Brewing With Wood: Flavor Booster or Fancy Gimmick?

Good morning. I hope everyone had a nice Irish stout on St. Patrick’s day this past week. If you did, you wouldn’t be alone - it’s estimated that 13 million pints of Guinness are consumed around the world on St. Patrick’s day every year.

Sláinte!

-Brandon Copeland

Brewing With Wood: Flavor Booster or Fancy Gimmick?

You probably think of barrels when you think about wood and beer. Bourbon barrel stouts. Wine barrel-aged saisons. Sure. But what about adding wood directly to your fermenter—or even your mash tun—without the wait or the warehouse space?

More homebrewers are experimenting with wood chips, cubes, spirals, and staves to add depth and complexity to their beers. Some swear by it. Others say it’s a shortcut that rarely matches up to the flavor of a traditional barrel-aged brew. So, is brewing with wood a trick worth mastering, or just another gimmick for the gearheads?

What Kind of Wood Are We Talking About?

• Oak is the king, hands down. American oak gives you bold vanilla and coconut notes. French oak? More subtle, often adding spice and silkiness. Hungarian oak? Somewhere in the middle.

• Cherry wood and maple have also made appearances, but oak is the main event for a reason—it’s predictable and well-loved.

And then there’s the char and toast level. Light toast for delicate beers. Heavy toast or char for those dark, boozy styles. It’s like choosing your hop addition, but with burnt wood.

Why Use Wood at All?

• Layered flavors. Oak can bring vanilla, coconut, spice, and tannins. You can mimic years in a barrel in just weeks.

• Complex mouthfeel. Those tannins help balance sweetness and add structure, especially in high-ABV beers.

• Aging without a barrel. You don’t need a spare cellar to get that wood-aged flavor in a homebrew.

The Catch?

It’s easy to overdo it. Too much wood, and your beer tastes like you dumped it in a campfire. Too little, and you might not get the complexity you’re chasing. And no matter what, it’s not quite the same as a beer that’s spent a year slowly seeping in and out of wood in a barrel.

Some brewers say it’s cheating. Others say it’s innovation. Some just like the results and don’t care what anyone thinks.

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Beer Trivia Question

🍺 What compound found in oak is responsible for adding structure and a slight drying sensation to barrel-aged beers?

Read to the end to find out if you're right!

Brewgr Recipe of the Week

St. Pattys 2025 Stout

In honor of the holiday, albeit a week past, we have an Irish Stout. This is an all grain recipe that leverages dark 14% DME to get that dark color we look for in stouts, with the majority 2-Row malt. The hops are a mix of Challenger and Golding, and White Labs WLP004 for yeast. You can clone this one and save it for St. Patrick’s 2025, or brew it now - you don’t need a holiday to enjoy a nice Irish Stout.

Credit: HBrewNewB

Poll Results: Have You Tried Hop Water? Would You Brew It?

A majority of the community is interested in hop water, and is curious to try it, but have not made it just yet. The other majority pointed out with clarity that hop water is not beer, and that it’s similar to beer - when done well, it can be great, but when done poorly it can be awful. A lot of commercial offerings fall short. Others mentioned “hop teas” being very enjoyable, something I had never heard of previously.

And the Answer Is...

🍺 Tannins. Tannins, naturally present in oak, contribute to the mouthfeel and perceived dryness of barrel-aged beers, balancing sweetness and enhancing complexity.