untoasted white oak - where to get it?

[pabst311]

so i'm looking to get my hands on some nice white oak heart wood for aging whiskey on. my local homebrew shop only sells pre toasted oak used for wine aging. i'm wondering where u guys get ur oak from. i'm from the U.S. so it may be a little different than some of our international folk on here.

[Izzy_Britton]

I bought mine from a local hard wood retail shop, the type of place that specializes in wood for the furniture builder people.

I bought a 1x6 that was about 5 feet long for only a few bucks, it was surprisingly inexpensive, and it was kiln dried. I cut mine into 3/4 inch strips making for a 3/4 x3/4 x5 1/2 oak stick, once charred they fit snugly inside a 1 gallon carboy.

[Kiwi-lembic]

A few years ago i milled 3 large new zealand grown oak trees ...most of it going in my cabin but plenty of off cuts to come ,is the new zealand white oak any good for this in the strips you talk of ..calling all Kiwis?

[rtalbigr]

The distilling industry here in the US and Canada have begun experimenting with different white oaks beside Q. alba (this species is recoginized as the American White Oak and used in barrel making for distilleres here). I have not seen any reports on the results of these experiments. However, being a white oak I would think the characteristics should be similiar. Keep in mind that the difference between American and French is the density of the wood. French white oak is primarily used in barreling wines because there is very little trasmission of gasses, hense no oxidation; where as the more porous American oak breaths, hense the "Angels' Share", which is important in barreling whiskys. Using the oak as strips the American oak allows more infusion because of it's porousity so depending on your toast and char you get more carmels and vanillins from American than French.

Having said all that I would certainly give your New Zeland white oak a try but I'd keep close tabs on it.

Big R

[Kiwi-lembic]

Cheers Rt ,
i am familiar with american oak in woodwork respects ,n.z trees grow like wild fire here so they are more unstable ie bigger growth rings etc ..to dry it properly and slowly for furiture as an example i had to bury it in damp sawdust for a couple of years this gave great results ..air stacked and dried it goes all over the place pulling knots etc ..it wouldnt be suitable for barrell making im sure ..but i am reasonably convinced the grains might be o.k on what your talking ..
p.s whats the angel thing you speak of ...many thanks ...KIwi-L

[Bull Rider]

The Angels Share is that portion of a cask of whiskey that evaporates out of the barrel during aging. It's a common expression in distilleries, and the evaporation is a part of the aging process.


Bull.

[Kiwi-lembic]

Cheers bud ..someone also just told me the big distilleries are allowed a compensation on tax on thier liquor for gifting some to the angels ..isnt the tax department so kind

[NcHooch]

so i'm looking to get my hands on some nice white oak heart wood for aging whiskey on. my local homebrew shop only sells pre toasted oak used for wine aging. i'm wondering where u guys get ur oak from. i'm from the U.S. so it may be a little different than some of our international folk on here.

I get mine out of the stove-wood pile , I have several huge trees growing on my property. American White Oak grows native to eastern North America, from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Some trees are known to have lived over 600 years.

Shouldn't be to hard to find at a sawmill.

NChooch

[Bushman]

I purchased a large used barrel that I cut part up for strips and using the rest for decorative pieces around the house

[WalkingWolf]

. . . . and using the rest for decorative pieces around the house

That sounds in line with my 6-piece Mason Jar fine china set.

[Smokehouse Shiner]

Was helpin my neighbor split some firewood recently while sippin on some corn likker and mentioned in passing that I needed to get some pieces of white oak heart wood a dryin so it would be good in a couple years. A little light bulb went off over his head and he took me to a back room of his barn where he had about 100 2by6s of good white oak that had been sitting stacked for a little over 2 years. I now have at least for my purposes an unlimited supply of aging oak. Almost all of the oak used for staves for American Bourbon barrels comes straight from the back country of the Ozark Mountains(check my location). Sawed up a board ,split it in sticks, gave 2 of em a good char and put em down for a rest in 3 1/2 gallons of all feints sweetfeed. Don't plan to touch it for a few months at least. Some of it'll make it a year or more if I can stay out of it. Mmm mmm