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Beer/Oak Chips

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Expert: - 11/29/2006


Question
Someone who knows that I brew gave me a bag of oak chips from a beer supply store.  How do I use them?  In the mash, boil, or aging?  Thanks!

Answer
Hey John,

Oak chips are used to give that "aged in an oak barrel" flavor. You add them to the secondary.

Make sure you sanitize them first by either boiling for a few minutes or soaking in vodka for a day before adding them to the beer.

Try an ounce per 5 gallon batch. You can monitor their effect by pulling samples from the secondary after a few days. Be careful not to over-do.

Ya know how Budweiser says their beer is "Beechwood Aged". That means that they toss in a bunch of beechwood plugs to the lagering tank. Same idea here.

Have fun,

Chris Bushman
Maltose Falcons
North Hollywood, California

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Chris Bushman

Expertise

I've been homebrewing beer and mead for about 15 years. I've made beer trips to the Netherlands, the UK, France, Germany, and Belgium.

Experience

I've brewed a couple of hundred all-grain beers and a few dozen meads. I'm a member of the Maltose Falcon's Homebrew Society, the oldest homebrew club in the US. I've attended the Homebrewers Fantasy Camp at American Brewers Guild. In real life I am Optical Effects Supervisor and Laboratory Supervisor for a large movie visual effects house in Hollywood. I've been a fireman, a teacher of English in Okinawa, a personal computer tutor. Other hobbies include orchid culture, koi keeping, photography, sausage making, pickling, and ham radio.

BS Zoology, UC Davis

Member, Society of Motion Picture/Television Engineers http://www.smpte.org/ - Member, American Radio Relay League http://www.arrl.org/ - Member, Quarter Century Wireless Assn. http://www.lockport-ny.com/radio.htm - President, Zen Nippon Airinkai, So Cal Chapter http://home.earthlink.net/~filmlabrat/ - Member, Maltose Falcons Homebrewing Society http://www.westval.com/mfalcons/ - Alumni, American Brewers' Guild http://www.abgbrew.com/

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