Hey:
I've been aging my spirits in 1 and 2 liter mason jars with appropriate amounts of toasted chard White oak.
My brother-in-law drinks Patron. Lots of Patron! He gave me 8 empty bottles (750 ml each). I'm thinking that they will be great for aging. They are corked, and have a wider mouth than most liquor bottles.
I just finished a batch of all grain wheat. My yield was larger than expected and I'll have about 5 liters to oak at around 63% ABV. Now is there a major difference in taste with the size of my container? I have a 1 gal glass carboy with a cork. But I want to use the Patron bottles because I can use one at a time and let the rest keep aging. Which will produce a better product. A 1 gallon jug or a 750 mill bottle ?
I did a search and didn't find anything about size of glass container for aging. Or is it just a matter of taste.
Thanks J.C.
That's good news. I just checked and my oak sticks are just too big to fit in the bottle, 1 by 1s. So I'm gonna use liter mason jars for this batch. I'll cut a 45 degree angle on my uncharted sticks and compute surface area to volume content. One last question. All my oak has been toasted for a couple of hours at 375 degrees. Will cutting the corners effect the toast quality after I put a heavy char on it?
Thanks pfshine
I had the problem, that I didn't get the sticks out of the bottle after aging. They swelled...
A couple of hours at 375? Plus charring? I fear you get much burned sugar taste.
In this way, imperialism brings catastrophe as a mode of existence back from the periphery of capitalist development to its point of departure.- Rosa Luxemburg
Hey Der woo: The oak staves I'm using are 1 by 3/4 by 4 1/2 inches long. I used the same batch on some oden's rye bread whiskey. It's some of the best I've made. And I've had plenty of independent testers. I just sampled some booner's corn whiskey I've had on oak for 3 plus months and it's tasting real fine. Now: I'm going by the chart on this site, for flavor profile on the "oaking 101 thread".
Ill go back and check again but it seems to work for me. I hope I'm ok?
So maybe, cut the corners, not so heavy of a char? I really don't like the unchared flavor of oak.
J.C.
Oh! Dew Woo:
if the oak staves are stuck after soaking in the 750ml patron bottles I can split the wood with a 1/2in chisel.
My other hobby and part time job is finish cabinetry, so the swollen wood isn't a problem.
j.C.
Yes. Of course cut the corners. Why not? Rechar them if you want.
I tried different toastings, always finishing with charring. The darkest (longest) toast was the worst. No toast, only charring was not as bad as you probably think. Actually that's, what the most big brands do. They only toast for bending the staves. With an open flame. But it's not hot, because they also spray water on the staves while bending them. And then they char shortly with a very hot flame.
Only to inspire you to try a shorter toast sometime in future.
In this way, imperialism brings catastrophe as a mode of existence back from the periphery of capitalist development to its point of departure.- Rosa Luxemburg
Ill play with shorter toast times. If it makes a better product I'm all for it.
And yes I have built a Woden boat. Took my buddy and I 8 months to complete. You should have seen the tannins coming out of when we steamed the wood strakes before bending on our forms!
