So I brewed a Belgian Dubbel a couple of weeks ago and plan on adding some cherry puree and oak cubes to the secondary. My question is how much oak cubes should I add and for what extended amount of time? I have never used them before and have read how they can really overtake the flavor if you leave them in too long. So if anyone in here that has used oak cubes on more than one occasion could shed some light on my questions I would be very much appreciated. Thanks!
I've made a bourbon barrel porter (from Northern Brewer) and had the oak cubes (2 ounces US medium plus oak cubes) in the secondary way too long, 6 weeks. It wasn't bad but it had a strong bourbon flavor.
The .PDF instructions say "Add the oak cubes. Soak the US Medium Plus Oak
Cubes in 16 oz of bourbon for 24 – 48 hours. Use half the
pack for a mild oak flavor, or the whole pack for a more
pronounced oak character. Then add the oak cubes and
bourbon to the secondary fermenter and wait an additional 1 – 2 weeks before bottling."
If you go to the website and read the reviews, you'll get all types of time frame to keep the oak cubes in the fermenter.