagine punkin waltzing into work today. Unlocks front door, flips sign, boots up computer and sits down.
Cracks knuckles.
Checks online orders.
"... wtf is with all the oak dominoes orders?"

 

[sp0rk]

I've done it with both beer and... other stuff...
It works, but not as good as just time on oak
my other stuff usually sits for 4-6 months, beer for 2 months
I use Suber Lefort ministaves and offcuts from Roll Out The Barrel in Brisbane

 

[manticle]

Funnily enough I just watched the video.
Rednecks makin' moonshine taste like something other than wood ethanol.

 

[Vini2ton]

I've used the 10 inch staves in wine and mead in 5 litre carboys with great results. I split them with a cleaver to get them in and mostly leave them for months at a time. Oven sanitised. I'm going to rack some ye olde type ale on to some oak and dry hops soon and leave it for a week or so before bottling. Does anyone have any suggestions of commercial oaked beer to sample? It's an amazing process that can vastly improve a product or make it a grippy puckering grimace.

 

[sp0rk]

I've used the 10 inch staves in wine and mead in 5 litre carboys with great results. I split them with a cleaver to get them in and mostly leave them for months at a time. Oven sanitised. I'm going to rack some ye olde type ale on to some oak and dry hops soon and leave it for a week or so before bottling. Does anyone have any suggestions of commercial oaked beer to sample? It's an amazing process that can vastly improve a product or make it a grippy puckering grimace.

I'd suggest Innis and Gunn

 

[Vini2ton]

Yeah tried that, nice. I suppose 200 years ago all beers would of had a touch of oak. I'm surprised with the mass of craft breweries around nowadays that oaking hasn't become more of selling point and practice.

 

[TimT]

I have read that old time brew makers did everything they could to keep oakiness out of their brews. They'd seal the inside of their barrels with something - pitch, maybe? So oak is not necessarily an old world flavour. Smoke is more the thing in old time brews due to the way they kilned their malts (though they didn't like that either).

 

[Vini2ton]

Smoke and oak eh? Well I'll be a son of a pitch. I can feel a recipe coming on.

 

[drsmurto]

Smoke and oak eh? Well I'll be a son of a pitch. I can feel a recipe coming on.

Early samplings are very nice indeed!

The Imperial Rauchbier is quite smoky so it will be interesting to taste how it develops over time.

 

[Vini2ton]

Nice. Firken impressive. Are they ex-port barrels? How many times can you refill them until the oak flavour is not there?

 

[drsmurto]

Nice. Firken impressive. Are they ex-port barrels? How many times can you refill them until the oak flavour is not there?

They are Yalumba Shiraz barrels that were used for 5 vintages of wine before i bought them. Last years RIS picked up plenty of oak character in 5 months so i expect it to get some albeit less this year.

The larger benefit of barrel aging is the bulk conditioning, plus in my case, extended yeast lees contact as i add fresh lager yeast to the barrels, and slow oxidation as the barrels allow air in.

If i decide after several months in the barrels that the beers need more oak character then i can add oak dominoes to the keg since i don't bottle.

 

[Vini2ton]

They are Yalumba Shiraz barrels that were used for 5 vintages of wine before i bought them. Last years RIS picked up plenty of oak character in 5 months so i expect it to get some albeit less this year.

The larger benefit of barrel aging is the bulk conditioning, plus in my case, extended yeast lees contact as i add fresh lager yeast to the barrels, and slow oxidation as the barrels allow air in.

If i decide after several months in the barrels that the beers need more oak character then i can add oak dominoes to the keg since i don't bottle.

Have the beers developed slight raisin and sherry notes? If I steeped staves in say a Durif for a few months maybe I could replicate the process on a smaller scale. Well, maybe to some degree.

 

[slcmorro]

I spoke with Andy at Renaissance Brewing in Blenheim NZ on this topic at length, and his opinion is that it makes as negligible difference as there is. He even went on the divulge that some of his oaked beers have won awards, so he doesn't bother with barrel aging these days.

 

[Vini2ton]

On a commercial level, you'd think the risk of infection would be too great to barrel. Plus barrels are expensive.