Oaked Stout

[brewmeisterintng]

So, I have this Dominion Oak Barrel Stout Clone in the secondary (BYO recipe). I have added 2.5oz of medium toasted oak cubes to the secondary with two vanilla beans. How long do I let it sit in the secondary before bottling? I have never played with oak before and was wondering how long to wait.

[slothrob]

I've never used oak, but the advice I've heard is to taste the beer regularly, until the oak flavor is at the level you would like. I've seen recommendations from 1 week to 2+ months, so I think it must depend on your taste preference.

[brewmeisterintng]

There was an article in the same mag about oaking a beer and it referenced surface area exposed. I did taste it as you recommended and it totally rocked but didn't have the time to bottle it. I hope that it will still be good in a week as I will be sending this off to a competition.