Can I turn Dark Galleon into an Old Crafty Hen?

[Aethelstan]

I got a Milesrone Dark Galleon kit dirt cheap from Wilkos, only £4.12, and I want to beef it up. My favourite bottled beer is Old Crafty Hen, a 6.5% ale that is aged in oak. It's not the hoppiest beer in the world, so I think a bitter kit is a good starting point. My plan is to mash about 4kg of pale malt and run a boil without hops, then once it is cooled, add the contents of the kit. I also have some toasted oak sticks that are currently in my elderberry port and I reckon they would be a good addition for the oak, with possibly some more toasted or even charred sticks adding. Would I add the sticks during the ferment, or let the ferment finish and rack onto the sticks for a few months? Any thoughts?