I have a gallon of spice mead and I want to age it with oak. So Which oak should I use - American or French and light, medium or high toast? Also how much quantity for 1 gallon. I know it's 1 ouch per 5 gallons.
read about which styles give what kind of properties and pick what you want. Yeah it's not hard ot end up over-oaking a batch. About 1/4 - 1/5 ounce for a week or two will do. And taste along the way to avoid over-doing it since it will take a while to age out once its over oaked.
Yup--do a forum search for oaking. There are a number of threads on the subject.
There is also this paper I ran across on the subject of the different types, the toast levels, etc...
Another thing I can let you know, Cubes (or beans) or more consistent in predictability because they have a definite surface area, but are more expensive (still not very expensive). Chips are cheaper but less control over surface area.
