Oak- Source, toast, and flavor profiles

This has some stuff for toast level and associated flavors: http://www.thebarrelmill.com/toast-levels

Some more here, albeit in a wine discussion: http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f74/oak-thread-12989/

and in mead, although the flavor chemicals are still the same: http://www.bjcp.org/mead/Oak_and_Mead.pdf

 

Very interesting discussion with tons of info here
http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/The-Sunday-Session/The-Sunday-Session-11-23-08-Shea-Comfort
Although I would recommend listening to the whole show, it is almost four hours, the part where the discussion moves to the variations in the different types of oak starts around the 2:03.30 mark. Enjoy and be ready to get blasted by information.

NHB

 

I really like the vanilla/coconut character of Cigar City's White Oak Jai Alai. On the advice of the brewer, Wayne Wambles, I picked up some light toast white oak spirals from The Barrel Mill (their supplier...they sell bigger packages of their spirals, but you can buy 2-packs from Barrell Mill at other sources online). Wayne said that the key to using the white oak for its toasty/coconut/macaroon characteristics is aging on the spirals at low temperature (in the 30s). He said that, at higher temps, you tend to get more of a dill flavor. About 6-8 days. I just now got a chest freezer so that I can keep temps that low, so I'll be giving a white oak IPA a try shortly.

 

From the research I did, it's said Hungarian is the nationaity that will impart the most vanilla profiles, followed by American. You are right on about they chips and powder, they will impart flavor faster, but since they are nearly uniform in toast, you may not get the complexity you will out of cubes or spirals. Ive used Hungarian cubes with great success and want to get a few spirals to use in some sours.

 

This episode probably gets my vote as the most informative beer podcast ever.

 

Glad to see Shea getting recognition on the beer side as well...two threads in two days with him. He's pretty much a demi-god in my book.

To the OP, as said, you're mainly looking more towards toast levels & oak origins for these traits than the form of the oak. Hungarian & French are going to get you the smoothest with lower levels of lactones present. It sounds like you would want to be on the lighter side regarding toast levels.