Does temperature matter?

[DieselGuru]

So I've just started messing around with this hobby, and I'm enjoying it a lot so far.

I'm interested in making dark, fully bodied rum, so I made a pot still with a worm condenser, 10cm high column. I've made wash with baker's yeast, molasses, and dark brown sugar. After distilling and airing, I've chucked some charred oak into it and poured it over into quart mason jars for aging.

So my questions are about the temperature at which the product is aged at. During the summer, the upper cabinets in my kitchen stay pretty warm (10ft. high ceiling) at about 90°F. I could store my product for aging there, or in a cooler area (75°F bedroom) or even in my wine fridge (50°F). Does the temperature matter, and if so what temps are better than others and why? Also, when considering aging for more than one season, if aged anywhere other than my wine fridge there will be some temperature variation. What effect, if any, would this have on the aging process?

And one last question, is it possible to age in oak for too long? At what point should I filter the product and put it back up for additional aging?

Thanks for the assistance!

[heartcut]

Aging with varying temperatures smooths things out faster than steady temperature. I bottle age spirits in the attic, ranging from 40degF (rarely) to 130 on a hot summer day. That works well. Never aged on oak up there, but am going to try some split batches this summer.
Just dilute a little bit and taste it occasionally while aging on oak, that's your best guide.

[IrishEnigma]

This next batch I'm going to put mine in a black box outside during the day and put it in the freezer at night. I don't know if it's been done yet but iv read from the temp swings it makes a better product.

[T-Pee]

I just leave it on a garage shelf (non-climate-controlled) and leave it alone for a while. Easy.

tp

[White_Lightning_Rod]

I just leave it on a garage shelf (non-climate-controlled) and leave it alone for a while. Easy.

tp

Easy my ass....Hardest thing about this hobby is after youve spent hours grinding grain and making a mash then wait a week or more for fermentation then several hours stripping and doing spirit runs, then 24-48 hours of airing to get a little taste of your product. Then you have to put it on a shelf and wait 3-12 months. Aint nothin easy about that...Or so Im told since most of my stuff gets drunk long before proper oaking/aging has happened...

WLR (impaitently not waiting)

[T-Pee]

I just put it on a garage shelf (non-climate-controlled). Easy. Then I try to leave it alone for a while.

tp

Fixed that for ya.

tp

[Truckinbutch]

I just leave it on a garage shelf (non-climate-controlled) and leave it alone for a while. Easy.

tp

Easy my ass....Hardest thing about this hobby is after youve spent hours grinding grain and making a mash then wait a week or more for fermentation then several hours stripping and doing spirit runs, then 24-48 hours of airing to get a little taste of your product. Then you have to put it on a shelf and wait 3-12 months. Aint nothin easy about that...Or so Im told since most of my stuff gets drunk long before proper oaking/aging has happened...

WLR (impaitently not waiting)

Laughin My Ass Off ! Welcome to the real world of distilling . Quoting Simmie Free in one of the early Foxfire books : "No lazy man ever made whiskey ." This hobby is a labor of love and requires a lot of work .....................

[S-Cackalacky]

I just leave it on a garage shelf (non-climate-controlled) and leave it alone for a while. Easy.

tp

Easy my ass....Hardest thing about this hobby is after youve spent hours grinding grain and making a mash then wait a week or more for fermentation then several hours stripping and doing spirit runs, then 24-48 hours of airing to get a little taste of your product. Then you have to put it on a shelf and wait 3-12 months. Aint nothin easy about that...Or so Im told since most of my stuff gets drunk long before proper oaking/aging has happened...

WLR (impaitently not waiting)

Laughin My Ass Off ! Welcome to the real world of distilling . Quoting Simmie Free in one of the early Foxfire books : "No lazy man ever made whiskey ." This hobby is a labor of love and requires a lot of work .....................

Amen bubba!

[rad14701]

DieselGuru, don' take this the wrong way but are you trying to sneak along without doing ample research...??? We have a ton of topics related to aging spirits so I'm surprised that you haven't read up on the process... We have topics that cover standard aging in barrels, aging in mason jars with wood chips, cubes, sticks, etc... Even distress aging using microwave ovens and ultrasonics... And even more than all those... The parent site also covers aging... Slow down...!!! Remember, garbage in, garbage out... If you try aging less than decent spirits there is no guarantee that aging will work miracles, although there have been rare times when it has... None of us would be very happy if we waited months or even years only to discover that what we were waiting for wasn't anywhere near what we expected... This becomes a lifelong hobby so there's no need to be in such a hurry...

[T-Pee]

Flavoring and Aging forum

tp