Home Distiller

I made the jump from Wine Making to distilling and I had 5 gallons of Apfelwein sitting around. So I decided "what the heck, lets make some Apple Brandy". So I did.
Out of 5 gallons I made fairly tight cuts and got about 1 1/2 quarts of Hearts.
I kept 1 qt and put a partial Medium toast American White Oak spiral.
I took the other 1/2 qt (pint) and just put it in a mason jar.
Both were taken from the same "mother" batch so their ABV is the same and at about 45%.
They have been sitting for 5 weeks so I took a sample of the one on Oak. Still very bitter and burns the back of the throat.
The one with no oak, just a plain jain, very smooth, hints of apple and almost no throat burn.
I'm a newb to all this so can someone explain why the hearts on Oak would be more bitter and burn than just the plain brandy?
I thought it was suppose to be the opposite?

Was the wine o.k. when you started to distill it?
Bad wood maybe...where did it come from?
Did you air either more than the other?

Yea the wine was fine; I had made sure to try a glass (or two) before adding it into the still.
I'm thinking it has to be the wood... Which if thats true it'll really Piss me off cause I have about a gallon of other spirits aging on it. It is Medium Toast American Oak Spirals from Midwest Supplies.
Now that you mention it the only thing I can think of is maybe (don't quite remember) I left the cap loose on the jar for week or so.

I just can't believe that it is literally night and day between the too. The unoaked brandy is MUCH smoother and better tasting.
I think I will just leave it on the oak and see if it mellows out. If it is bad wood there is no going back now. Might as well try to embrace it.

usaftrevor87 wrote:Now that you mention it the only thing I can think of is maybe (don't quite remember) I left the cap loose on the jar for week or so.

^^
This. Try airing out a pint of the oaked brandy for a week to see if that mellows it.

Iusaftrevor87
You have discovered the value of airing spirits.
Airing is great for a shine that will be consumed white and young.
If your thirsty.
It's a substitute for long, slow aging on oak.
Once a week, uncork the sample on oak, it will breath and get smoother.

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =4&t=29496 is a pretty decent read. There is a good post that I couldn't find on oaking and aging. It is hard to give you a for sure answer because the spirit needs 4-6 weeks of aging to kinda get it all together. The oak is the same age so give it a little time. Most say 4 months on oak minimum. Leave top off for several days or week like Bob said and see what happens. I have heard of people putting food grade stainless air stones in them to speed aging. Don't get in to much of a hurry. Lots of shiners make shine in the summer and drink it in the winter.

If I did leave that top off it couldnt have been more than a week. I can't believe it made that big of a difference. I read on the parent site about airing & read a little here, but the general consensus I felt like was to keep it sealed on oak, shake once a week, open & then seal again.
If my other recipes turn out half as good as this i'll he happy!

Just for the record when I say airing i mean after I have aired for 24-48, made my cuts, & then blended. Im in the aging process & airing not the cuts process.
As im researching more about airing during & after oaking I see that some people get it confused with airing their jars to make cuts.

5 weeks isn't very long on oak. It's pulling the tannins out of the oak. 45% is on the low side for oak aging. So it should bring out the sweeter flavors. But it takes time.

Generally there is a window around 4 to 6 weeks. Depending in the recipes. That will give yo a good flavor profile. But could still use some longer aging on glass. But if you go past this window. It will take a left turn on you. And you will need to allow it to age even longer. 6 months to a year or more.

I say leave it on the oak. And test it every couple weeks.

You said its from the same batch. But did you mix the hearts jars then split it out. Or did you just use one jar for oak and one for white. Because it sounds like you got some tails in it. But the other jar didn't have any because it came off first.

I blended them all together & then split into 2 jars.
Which is why I don't get why the one on oak is so drastically worse than the white version.
The only difference is, besides oak, I might've left the cap off the white version for a week.
Just looking for a scientific explanation haha

usaftrevor87 wrote:......... The only difference is, besides oak, I might've left the cap off the white version for a week....

And that's most likely it right there!

Haha i'm assuming (only obvious thing) just really surprised it was that big of a difference

Wood aged product isn't the same as white. Plain and simple. You have to allow the wood character to blend in. And allow it to mellow. There is a reason it usually sits in barrels for extended periods of time.

Just a curious question...

Did you pull off the fore shots? Is the stuff you put in the barrel the stuff that first came off your still?