Whiskey barrel stout

Why not just soak them in a little Jack before tossing them in?

 

If boiling chips, I would imagine 10-15 minutes would be a decent amount to time to kill off any critters.

I've simply soaked the wood (cubes and chips) in the liquor I'm going to use and never had any issues. I do it well in advance (2+ weeks) so I'm not sure what a minimum amount of time would be to sanitize fully. Chips would be a much shorter soaking time.

 

If you didn't want the taste of the added bourbon you can use vodka, but I think with it being a whiskey barrel beer, you wouldn't mind the added Jack.

 

I've done two and I think I soaked them for like a 3-4 days, in the fridge, shook them up every day or so, but I was looking more to impact the flavor than sanitize (though did it to sanitize too) I just dumped the bourbon and chips right in, didn't strain them.

 

I always advise against pouring vodka or whisk(e)y into the fermenter. The wood is what you're interested in and you won't be able to make your beer less boozy once you add hard liquor. If you feel bad dumping the liquid, bring a rocks glass to the party when you add the wood. You can always add a splash of booze when it comes time to package.