Adding barrel aging to Mr. Beer process (don't roll your eyes)

I guess to the novice it may seem that way. Others see Mr. Beer as a smaller fermenter that can be useful for smaller batches, splitting batches, experimenting, etc.

 

Oak chips would be your best bet so you don't need to worry about buying a 2 gal oak barrel. Just toss them in after frementation is done and wait a few weeks. Taste it until it's oaky enough for you and rack to bottle/bottling bucket. <---What does come in this kit, anyway?!

 

For a 2 gal batch you aren't going to need many chips. (.5 - .75 oz ish) You should also check the taste every few days. Over-oaking is easy to do and hard (if not impossible) to undo.

 

Are you trying to add wood flavor? Are you looking to transfer to some small barrel? I'm not sure I see how the Mr. Beer part of the question imposes additional oxidation concerns.

 

Peter makes an excellent point. The Mr. Beer 2 gallon fermenter is made out of plastic so it is not oxygen impermeable; long term storage in this container will lead to oxidation: oxygen will enter into the fermenter over time and oxidize the beer.

If the OP truly wants to add oak to the beer via oak chips this beer should be transferred to a small glass (or Better Bottle) container (a secondary) for the oaking process. A large (2 gallon) glass bottle would do the trick or perhaps:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/brewing-equipment/fermenting-equipment/3-gallon-glass-carboy.html

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/brewing-equipment/fermenting-equipment/better-bottle-ported-3-gallon.html

I personally have not oaked any of my homebrewed beers but I have seen where others have discusses oak chip contact times on the order of 1.5 months for oak chips and 3-4 months for oak cubes.

Cheers!

 

If you haven't started the whole process yet, I soak my wood chips/ cubes in bourbon for a week or two or more before throwing them in!