numsquat wrote:I'm doing a robust porter the Saturday before the Superbowl and my wife asked if I could do an oak bourbon porter, so I'm going to make a 10 gal batch and split off 5 gal for the oak bourbon. Never used oak before. I remember from a session that cubes were better than chips so have cubes on the way. Also plan to soak the cubes in the bourbon.
Question is how much oak and for how long? I know it's to taste and will be testing but need a good baseline. Will put it in late in the primary (usually let the porter sit in primary for around 3 weeks, no secondary) or in the keg.
Suggestions?
if you want the effect of oak aging faster, go with chips instead of cubes. the increase in surface area means faster transfer of flavor. But, seems like you already ordered the cubes.
after the first week for fermentation is over add the oak. IF it's only going to be two weeks of contact time, you may want to use 3-4 oz of oak cubes. This is what i would do.....spit the amount in half. Put one half in the bourbon for a week and leave the other half "raw". if you soak it all, you'll get a load of bourbon and less oak.
good luck
<see, it's getting better.
The beer turned out great btw, and didn't taste all that bitter, despite having ½ lb of northern brewer hops for bittering, ¼ lb each of willamettes, and goldings for flavor and aroma. Even with ¼ lb of goldings dry hopped didn't faze the wood (heh-heh -- I said wood) for aroma or flavor, and came across very nicely balanced. So consider the toast level when you add the beans/beads besides the amounts and time of contact. Just my 2¢ worth 
