vacuum aging

[drdale]

I have read about rapid aging using high pressure, or microwaves, or other arcane methods. I have been pulling a vacuum on brandy with oak in it. It causes lots of bubbles to come out of the wood and after a few rounds there is a very nice color and improvement of taste. I know vacuuming meats causes very fast marination and probably the same is for oaking and aging of drink. I think the drink penetrates the oak to fill the space where the air was trapped in the wood and is then pulled out again when the next vacuum is pulled. Comments?

[The Baker]

Well there is logic in the idea, looking at what you saw.
If some bubbles come out of the oak, then when the vacuum is released the spirit can get into the spaces the air came from....
and next time you apply the vacuum that spirit is, one would suppose, drawn back out again.
So not only the outside of the oak is used.
As to whether the same result would come from more oak, or splitting the original oak I have no idea.
Then there is the question of what effect the vacuum has in itself; if there was no oak at all would the vacuum make a difference?
I have no idea.
Geoff

[skow69]

Check this thread.

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... it=+vacuum