Burbon Oaked Chips

[jweidman]

Hey guys i brewed a kills Black Ipa and i was thinking about aging in burbon chips with chocolate squares kinda lie how the Oaked yeti is,

so questions i have are, what procedures has anyone done that works.

i have read alot and saw that some soak the chips in burdon for a few weeks to a few months.

i have also seen that people also let the chips stay in secondary for a few months.

what has worked for you guys.

also what chips should i use and what chocolate would work best for a more rich chocolate flavor.

Thanks guys happy brewing.

 

[lpdjshaw]

I've used bourbon soaked oak chips quite a few times. I usually start soaking the chips a couple weeks prior to brewing and things come up so by the time I brew they've usually been soaking for a month or so. I use just enough whiskey to cover the chips. After some trial and error I've figured out that 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 ounces (dry) of medium chips seem to work best for me. I put them in secondary for about 10 days - 2 weeks. On thing that does seem to make a difference: the chips will only absorb so much whiskey but the longer they soak the more the whiskey will leach out the oakyness. So, if you dump the bourbon in with the chips you'll get more oakyness with some astringency, which, in a big dark beer might be what you want. If you drain the whiskey off the chips you'll get a mellower oak, which might be better if you're brewing something lighter. Conversely, if you soak the chips for just a few days you could probably dump them in your beer with the liquor and get less oakyness and a little more bourbon flavor.
Have fun with it however you do it and (speaking from experience here) if you oak it too much don't toss it just age it for a year or two cuz it will eventually mellow somewhat

 

[jweidman]

sweet thanks buddy i cant wait to try it out, gonna try it out soon.

is the 1.5 - 2.5 oz ships for 5 gallon batches well i would assume so since most fermentors are 6-6.5 gallons.