Getting Commercial Oak Character with Imperial Stout?

What bourbon are you using and what are the stouts you enjoy using? Maybe try to match that up.
If all else is equal, I'd say more is more. Try either more wood, more contact time, or more residual bourbon.

 

There is no definitive answer here for a number of reasons:

• What level of oak character are you looking to achieve (e.g., vanilla, spice, etc.)?
• How long are you willing to age your beer on the soaked oak (e.g., 2 months, 3 months, etc.)
• How many different types of Bourbon are you willing to try?
• etc.

I have only brewed one batch of beer aged on bourbon soaked oak (cubes) and it was a Robust Porter. I was personally very pleased with how this beer turned out but you may have very well drank this beer and stated "not enough bourbon/oak character".

You may want to try aging your beer in an oak barrel but depending on the actual oak barrel you may or may not be pleased (depending upon which bourbon was initially in the barrel, how 'old' the barrel was, how long you aged your beer in the barrel, etc.).

Frankly your best bet is to just try something 'different' and see whether it is an 'improvement' for your expectations.

Cheers!

 

Haven't used spirals before but you may need more contact time then a month to get the oak you are looking for or maybe give cubes a try. Some of your expectations may not be achievable as well which I think Jack hit on quite well. Each beer is unique and will oak age differently.

There's a reason homebrewers still pay for the best of the barrel aged stuff out there (I know I buy too much. Lol) as it is hard to accomplish

 

Well, I think you want to look at the stouts you want to copy, find out what whisky they used, how long they let it age in the barrel and what grains they used in making the beer as well as any extras.

Yep, you may not find them all but some may get you closer.

I love oak ageing stouts without the booze, and usually use 2-4.5 oz of med to heavy toasted white oak. I let it sit for at least 1 month and usually longer. It is trail and error, tasting and guessing.

Also the oak component of the beer will change over time when bottled. Check the dates on the bottles you like. 1 year make a massive difference.

Have fun

 

Something to keep in mind is that all whiskey is between 120-145+ proof when it comes out of the barrel. So if you're using a freshly dumped barrel (like the brewers making the exemplary stouts), you're starting out with a 25-50% stronger bourbon

 

I tried a Scotch soaked oak stout, and based on advice I was given, had a 3 week soak time for my 1/4-1/3 medium oak spiral. No where near enough oak/scotch character. I plan to make another that I plan to age for a year, and am going to soak roughly the same about of oak for 2 months or so.

 

To get better character, you should factor in your surface area to soak time.
I have three beers aging in two different sized barrels right now at the breweries I work at, and the smaller ones I plan on kegging off after 3 - 4 months of soak time. The larger ones are going to soak for about 11 months to a year.

 

Are those first time use for beer barrels?

 

Looks like you and MrOH answered your question.

Of course it is.

 

Yup. We got the large ones from Barrel Broker, and the small ones came directly from Few.

 

I've zeroed in on an oaking process that I'm pretty happy with for my strong ales, although I'm not sure anything can replicate true barrel aging. I think the key to getting those nice vanilla/coconut flavors is a smaller amount of oak over a longer period of time.

• Use 0.25 oz/gal medium toast oak cubes, boil in water for 3 min to remove harsh tannins (I experimented with 0.4 oz/gal and it was overkill)
• Rack beer onto oak in secondary age for 6+ months, I've gone up to 13 months with great results
• Add liquor to taste at packaging. I don't personally see the benefit of soaking oak in liquor first as it just gives you less control over each individual variable, but others might disagree