I have an old ale that I'm wanting to oak but I'm trying to decide if I should use a bourbon barrel stave or some plain oak cubes. I've never used the stave before so was just wondering if anyone has used them before, and if so, how did you find them to work? I don't want the ale to be super oaky, just a nice hint of it in the background. Time the beer will be on oak is going to be about 4 weeks. Any suggestions? Thanks!
I'm not sure my LHBS sells oak beans, I just saw they had spirals, cubes, chips, and staves. Are beans the same as cubes?
Ok yeah it's just the regular oak cubes. Which actually is more of the flavor profile I'm looking for, not really wanting bourbon flavor in this, just the wood. I already purchased the staves but I think I'll save those for another beer like a stout or porter, and just get some regular oak cubes to use.
My guess is that the oak cubes from your LHBS will 'work' for you just fine. As a matter of clarification the oak beans will not impart bourbon flavors since they are not made from the staves of barrels that previously contained bourbon. http://grapeandgranary.com/oakbeans.html Cheers!
Thanks for the link! You're correct the cubes are fine for my application, I've used them before and the beer came out tasty. I was just looking for some other options with the staves. If my LHBS sold those beans that sounds like a option as well.
So despite my previous post, I ended up using one of the oak staves in the beer. Didn't feel like going back to the store, so just threw the stave in secondary with my old ale. To sanitize it I set the wood in a pot of boiling water for about 2 min then let it air dry. I think it's going to turn out quite delicious, the gravity sample was awesome on it's own, and I think the oak is going to really take it up a notch. Clocked in at 10% too so will age great
