Campden & Oak

chode720 · 02-11-2010, 12:41 PM

I want to start adding oak to my meads while they age and I have a quick question regarding the best practice of this. I know some people use various techniques to sanitize the oak first, steam baths, soaking in a campden solution, etc, and then adding to the mead. Also, some add them straight from the bag, but since I dont use all 3oz of cubes at once, the bags are open and no longer protected.

I dont really want to soak them or steam them and lose some of those oak compounds. My plan is to rack the mead off the lees once its done fermenting, add campden tablets, and then add the oak, right from the bag.

Since I am adding campden to prevent any wild yeast and bacteria growth, wouldnt this also prevent any bugs that may be on the oak from taking hold in the mead, thus preventing the need to sanitize prior?

**summersolstice** · 02-11-2010, 03:36 PM

I've been using oak in my wine and mead for years and I always dump it directly from the bag into either the primary or secondary and have never had a sanitation issue.

Beerrific · 02-11-2010, 03:41 PM

If you boil/steam them in a small amount of water, you could dump the water in too. Kind of like a oak extract, that way you lose nothing.

Also, I would never assume that the oak is in any way "clean" in a sealed bag. You are at the mercy of the cleanliness of the people that packed it. I am just saying, if you have dumped from a bag, had no problems, and re-seal it, I would not expect you would have problems using a second time.

chode720 · 02-11-2010, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by summersolstice

I've been using oak in my wine and mead for years and I always dump it directly from the bag into either the primary or secondary and have never had a sanitation issue.

Do you use the whole bag, or will you reseal and use again with no issues?

Sean from New Hampshire · 02-11-2010, 07:48 PM

Soak them for 15 minutes in Vodka. It'll kill any germs that are present AND won't leave any flavors!

Sean From NH

**summersolstice** · 02-12-2010, 12:10 AM

No, I use partial bags and continue using the bags until it's gone. Never had a problem but if you're concerned you can do a quick 15 minute soak in a k meta solution.

chode720 · 02-12-2010, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by summersolstice

No, I use partial bags and continue using the bags until it's gone. Never had a problem but if you're concerned you can do a quick 15 minute soak in a k meta solution.

Nah, I think I'll stick with just tossing the cubes straight in. If others haven't had issues with sanitation, I should be fine too. Thanks!