oak cubes

[TappedOut]

I have a russian imp. stout that I want to try oaking with cubes, and was wondering about the procedure. Is it necessary to sanitize them? They're in a little plastic bag, so they look to be clean. Boil them, soak them in booze, or just toss in?

[DrPaulsen]

I have a russian imp. stout that I want to try oaking with cubes, and was wondering about the procedure. Is it necessary to sanitize them? They're in a little plastic bag, so they look to be clean. Boil them, soak them in booze, or just toss in?

I've had good luck placing them in about 8 oz of water and boiling in the microwave for a few minutes. Once that's done, I just pitch the cubes and broth directly into the fermenter. If you intend to pull the cubes out of the fermenter (vs racking off to a secondary), don't forget to use a mesh bag.

[bkanderson]

I usually soak my chips in jack for a couple weeks. The oak absorbs the jack, sanitizes the chips. The jack will then transfer the taste back into the beer as it sits. Depending on how much oak you use, you could get a real woody flavor is you soak them to long in the beer. I would taste it every week to get just the right amount. The flavor will mellow as it ages so I start off with a strong oak flavor.