I noticed they have these smoked oak chips at my local store, anybody have used them before? I was thinking about doing a stout and putting some of these? Anybody used it with good results? Could you share? Thanks.
Cubes are the way to go, or barrel. I've never liked the end product of chips or spirals in my experience.
i've used chips & spirals so far & haven't really had too much of a distinct flavor result from either (the beers were also rather large & bold, which could contribute)..
Are you referring to the BBQ oak chips? If you might also want a bourbon-infusion character to your beer, I've used Jack Daniels BBQ chips several times. I first soak them in bourbon for 4-6 weeks, then I add the resulting oak-infused bourbon liquid to my bucket at the time of bottling (5 gallons). I fill a pint glass with the chips (actually cram them to help keep them from floating) and then fill the glass with the bourbon. But I can't tell you how many ounces of chips that might be. (The bourbon is usually 8-9 fluid ounces.) I'm slowly deciding that the oak is too prominent in the resulting beer's taste, so I'll probably cut back for my next infusion.
I just used 2 oz of Med American oak chips, for 2 1/2 weeks in 4 gallons of a Kate the Great clone. There's barely any oak flavor at all. I'll reconsider throwing a cube in each bottle next time.
I have used medium toast French oak chips in primary of one beer (a malty bier d'garde ) and in secondary of a couple meads. They add some tannic content, which perhaps gives the perception of dryness. At least with these chips, I didn't get any of the vanilla character that American oak is known for.
Now, I'll parse your comment by saying this. Chips suck, I didn't get much, and what I got was a weeks worth of tannins leeched into the beer that didn't work like I wanted. Sprials aren't terrible, they are a step up, but aren't as good as the cubes, IMO. I used the spirals in a scotch ale that really worked, although I when it was all said and done, not thrilled with my choice of toast level.
This recent thread may be helpful to the OP: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/using-oak-chips-cubes.180250/#post-2439580 Cheers!
