I recently bottled a batch of Northern Brewer's Elegant Bastard ale. I decided to get creative and throw some bourbon soaked oak cubes into the secondary. About a pint of bourbon and 2 oz. medium toast American oak cubes went into the secondary after soaking for about a week. The beer sat on these in secondary for 3 weeks before bottling.

At bottling I tasted the beer and noticed a strong wood flavor, which I expect to mellow, and a fair amount of astringency. I went ahead and bottled it but like all nervous beginner brewers I started to google astringency and tannins in beer. I’ve found mixed information but it seems that some people say that astringency won’t mellow out and the only solution is dilution.

I’m curious if anyone here has had a similar experience and what their final outcome was. I also found some information which suggests that astringency is eliminated by spending more time in secondary in contact with the wood. My neighbor (a more experienced brewer than I) insists that prolonged contact with the wood couldn’t produce less astringency.

If the astringency doesn’t go away does anyone have a solution that doesn’t potentially involve me winding up with 10 gallons worth of tannin flavored beer?

I have a bourbon bbl stout inbottles now.   I did not use oak cubes, but rather some lighter smoking wood chips. No astringency.


Eta, I don't know your proceedure, but I discard the bourbon I use for the soak. Put the chips in the beer and add bourbon.


That last may not be clear.

1.  Soak your chips.

2.  When ready to use, discard soaking liquid.

3.  Add fresh liquid, put in beer.

If you used your soaking bourbon, that may be where the tannins were.

I put the soaking bourbon in the secondary with the cubes. It makes sense that it may be the source of my astringency.

I tried a bottle of it last night. I think it’s been 3 or 4 weeks since bottling. There’s definitely a strong wood flavor but the astringency seems to have abated a bit.

Hopefully it will continue to mellow. I’ll try it again around Thanksgiving.

ETA: Texturally, visually and aromatically this beer is very pleasing. It produces a nice clinging head and has a very interesting, complex smell.

Well, I hope it does get better.  If it doesn't, dilution will help.  Dilute with a beer close to what you brewed.

Oak tannin molicules will combine over time making them heaver and they will fall out of solution with time.  That part is unpredicable, I'd sit on them for a few months and see what happens.  

Some of that astringency maybe coming from the Bourbon itself.  A pint in a five gallon batch is a lot.  1/2 to 2/3 cup is more then enough.        

I would not dilute it.  Just age it!

What this guy said. Adding a pint of bourbon is quite a bit.

Tannins are astringent by nature, but should smooth out over time. It's why wine is aged in new oak barrels, but often blended with other wine aged in second-use barrels.