Home Distiller

I have been told that once the hooch goes into glass and doesn't get any oxygen, breathing or oaking, the flavor will not improve. Has anyone had a different experience? Not just opinion. I really want to age some brandy for a long time and want to know if I need to get a barrel or can just do it in glass (cost effective).

I have made wine in the past and so for me I think that for the flavor to develop I need oak (just the micro oxygenation and what not really smooths out the wine and lets the fruityness mellow a little). Any thoughts?

Although you specificlly stated you didn't want opinions, here's one anyway.

I believe you can age in glass, if you put some effort into it. From what i've read, and what i've experienced it's possible, but what you say is right. If it doesn't get any oxygen, breathing or oaking the effects are gunna be slight.

So, give it some oxygen, breathing and oak
Put one stick of oak or more in, put the largest bottles you can find somewhere you can see em, leave about 1/4 airspace, and every day or two when you walk past em, shake em up.
Every week or two open em up overnight and allow for an exchange of air.

It works. It's how i age my UJSM. For longer term storage, the same thing with a more drawn out time frame will work for your brandy i reckon.

I fiend aerating ie small air pump and air stone hurries thing up a lot
but nothing like a barrel

I have noticed a change in whiskeys that have been bottle aged for a year,so something is happening in the bottle,but I air my stuff out with a airpump for a week before oaking,and a day or two after cutting so its had tons of O2 exposure.It needs the air exposure,but theres still something going on in the bottle without O2.I dont do barrel aging because if I got a barrel,it would be a big one,and I would have to fill it up with corn whiskey.I tend to get carried away easily!

I know lots of folks here refuse to believe that booze continues to age (slower) when sealed up in glass. I'm guessin' few folks have had a bottle sit around long enough.

My opinion, based on experience, is that booze ages no mater what. Havin' it in a semi-porus container like a barrel will speed the effects of age. But booze sealed up in glass will age.






I wish ya luck.

I forgot to mention I use wine bottles,and #9 corks,and store the bottles in wine boxes standing upright.The boxes protect it from light,and there stored in a rack in my cool basement.I plan on having some old bottles around.I have some that are a year or so old now.

Just wanted to point out that there may well be chemical reactions occurring that DONT even require any oxygen...

So I have heard that you can use an airating stone to bubble oxygen up through the distillate, does that work? I am totally with the entire everytime I walk by it to just give it a quick shake

Also, I have checked out a couple of the other posts outside this thread and just want to know what is a good trial of oak to do? I can do any size bottle and what should I use for the oak?

im guessing the hose going to the stone is plastic. not good.

I use the walk by and shake the heck out of it method.
Put an appropriate amount of toasted/charred oak in there, leave the lid loose. When you walk by, close the lid, shake the hell outta it, then loosen the lid again.
Once you get to a flavor you like, bottle and seal it.
It will continue to age, but pretty much keeps the flavor profile it had when sealed, just a bit mellower.

theholymackerel wrote:I know lots of folks here refuse to believe that booze continues to age (slower) when sealed up in glass. I'm guessin' few folks have had a bottle sit around long enough.

My opinion, based on experience, is that booze ages no mater what. Havin' it in a semi-porus container like a barrel will speed the effects of age. But booze sealed up in glass will age.

My experience too Holy. At the moment I'm testing both methods just to check. I recently found a sealed flagon of rum I'd hidden in 2005 and it had aged delightfully, so I'm not convinced that once in the bottle aging ceases.

blanik

MountedGoat wrote:I have been told that once the hooch goes into glass and doesn't get any oxygen, breathing or oaking, the flavor will not improve. Has anyone had a different experience? Not just opinion. I really want to age some brandy for a long time and want to know if I need to get a barrel or can just do it in glass (cost effective).

I have made wine in the past and so for me I think that for the flavor to develop I need oak (just the micro oxygenation and what not really smooths out the wine and lets the fruityness mellow a little). Any thoughts?

I like the look of 5 gallon oak barrels on racks (I don't know why they call them 5 Gallon, they hold 6 gallons with head space to spare). I store my barrels on racks above my aging wine.

I do have a side by side experiment working but it is to soon to tell; 6 gallons of apple brandy in a char oak barrel & 6 gallons of apple brandy aging on toasted then charred oak sticks in a glass carboy. I'm not doing the first taste test until December 2009.