Oak chips in india red ale, quantity in 4 litre brew over 7 day secondary?

Trojanwesty · Sep 28, 2016

Hi guys,

I've currently got a 4 litre batch of an India Red Ale fermenting. I want to oak it over a 7 day period in secondary, but I'm unsure about how many grams of 'American medium toast' oak chips I should be adding to achieve a light-medium oak flavour.

I've been seeing some info on American sites in gallon and ounces, but converting a volume measurement to mass measurement ends up converting differently depending on the rate source. One suggested 4oz in 5 gallons for that 7 day period, so it's converted to about 22g in 4 litres, but that ratio seems quite heavy on the oak.

What would you more experienced oakers suggest?

strange-steve · Oct 1, 2016

It's quite difficult to determine, so the usual method is to add the oak chips then taste the beer regularly until it has the character you want. A good starting point is around 1.5g/L but I think 7 days may not be long enough. You can add a lot of oak for a short period of time however the flavour will be more one dimensional than a small amount of oak for a longer period.

Slid · Oct 1, 2016

strange-steve said:
It's quite difficult to determine, so the usual method is to add the oak chips then taste the beer regularly until it has the character you want. A good starting point is around 1.5g/L but I think 7 days may not be long enough. You can add a lot of oak for a short period of time however the flavour will be more one dimensional than a small amount of oak for a longer period.

Another very informed post from the Galle Crater.

Thanks from those of us who merely inhabit the third rock from the sun, Steve.

Trojanwesty · Oct 11, 2016

strange-steve said:
It's quite difficult to determine, so the usual method is to add the oak chips then taste the beer regularly until it has the character you want. A good starting point is around 1.5g/L but I think 7 days may not be long enough. You can add a lot of oak for a short period of time however the flavour will be more one dimensional than a small amount of oak for a longer period.

Thanks for that insight. In which case I will aim for 2-3 weeks at that ratio and taste regularly. Cheers!

Oak chips in india red ale, quantity in 4 litre brew over 7 day secondary?

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