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Aging with oak cubes question

Northern Brewer General
#1

So I brewed Dragon’s Silk Kit here about a month ago with the intention of letting it sit in the keg until late November/early December. The question is, the recipe includes oak cubes that are to be soaked in 12 oz Bourbon and added to the beer after fermentation. I transferred it to a keg for the aging in my basement. The question is when should I soak the cubes in bourbon and add them to the beer? Now? A week before I carb? Somewhere in between? When it went into the keg it was right around 9.25% as I missed my OG by a bit.

:beers:
Rad

#2

I’ve done the Dragon’s Silk kit only once, and was very happy with the result. I’ve made several batches of the Bourbon Barrel Porter which also involves oak cubes soaked in Bourbon. I’ve settled on soaking the oak cubes in 12 to 16 oz of bourbon for about 2 days and then adding the whole thing to secondary a week before bottling or kegging. Leaving the oak in the beer for much more than a week resulted in too much oak flavor - for my taste - your taste may vary of course. The bourbon flavor seems to mellow over time so I try to add it relatively late in the aging.

#3

Me did soak the cubes. In bourbon for 10 days. Than about 2 weeks. Before ready to keg. Did add the. Cubes. To the fermentor. Had mild taste on the end. Think next time look for a oak whisky barrel. Of course cheap. Hope to find one

#4

Ok, back to this as I just put my cubes in bourbon in a mason jar in preparation for the current kegs emptying so I can carb this beauty. It says add the oak and the bourbon directly to the keg, Since I am planning to bottle this off the tap once it’s carbed, I don’t have any concern about letting the oak sit in the keg too long. Advice on how long to soak the oak cubes before adding to the keg? A week? A couple days?

:beers:
Rad

#5

I always did about a week

#6

Thanks, I’ll shoot for that then and see how it turns out. :innocent:

:beers:
Rad

#7

I think oak chips are cheaper, have more surface area and are therefore more effective. However in a keg I think the cubes or spirals would be easier

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