Heavy Toast Oak Chips

[rich]

Hey Guys,

I dropped by my local homebrew shop, and saw a bag of 'Heavy Toast Oak Chips'. I picked em up out of curiosity, and am wondering if anyone has any suggestions on their usage. I had a smoked porter recently by stone brewery, but am wondering if there are any other good applications for this lousy bag of garden filler. If anyone knows of any, drop a line.


Rich

[fretlessman71]

Light them on fire and toast some marshmallows while you heat up your wort.... who knows? ;)

(Sorry to get your hopes up if you've been waiting around for a real response.... next time, maybe?)

[Stodbrew]

I was kind of thinking the same thing. Soak them in some water and throw them on the grill. While drinking a beer, of course!

[fretlessman71]

You could always go back to the LHBS and ask THEM why you bought them. Heck, they may even have an idea!

(Sorry! I'm in one of those moods tonight.... :p )

[Beerconnoisseur]

They are used in small quantities for adding to red wine. If you're not into the home winemaking side, you can try blending them with medium-toasted oak cubes in an India Pale Ale, a Scotch Ale, or perhaps even a Barley Wine. It's up to you.

[Tweek]

you could play with them in a beer. Chips, depending on toast level will depart their intended result pretty rapidly so I would keep a close eye on it and do a lot of tasting as soon as you put them in (like once a day). Perhaps fill a growler off a batch to experiment with, that way if you dont like it you are not out an entire batch.

[rich]

Yeah, maybe I will use em in an IPA, or that Scotch Ale I've been pondering.
It's either that or dispose of em down my neighbor's gas tank, along with a pound of priming sugar. Gotta give this multitude of options some thought.
Thanks a bunch for all the constructive suggestions though.

[davesarman]

I've used them before in a couple of batches, one an IPA and one a Scotch ale. I was trying to go for a oak/wood flavor profile. The first one I was fairly cautiouse and added about 1/4 cup to the secondary fermenter. Didn't get much out of it. Next batch I used 1/2 cup. I noticed the flavor, but it wasn't quite what I expected. A little more green than I expected and not roasty. It did mellow out quite a bit after a few months in the bottle. I still have some left and haven't used them, as I haven't brewed a style that it would be appropriate for. I think doing a smaller test batch is a good idea.