Tannin infusion from wood chips

All styles of whiskey. This is for all-grain mashes.

Moderator: Site Moderator

Post Reply
Andrew_90
Rumrunner
Posts: 613
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2020 9:24 am
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Tannin infusion from wood chips

Post by Andrew_90 »

Morning,

I seem to have a slightly bitter tannin aftertaste to my first whisky batch, although the whisky is still most drinkable is there a way to remove it?
One too many wasted sunsets, one too many for the road.
User avatar
Saltbush Bill
Site Mod
Posts: 9675
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2011 2:13 am
Location: Northern NSW Australia

Re: Tannin infusion from wood chips

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Few people will recommend chips other than the HBS owner who sold them to you.
Better to avoid the problem from the begining and use home made and toasted/ charred sticks. If you want to buy use commercially available adjuncts other than chips, things like SD Dominoes.
User avatar
NZChris
Master of Distillation
Posts: 13062
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Tannin infusion from wood chips

Post by NZChris »

Mine go through a period of astringency. It mellows in a couple of years if I leave it on the wood.
User avatar
Deplorable
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 3984
Joined: Thu Jun 25, 2020 12:10 pm
Location: In the East, (IYKYK)

Re: Tannin infusion from wood chips

Post by Deplorable »

If you're referring to spirits that have only been on wood for a few weeks or couple of months, it's going through a stage where it's going to taste like oak tea. If you over oak it with too many chips, it may never come around If you leave the wood in.
How much wood did you put in? How long? What proof? All will have an impact on how much of what gets imparted in the spirit.
Wood chips, or what I like to call beauty bark, will make a great color real fast, but at the risk of making wood tea.
There's a lot of great information here around oaking in glass.
If you can find untreated white oak and cut your own sticks, you'll have better control of the process.
I find that 1 stick per quart of 55 to 63% is about right. My sticks are weathered outside in peices cut to 1.0×.6×6.0 inches. I'll split them as I need them to .5×.5 inch, toast them, then let them cool on thier own. Char them to between level 3 and 4, give them a soak in clean water for about half an hour then into the spirits. 1 in a quart, and 3 or four in a gallon jug.
Fear and ridicule are the tactics of weak-minded cowards and tyrants who have no other leadership talent from which to draw in order to persuade.
User avatar
Demy
Master of Distillation
Posts: 3084
Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2020 1:45 pm

Re: Tannin infusion from wood chips

Post by Demy »

In my little experience it will soften over time. However, the extraction of tannins has to do with ABV of infusion as well as the type of wood / toasting.
User avatar
S-Cackalacky
retired
Posts: 5990
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2013 4:35 pm
Location: Virginia, USA

Re: Tannin infusion from wood chips

Post by S-Cackalacky »

I've never had any real problems using chips made from ex-whiskey barrel staves after the initial learning curve. The amount you use should be bases on weight. I like to use about 4.5 oz of chips with 3 qt of spirits in a 1 gal jar. Or, to your own personal preference.
Every new member should read this before doing anything else:
User avatar
Trapped-in-Oz
Swill Maker
Posts: 204
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2020 5:02 pm
Location: Prison Island - Australia

Re: Tannin infusion from wood chips

Post by Trapped-in-Oz »

Saltbush Bill wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 1:29 am
Few people will recommend chips ... other than chips, things like SD Dominoes.

…… having found Still Dragon dominoes (which are made by Suber Lefort / Subar Oak International)………. I would never use chips again.

https://stilldragon.com.au/products/fre ... dium-toast

https://stilldragon.com.au/products/ame ... dium-toast

https://www.stilldragon.org/discussion/ ... oak-trials
User avatar
NZChris
Master of Distillation
Posts: 13062
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Tannin infusion from wood chips

Post by NZChris »

Don't confuse aging with oak infusion. My early whiskeys are aging on chips and are better than my more recent whiskeys aging on dominoes. To really know the difference, you would have to do side by side comparisons.
User avatar
Saltbush Bill
Site Mod
Posts: 9675
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2011 2:13 am
Location: Northern NSW Australia

Re: Tannin infusion from wood chips

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Ive done side by side on many oak products, chips would be my last choice each time. We all have different tastes it seems........do what you like and tastes good to you.
User avatar
Trapped-in-Oz
Swill Maker
Posts: 204
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2020 5:02 pm
Location: Prison Island - Australia

Re: Tannin infusion from wood chips

Post by Trapped-in-Oz »

I get the idea that infusion is not ageing…...….. and if I only had chips I would soak them for five days in sacrifice distil (deplete the harshness) before putting them to use.
User avatar
S-Cackalacky
retired
Posts: 5990
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2013 4:35 pm
Location: Virginia, USA

Re: Tannin infusion from wood chips

Post by S-Cackalacky »

Trapped-in-Oz wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 4:16 am I get the idea that infusion is not ageing…...….. and if I only had chips I would soak them for five days in sacrifice distil (deplete the harshness) before putting them to use.
My previous post was about using chips made from ex-whiskey barrel staves. I use those pretty much straight out of the bag. Other chips may, or may not, be properly seasoned. I buy bags of cherry, apple, and pecan chips in the BBQ section at Walmart. For these I do a few cycles of soaking in water and drying. I then toast them and use a propane torch to char about 1/4 of them and mix them all back together. After this process I use these in the same way as the bourbon barrel chips for aging.
Every new member should read this before doing anything else:
User avatar
NZChris
Master of Distillation
Posts: 13062
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Tannin infusion from wood chips

Post by NZChris »

Trapped-in-Oz wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 4:16 am I get the idea that infusion is not ageing…...….. and if I only had chips I would soak them for five days in sacrifice distil (deplete the harshness) before putting them to use.
Distillate from your sacrificial run is probably toxic and should be gotten rid of to prevent anyone doing anything with it. I put mine in the garden, in a can with a burning rag in it.

Infusion isn't aging, it's just the first stage of aging. If you don't like drinking it while it's astringent, leave some white, or make something else to drink while it ages.
User avatar
Trapped-in-Oz
Swill Maker
Posts: 204
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2020 5:02 pm
Location: Prison Island - Australia

Re: Tannin infusion from wood chips

Post by Trapped-in-Oz »

NZChris wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 1:56 pm
Distillate from your sacrificial run is probably toxic and should be gotten rid of to prevent anyone doing anything with it. I put mine in the garden, in a can with a burning rag in it.


Okay……….. but for me ‘sacrifice distil’ means that which is not for drinking, not that it came from a ‘sacrificial run’.

Something like …… fill small jar with chips, add 60 or 70 ABV ……. with equal parts chips and strong dog it is not something you're going to want to drink.

I have some of my dominoes sitting in ‘red shop wine’, also some in ‘white shop wine’………. observing the colour change (not much).
User avatar
NZChris
Master of Distillation
Posts: 13062
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Tannin infusion from wood chips

Post by NZChris »

To me, infusing sherry/whatever into a domino then putting the domino into the likker has always seemed like a very inefficient/difficult way of adding it's flavor to the finished product. I put my thumb over the top of the bottle and dribble in as much as I think is needed.
User avatar
Trapped-in-Oz
Swill Maker
Posts: 204
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2020 5:02 pm
Location: Prison Island - Australia

Re: Tannin infusion from wood chips

Post by Trapped-in-Oz »

NZChris wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 11:46 pm
infusing sherry/whatever into a domino then putting the domino into the likker
not sherry and not putting anything into the dominoes ...... perhaps a slight priming of the dominoes, an insignificant suck on the dominoes.
No expectation, I just like looking at dominoes drown in wine…… weird and probably harmless…………!
Chur
Novice
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu May 21, 2020 2:03 am
Location: Christchurch NZ

Re: Tannin infusion from wood chips

Post by Chur »

Dissolve up some gelatin and add to your spirit, should flocculate the tannins and drop them to the bottom. Filter though coffee filter to remove the sludge. You should be able to remove the tannin and keep the color.
Post Reply