Emmulating Barrel Aging/using oak

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by pixieskid, Aug 30, 2013.

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  1. pixieskid

    pixieskid Initiate (0) Jun 4, 2009 Germany

    Seems like just about every process in brewing can be done a number of many different ways and since I value this site and fellow members contributing, I figured I would pose my question here and see what fellow homebrewers are doing in regards to oak aging.

    Are you soaking oak chips/cubes/spirals and "discarding" the liquors you have chosen to soak them in and aging your beer on the wood? Or, are you using the oak soaked liquid and adding that to your beer? Or, are you doing both?

    Secondly, has anyone experimented with liquors/alcohols other than the typical bourbon/whiskey?
    Sure rum and port seem to be of interest as, but I'm talking about things like Grand Marnier, coffee/chocolate liquors, wine, basically anything with booze that has a distinct flavor that could potentially add something interesting but isn't in the typical realm of 40%abv standards like whiskey, rum, scotch, etc?

    P.S. Apparently once you post a thread you can't edit the title Emulating*
     
    #1 pixieskid, Aug 30, 2013
  2. MrOH

    MrOH Grand Pooh-Bah (3,995) Jul 5, 2010 Virginia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    I have had success by first soaking oak cubes in the spirit of choice for a few weeks, discarding that liquor, then resoaking in more of the liquor for a few more weeks, and adding the cubes and liquor to secondary (I've done this with bourbon and aged rum). Definitely takes some planning.
    Wines could be done in the same method. If you were thinking of using something like Gran Marnier, I would soak some cubes in cognac, discard the liquor, then add the cubes and Gran Marnier to taste. Anything with some sugar in it (coffee/chocolate liquors) could be done in a similar fashion, just be aware that you will have to give the beer time to ferment out this sugar to avoid overcarbonation/bottle bombs. You'll also have to make a beer that has a decent amount of unfermentable sugars to keep the sweetness of a liqueur, as the sugar will ferment dry.
     
    #2 MrOH, Aug 30, 2013
  3. Masemob

    Masemob Initiate (0) Aug 27, 2013 Florida

    That's the great thing about oaking (and brewing in general); so many choices! I have only brewed once with oak chips but instead of soaking in alcohol, I pasteurized with clean water and added that to my secondary.
     
    #3 Masemob, Aug 30, 2013
  4. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    I've soaked chips with bourbon for 6-8 weeks and then added the liquor to the bottling bucket at the time of bottling. About 8 oz. of liquor for 5 gallons was okay, but the last time I did this I bottled half of the bucket without the liquor before pouring in the bourbon for the final half. I liked this result much better.
     
    #4 PapaGoose03, Aug 30, 2013
  5. pixieskid

    pixieskid Initiate (0) Jun 4, 2009 Germany

    some good in put thus far, thanks everyone, keep it coming!
     
    #5 pixieskid, Aug 30, 2013
  6. ncaudle

    ncaudle Initiate (0) May 28, 2010 Virginia

    I use wine (chardonnay or red wine) all the time when adding oak to my saisons/wilds
     
    #6 ncaudle, Aug 30, 2013
  7. pixieskid

    pixieskid Initiate (0) Jun 4, 2009 Germany


    would you be willing to share how you employ the wine and oak? I like how you specify chardonnay for white and then just red...:wink:

    this is exactly the kind of thing i would like to start doing with saisons.
     
    #7 pixieskid, Aug 30, 2013
  8. AlCaponeJunior

    AlCaponeJunior Grand Pooh-Bah (3,452) May 21, 2010 Texas
    Society Pooh-Bah


    Actually, a small hint of chardonnay/oak sounds delicious in my 2nd iteration of petite saison smash. I see they have a couple kinds of oak chips at the LHBS, and they are pretty small chips (i.e. lots of surface area). How much to use, how long to soak, how much chardonnay, discard the wine before adding just chips, or...? Do tell!
     
    #8 AlCaponeJunior, Sep 1, 2013
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