Bourbon/Whisky barrel chips- Can I use the ones from Home Depot?

[formula2fast]

I am making an imperial stout that I want to secondary on some bourbon barrel chips.

My LHBS only has oak chips, not used barrel chips. I found some on Northern Brewer's website, but they want $16.99 for them plus another $13 to ship them. That is almost as much as I have into the ingredients for a 5 gallon batch.

Can I use the Jack Daniels Whisky barrel chips that they sell for smokers and grills instead? My local home depot has a bag of them really cheap. This seems like it would be the same thing as the ones Northern brewer is selling unless NB sanitizes theirs somehow. I figured I would get the ones from Home depot, soak them in bourbon for a day or two to sanitize, and then put them in.

Thoughts?

 

[smiller]

I suppose you could do this, but since you are going to soak them in whiskey anyway, you might as well buy some medium toast chips or cubes from your LHBS and do the same. I've seen those Jack Daniels smoking chips before, and they don't seem very toasted, so I am guessing most of them come from a part of the barrel that isn't charred. If you want to simulate what the beer would be in contact with if in a barrel, your best bet would be to go with the toasted chips or cubes (depending on how long you are going to age on the oak) from your LHBS and soak them for a few weeks before using.

 

[zmanzorro]

I'm thinking of just cutting up some oak out of the back yard, toasting/smoking it, and letting it sit in some bourbon for a few days. There shouldn't be any problems with, should there?

 

[tennesseean_87]

Revvy uses the JD chips, so I bought some to use. Some surfaces are charred, some are not. I have been toasting mine in the oven for a half hour or so at 400* before soaking in bourbon or using straight. I may look further into toasting, but the JD chips pare super cheap ($6 at Sears for a little less than 2 lbs).

 

[Revvy]

I suppose you could do this, but since you are going to soak them in whiskey anyway, you might as well buy some medium toast chips or cubes from your LHBS and do the same. I've seen those Jack Daniels smoking chips before, and they don't seem very toasted, so I am guessing most of them come from a part of the barrel that isn't charred. If you want to simulate what the beer would be in contact with if in a barrel, your best bet would be to go with the toasted chips or cubes (depending on how long you are going to age on the oak) from your LHBS and soak them for a few weeks before using.

I've used the Jack Daniels ones for years, and yes you can toast them to various levels. I just usually use a dry cast iron pan on my stove. They work fine. There's a ton of threads on here on this. Losts of folks use them.

 

[formula2fast]

Revvy uses the JD chips, so I bought some to use. Some surfaces are charred, some are not. I have been toasting mine in the oven for a half hour or so at 400* before soaking in bourbon or using straight. I may look further into toasting, but the JD chips pare super cheap ($6 at Sears for a little less than 2 lbs).

How was the bourbon flavor in yours using the JD chips? How long did you keep it on the chips?

 

[smiller]

When you use chips, you don't want to age on them very long, 2-3 weeks usually. They tend to impart flavor more quickly than cubes since they have more surface area and not as much volume to soak through. You can age on cubes for months, however.