zodiak3000
Well-Known Member
i will be adding bourbon soaked oak chips to an RIS. some say to drain out the bourbon and just add the chips due to the extracted tannin's. some say to just dump the whole thing in no prob. opinions?
How long are you soaking them? If you soak them for over a couple of weeks then I would toss the bourbon out. If you are just soaking them a couple of days and want a nice big bourbon profile throw it in. The thing about adding bourbon is you can't take it back out once you have added it, but it doesn't need to age with the beer to have a big impact on the flavor profile. Just keep that in mind when adding it. It will tone down a little with age though if you do end up adding too much.
Cheers
Jay
prob gonna soak 2oz for a few weeks. thinking about discarding soaked bourbon, then adding back a small amount as a top off before adding it to the beer. i plan on no more than 7 days contact time with the chips/beer.
Don't dump the bourbon! the thing no-one remembers here is that not only are the chips soaking up the bourbon,but the bourbon is also soaking the resins out of the wood! So dump the bourbon,dump the oak flavor. Ever soak some wood chunks in water to toss on the coals in the bbq pit? Ever notice that if they soak too long,the water starts turning brown? That's the resins,& thusly flavor soaking out of the wood.
So I pour it all through a hop sock into secondary,tie off the bag of chips,& drop it in. Rack the beer onto the chips & liquid. 7-8 days is usually plenty,but adjust it to your tastes.
what about nasty tannin's?
And by discarding you mean draining over ice and adding a splash of coke right?
Since chips have more surface area than cubes,they work a bit faster. 7-8 days should do it. And no worry of tannins. Tannin extraction comes from a lot of time,which we aren't taking with chips.
Interesting, I've been using spiral oak sticks. Just aged an IPA for almost 2 months before it had the bourbon flavor I was looking for. Then dry hopped for a week after the bourbon flavor was right. Chips only take a week!? I could kick myself right now. Any specific chips you use?
I've always tossed in the oak chips/cubes with the roughly 6oz of soaking bourbon into my RIS's and they've always been delicious. But then again I love strong oak and bourbon flavors so....i will be adding bourbon soaked oak chips to an RIS. some say to drain out the bourbon and just add the chips due to the extracted tannin's. some say to just dump the whole thing in no prob. opinions?
I can attest that Jerry's bourbon stout is deliciousWhen I soak oak chips in bourbon, they usually take up all of the liquid. My ratio for a bourbon stout is about 4-6 oz (wt) of oak with 2-3 oz (vol) bourbon.
Certain kinds of oak are particularly well suited for woodworking and a subset of those are good for making barrels to age wine and spirits. Different varieties of oak have different levels of tannins and other things that can affect flavor. Ask a group of winemakers about the differences between American and French oak and listen to the debate.“Oak chips” you say? Will any old oak do, or are there other criteria the wood should meet?
*eyes huge oak tree in back yard *
Maybe take some samples of your oaks, soak in some bourbon for a while then do taste tests. Try different levels of toasting to see how that affects the results. You might come up with some really tasty stuff!Will any old oak do
Well the oak is toasted too, right? The inside of bourbon barrels are charred so it makes sense to have toasted oak. And they sell different toasts. So if you were going to make your own (and I claim no expertise) I would assume you would toast themMaybe take some samples of your oaks, soak in some bourbon for a while then do taste tests. Try different levels of toasting to see how that affects the results. You might come up with some really tasty stuff!
I don’t know anything about the difference in oak flavor, but from a practical standpoint, I know that white oak, and not red oak, is used for whiskey/wine barrels.“Oak chips” you say? Will any old oak do, or are there other criteria the wood should meet?
*eyes huge oak tree in back yard *
I did this a few years ago by accident. After bottling, the beer had a very bitter tannic flavor. A few months later it was better but still tannic. By 6 months it was drinkable and by 8 months it was fantastic. I always let my bourbon oak chips sit in the secondary for 4-6 weeks as I enjoy an oak forward flavor.I brewed a big stout a couple weeks ago. While going through my ingredient's cabinet, I came across some oak chips I had set to soaking in makers mark 3 years ago and forgot about. The bourbon had all evaporated (or soaked into the chips). Smelled wonderful when I opened it so I tossed them into the stout for secondary ferm. Interested to see how that turns out...
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