Temperature effects on charred oak aging

[ozarkbill]

I have always stored my finished product in my barn, in Qt jars with charred oak strips. I took a dozen inside and put in a closet for a month to have for the holidays and give as gifts. I noticed when getting some out for gifts it was noticeably a darker amber than the stuff that I left in the barn at 20-40 degrees.
So I am wondering if anyone has a thought on good temperatures for aging. The warmer temperature obviously let the oak work better.

[Odin]

What I learned on the subject is that warmer = better. Or at least "faster". I guess up to a certain degree, probably.

[Tater]

I age in shed where temp has a big swing from night to day.Weak floor also so every time I walk on it it gets a slight rocking

[dakotasnake]

i tryed force aging [ in an out of the freezer] but gave up on that. now i just put the jars in my likker cabinet and give them a shake on occation. i really havent tryed heat, like by a register but if it works for odin ill certinly give that a shot.

[Odin]

Dakota,

What I learned about force ageing, and in & out of the freezer is that it does not work. At least not as much as ageing at higher temps. That does speed up the process.

And if you are using bigger chunks of wood, vacuum (vacu vin) will help a lot too. For speeding up that is. Draws the bubbles out of the wood, sucks the likker in.

Odin.

[Washashore]

Great idea Odin... I didn't even think of vacuum sealing the jars---just brought out the secret stash and vacuumed my stock that I've got in jars. For those who have a food saver, a simple attachment and you're home free. Can't wait to see how it works.

Food Saver attachment

[Bull Rider]

I'm wondering if pulling a vacuum on a jar of spirits isn't going to result in a major increase in the Angels Share. I don't see how you could avoid that result, but ???


Bull.

[Washashore]

If the air is removed from the jar with the lid sealed tight, won't that counter the effects of the angel's share?

[Coaster]

If you pull a vacuum on the jar of spirits and then release the vacuum on the jar of spirits and do this a couple of times you are cycling the sprits in and out of to charred oak strips. Each time you pulled a vacuum on the jar of spirits you are pulling the spirits out of the charred oak strips. Each time you release the vacuum on the jar of spirits the spirits is pulled back into the charred oak strips. I believe that this pulling a vacuum and releasing the vacuum cycling would speed of the charred oak strip aging process.

Regards,
Coaster

[Washashore]

Now that's what I'm wondering Coaster. By vacuum sealing it, we know that the spirits will absorb into the oak sticks a lot faster. However, by releasing the vacuum, I'm not sure if it exudes the spirits back out...I'm wondering if the sticks just become saturated so the vacuum/release cycle has little effect. The beauty of oak barrels is that one side is open to the air while the other side isn't. So when the wood exposed to the air dries out, the moisture loss is compensated by the liquid inside the barrel (and vice-versa). That's my take on it anyways. I'd like to some day do a side by side comparison.

[Odin]

Normally, likker invades the wood chips slowly. First smaller, lighter molecules, to be replace later with bigger ones. This is a continuous proces, once the wood is filled with likker. Vacuum speeds up the process because likker is drawn into the wood (actually: air is pumped out of them, likker sucked in). When vacuum is finished that does not mean that the likker is forced out off course. So this process is primarily faster and secundairy more intens, because there really is a lot of air in those bigger chips. Don't think that without vacuum inducement you can get that all out.

Odin.

[Washashore]

This thread has really gotten me thinkin'....I've gotta run some bourbon so I might do a little experiment. Someone stop me if it sounds stupid---or if it's been done before. I'll use only the middle-hearts cut diluted to 65%. I also have some white oak that I cut down five or so years ago when I built my house. I'll send the heartwood down the band saw, alligator-skin char it in the wood stove, and cut it into pieces making sure they are all equal size and length.

1 non-vacuum mason jar with oak stick left in consistent temperature (freezer?)

1 vacuum-sealed mason jar with oak stick left in consistent temperature

1 non-vacuum mason jar with oak stick left in with alternating temperature gradient (in freezer one week, above fridge the next)

1 vacuum-sealed mason jar with oak stick left in with alternating temperature gradient (in freezer one week, above fridge the next)

1 vacuum-sealed mason jar with oak stick left in consistent temperature weekly alternating vacuum seal and no seal.

1 vacuum-sealed mason jar with oak stick left in with alternating temperature gradient as well as alternating vacuum seal and no seal

I'll do the first taste test on Cinco de Mayo. I'll post pictures every couple/few weeks to portray color changes. I have to do a few stripping runs before I can get a spirit run out of it. Any thoughts?

[Odin]

"I love the smell of experiments in the morning!" Yes! Do proceed. And update us on your findings. That way we can all progress and learn.

Odin.

[Washashore]

Will do... I'll start stripping tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully have a spirit run or two completed by Sunday night. Got a few long days ahead of me....(at least it's all fermented).