In the next day or so, I'm going to add some oak cubes to a Scottish Ale that is just about done fermenting. Judging from past experience, two weeks or so has been the right amount of time to get the flavor I want.
But this has me wondering, in general, how early it is advisable to add oak. What would happen if oak cubes were added during the fermentation? My guess is it wouldn't matter much, but I'm just curious if anybody has any insights.