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I think I have found a way to approximate (over time) the effect of aging UJSM in an oak barrel by using one gallon glass jars. A barrel both breathes and imparts flavors. It is a matter of surface area of product over a surface area of oak over time. What I've done is to gather some oak planks, and turn them on a wood lathe to an adequate fit on a one gallon wide mouth glass jar. The product goes into the jar, with your choice of sticks, chips, etc. and then is sealed with the oak stopper (approx 1/2 inch thick). The jars remain upright, so that there is no contact between the wood stopper and the product, allowing the product to air out and age. I have some product that is approx. one year old and has been aged as described....absolutely no bite at all, mouthfeel is like water.

Works good doesn't it?

I have turned oak stoppers on 50l beer kegs for aging

Takes all the bite and sharpness out of it. Although you can do the same thing by airing with coffee filters for a week or so.

hmm, apparently I got a barrel coming. I'm going to have to do a side by side comparison between the barrel and carboy with oak sticks. I'd be nervous about making an oak bung too tight a fit for fear of breaking the glass, but the idea is solid.

If you make a tapered stopper of any wood, make sure you soak it for 24 hrs before use. This way, it will shrink a bit as it dries over time, and will slip down and become a nice snug(not tight, not loose) fit. If you use a dry, tapered wood stopper, it can pick up moisture if your relative humidity goes up( wood always seeks equilibrium with its surrounding RH) and will swell, and can easily break glass. A millennium ago, they used to split huge slabs in granite quarries by driving sun-dried timber wedges into crevices, and then pour water on the timbers until they swelled and broke the granite.

It's that strong.

Barney Fife wrote:If you make a tapered stopper of any wood, make sure you soak it for 24 hrs before use. This way, it will shrink a bit as it dries over time, and will slip down and become a nice snug(not tight, not loose) fit. If you use a dry, tapered wood stopper, it can pick up moisture if your relative humidity goes up( wood always seeks equilibrium with its surrounding RH) and will swell, and can easily break glass. A millennium ago, they used to split huge slabs in granite quarries by driving sun-dried timber wedges into crevices, and then pour water on the timbers until they swelled and broke the granite.

It's that strong.

Thanks Barney, good advice










AsAlwaysFromYouPunkin

Yes, the oak "bungs" will swell...I've not broken any gallon jugs as yet (one year), but I noticed that they do get a bit tight with storage...I originally turned the sealing area to a slight taper, and that might have prevented a catastrophic event. As for using coffee filters...they do, of course, work, but using oak caps allow for long-term storage with the added advantage of actually "gettin' gooder in the jar". The other advantage with the oak caps is that you do not have to use white oak, as the product never comes in contact with the cap...any species will do...I used red oak because I had it available....

Bootliquor wrote: As for using coffee filters...they do, of course, work, but using oak caps allow for long-term storage with the added advantage of actually "gettin' gooder in the jar".

Yer sayin' that a wooden cap (which never touches the spirit) somehow effects the spirit?

How so? Please explain.

Also, if the wooden cap takes months to smooth the booze and a coffee filter lets the "nastys" evaporate in mere days, how is the wooden cap better? Please explain.

I believe hes saying that the wooden cap still allows the spirit breathe a little, I'd Imagine that you'd do this for a longer aging, once youve done the initial coffee filter airing.

The oak caps are to be used for long term aging...months or years. I cannot define the effects of the product-to-air-to-oak interaction that occurs in an oak barrel over long term, but there is an apparent concensus on this site that long-term barrel aging of product is beneficial, and this method just tries to emulate that process, without the expense of the barrel.

yes one of the ajustable cutters , cut out a circle that just fits in jar, the cutter will live a "flange" so it does not drop all the way in.
you could cut the center out of the original cover ( like a mason jar band) to hold it on.

basicly what i do is age in a 5lt glass carboy filled with american oak for about 2 weeks and the tranfer to my 700ml bottles with about 2-3 sticks of american oak staves so its always on oak from the so called ageing t0 so called bottleing to drinking stage but ive got that much on stock and waiting to be drank i know its ageing onj oak staves.
thats my way of thinking .... by the way i change my oak chips regularly in my 5lt jugs so the oak is fresh not stale or rotten.
cheers

I haven't tried this for spirits yet, but here's an idea for aging with oak in a carboy. The oak dowel goes clear to the bottom for flavor and a little o2 can leach in from the top. The stopper can be cork if concerned with rubber.



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Bootliquor wrote:Yes, the oak "bungs" will swell...I've not broken any gallon jugs as yet (one year), but I noticed that they do get a bit tight with storage...I originally turned the sealing area to a slight taper, and that might have prevented a catastrophic event. As for using coffee filters...they do, of course, work, but using oak caps allow for long-term storage with the added advantage of actually "gettin' gooder in the jar". The other advantage with the oak caps is that you do not have to use white oak, as the product never comes in contact with the cap...any species will do...I used red oak because I had it available....

Where do you find wood bungs large enought for gal jars? make em?

Yup. Turned them out on a wood-lathe...can also use a metal lathe, or even a milling machine in a pinch.

Or a very large holesaw bit and a sander. Or even a jigsaw and sander. They don't have to be a perfect fit, it's better if they're not.

The booze does in fact contact any cap that might be employed (red oak, rubber, etc) due to evaporation and recondensation at room temperature. But obviously the leaching effect is also less than when submerged.