Firestone Walker Pale 31

[tony b]

This will be my first oak aged beer, so I have a couple of questions:

1) I assume that you boil the oak chips before putting them into the secondary/keg to kill off any stray bugs? How long to boil them? I don't want to overdo it and boil out all the oak flavor.

2) How long should the oak chips stay in the beer? Can they stay in there too long? Should I take them out before carbonating?

Thanks up front!

[tompb]

I wouldn't boil them, I think you'll take away the character. Either soak them in vodka then add them, or microwave them for a minute or so. The microwave shouldn't alter the flavor contribution, but it should kill any bugs.

As far as time goes I would think around 8-10 days . Maybe someone with more experience can chime in.

[Derek]

Are you using oak chips or toasted oak beans?

I prefer the oak beans by far. I add about an ounce to an ounce and a half of oak beans to a finished five gallon batch.

I boil about half a cup of water in the microwave, then add the oak beans to the boiling water, let them soak for 10 or 15 minutes. I then pour the beans water and all into the carboy.

As far as how long to leave the beer on the oak, with the beans I've gone for a couple months on a RIS, no problem. I'm more leery of the (untoasted) american oak chips (I've only used 'em once, and didn't much care for the result), the flavor they added was less complex and more woody.

For a new recipe, I probably add no more than an ounce, and try the beer after two weeks, and every week or so thereafter until I got the level of oakeyness I wanted. You could always add more oak if you wanted to.

[hoboscratch]

I have not used chips, I used spirals. I know they are two different beasts but I'll offer my experience. I have a rice cooker/steamer, so I put the spirals in the steamer for probably 15 minutes or so. Then I soaked mine in port wine for a RIS, and threw the wine in along with the spirals. I let them sit for 2 months. After about 4-6 weeks I did not notice any increase in oak flavor, I just left them that long due to scheduling. I haven't used chips, but I've read things like Derek said regarding the flavor they produce. I've also read they extract fast, much faster than cubes or spirals, so I would check it after the first week just to be sure.

[Matt F]

I would make sure to take a taste to make sure you are happy with the flavor. The Pale 31 only has a slight oak character in my opinion as it is a blend of the Mission Street Pale Ale and the Double Barrel Ale. The oak comes from the double barrel if memory serves me well. They went really in depth on this beer on "Can You Brew It".