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Oak cubes - adjusting time and quantity

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by mikehartigan, Oct 17, 2012.

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  1. mikehartigan

    mikehartigan Maven (1,409) Apr 9, 2007 Illinois

    I've Oaked a number of beers over the years and have pretty much settled on 2 ounces for 2 weeks. I was wondering, though, what would the effect be if I adjusted the time and quantity? For example, 1 ounce for 4 weeks or 4 ounces for 1 week? (Or whatever gives roughly the same oak intensity). Would more oak for a shorter period of time, perhaps be smoother? More vanilla? Has anyone done any experiments with this? Maybe one of the brewing gods has discussed it in one of their books?
     
    #1 mikehartigan, Oct 17, 2012
  2. yinzer

    yinzer Initiate (0) Nov 24, 2006 Pennsylvania

    Not sure if this applies, but I know that people play with the pre-soak time (in spirits). I've done a soak for two months and was able to let the beer sit on the oak for an extended period of time. In fact I never took the cubes out of the corny. These were soaked in bourbon and that flavor was in the background. If you're looking for just oak maybe you could soak the cubes in vodka.
     
    #2 yinzer, Oct 18, 2012
  3. bgjohnston

    bgjohnston Initiate (0) Jan 14, 2009 Connecticut

    I have done 4 oz for 5 days -- 1 week, but never less for a longer period. I have pre-soaked in various spirits, usually for a week, too. My favorites so far were one done with dark rum and another done with Scotch.

    I use 1 oz of spirit for each oz of oak, just to keep it measurable and consistent, and I find that level subtle, not overpowering, but present, adding nice complexity.
     
    #3 bgjohnston, Oct 18, 2012
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