Oak

[Jye]

I have just oaked my first beer, Stone 6th anniversary porter from Zymurgy and having never done it before I thought it would be good to hear how others do it (probably should have asked before <_< )

I just chucked them in a sanitized hop bag and tied it off with some S/S wire, the idea was to leave some of the wire hanging out through the lid making it easy to get the bag out and hope the rubber would still seal... it didnt. Ended up cutting it off and leaving the bag floating in the keg.

Now I just have to resist sampling it for a couple of days

 

[Keifer]

An authentic blend from america, packed in new zealand and bought in australia ?
Sorry never used em i dunno..

 

[GMK]

I use an Oak Barrel...Old Port/sherry.

Size is 30ltrs...

 

[JasonY]

Yet to try oaking Jye but its something I want to do soon. Have been wondering how the shavings/chunks go in a beer so will be interested to hear how you go.

Do people do anything with the chips like roasting in an oven etc before chucking in?

 

[Goat]

I love the taste of Oak in beers, particularly things like the Wychwood Strong Ale and there's another which I can't remember has very prominent oak flavours which a beautiful if a little OTT.

here it is, well worth a try Rate Beer

I used a handful in a brew I did ages ago. I boiled it in a small amount of water and dumped into the secondary. The taste was not noticeable at all. I think next time I will just throw a heap in without any sanitising - it works with hop plugs.

 

[Tony]

I have thought about some of the chipped JD barrels in a porter.

might give this a go this winter i think.

cheers

 

[Randall the Enamel Animal]

There a product used in wineries that may work well in a hop sock. It's called Oakmor and is a granulated oak powder. Not sure where to buy it, but I reckon it'd do the trick.

 

[Jye]

Well the oak cubes have been in for about 5 weeks now and the flavour is just starting to make it way through everything else that is in this beer. A couple more weeks and it might be time for them to come out.

 

[crells]

Do the local HB shops supply oak chips/cubes, or do you have to source these from OS ?

 

[Jye]

Any HBS should have oak chips, they are mainly used for spirits.

Make sure you report back how you used them and what the results are like.

 

[winkle]

Do the local HB shops supply oak chips/cubes, or do you have to source these from OS ?

Dunno about where you are, but Brewers Choice does here.

 

[RobboMC]

I put a handful of french oak chips in to an IPA. I steeped them for
10 min in hot water, then threw the whole lot in the fermenter.

All the chips got filtered out by the sediment reducer.

Unfortunately IMHO the taste of the oak spoilt an otherwise good beer.

 

[tipsy_mcstagger]

Im planning on stick some oak chips into a saison I have going at the moment. I threw the dregs of a bottle of Orval in tonight, it has been going for about 2 weeks already. I have a bottle of Lambic Geuze which I was planning onm tasting tomorrow night and was going to stick the dregs of that in as well.

The idea behind the oak chips is not only to get the flavour of the oak but also use it to store it for future use, hoping the brett & lactobacillus find a cosy wee home there.

Any thoughts anyone??

Cheers

 

[kook]

I'd just be careful about what type of oak it is. If it's new oak, don't add too much or you could end up with a very strong woody flavour in the beer.

A lot of people soak the wood in spirits (ie, bourbon, vodka, etc) for a few weeks which aparently subdues those notes.

I'd like to play around leaving some oak chips soaking in some gueuze for a few months for use in a sour belgian pale (ala Petrus).

 

[tipsy_mcstagger]

How much do you reckon is too much???

 

[Tony M]

A source of oak chips is your friendly local furniture manufacturer. I scrounge a few shopping bags full every year for a friend who is into wine making. Price? zilch.

 

[kook]

I wouldn't be adding more than 10-20 grams of new oak.

Best bet would be to get a chip, soak it in some water for a week and see what the water tastes like.

 

[Jye]

My dry stout is turning out to be not so dry... 1.042 to 1.015 <_< so I decide to oak some. 20g of french roast in 5L is probably way to much but I will be checking it every couple of days.

And the Stone porter is still coming along nicely.

 

[kirem]

To give you a guide, 5g/L in wine is classed as alot.

I would look at maybe 1g/L in beer

 

[Phrak]

I've added 50gms to 22L batch of english ale in the past and it turned out beautifully! a little bit too subtle though. I'm considering adding 75gms next time.