Oak Chips?

[AndyP74]

Has anyone got any experience of including French oak chips in their brews? In a former job I saw white oak chips being used in primary conditioning of Budweiser (St Louis, MO) but haven't tried it in any of my own brews. Any thoughts or experiences that you can share before I take the plunge?

 

[Bvk1983]

If you use oak chips make sure you sanitize them, for example by soaking them in vodka. Other than whiskey vodka won't give much flavor to the oak.

I used oak in a couple of imperial stouts which turned out great. Currently I have a barley wine conditioning on oak and whiskey.

 

[Sadfield]

IIRC Bud use beech during fermentation as a throwback to an old way to keep yeast in suspension, rather than a direct flavouring process.

This is different to using wood chips as an alternative to barrel ageing and its worth noting that barrels ofter go through extra processes in their manufacture and use and will give a different flavour to raw wood. Barrels used in beer ageing are often ones discarded from wineries and distilleries.

You have three options.

1) Use chips made from old barrels getting the character of the barrel previous use.

2) Use raw wood.

3) Toast your wood to recreate the desired type of barrel. Toasting your own Wood Chips by Matt Del Fiacco

https://www.lodiwine.com/blog/Oak-barrels--part-4---Step-by-step-visual-of-how-barrels-are-coopered
https://luxrowdistillers.com/bourbon-barrel-charring-process/
You can also soak the wood in wine, whiskey, bourbon, brandy, rum to give it the character of barrel that has had a previous life.

The first use of wood in a beer will extract the most flavour.

Doing a range of toasts can be interesting. Here's my chunks.

 

[AndyP74]

IIRC Bud use beech during fermentation as a throwback to an old way to keep yeast in suspension, rather than a direct flavouring process.

This is different to using wood chips as an alternative to barrel ageing and its worth noting that barrels ofter go through extra processes in their manufacture and use and will give a different flavour to raw wood. Barrels used in beer ageing are often ones discarded from wineries and distilleries.

You have three options.

1) Use chips made from old barrels getting the character of the barrel previous use.

2) Use raw wood.

3) Toast your wood to recreate the desired type of barrel. Toasting your own Wood Chips by Matt Del Fiacco

https://www.lodiwine.com/blog/Oak-barrels--part-4---Step-by-step-visual-of-how-barrels-are-coopered
https://luxrowdistillers.com/bourbon-barrel-charring-process/
You can also soak the wood in wine, whiskey, bourbon, brandy, rum to give it the character of barrel that has had a previous life.

The first use of wood in a beer will extract the most flavour.

Doing a range of toasts can be interesting. Here's my chunks.

View attachment 61820

Thanks very much for the detail. You're right, now I think back it was beech chips (although at the brewery at Mortlake is was more akin to beech sawdust!), and interesting to understand the purpose. My next brew is a black IPA so think I'll keep a few litres to one side and try a small amount with just wood and then soaked wood. Thanks again.

 

[AndyP74]

If you use oak chips make sure you sanitize them, for example by soaking them in vodka. Other than whiskey vodka won't give much flavor to the oak.

I used oak in a couple of imperial stouts which turned out great. Currently I have a barley wine conditioning on oak and whiskey.

Thanks for the information. Have you had any experience using a dark rum with chips? I'm thinking this may give a more mellow flavour than whiskey/whisky but happy to take advice if you've been there before.