Poplar or Oak for a Mash Paddle?

Poplar or Oak for a mash paddle? Can't get Maple.

So says, oak will impart oak flavors. I can't imagine it's much or at least not for very many brews.

Poplar?

Yes.

Stainless is mine.

lud said:

Stainless is mine.

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Poplar is stainless.

Have to buy it seprate.

So a few minutes of readings tells me that oak is heavier and has more tannins than poplar. Both are tight grained, oak being more dense. Poplar is more flexible. Both have been used in water going vessels with oak being for sea faring ships and poplar for canoes. Oak is native to my area. Poplar is not.

im new to home brewing (doing first brew this sunday). I just bought a wooden spoon from a kitchen store. is this ok to used for my LME brew this weekend?

I've read that if using oak, white oak is more desirable that red oak. Not as many funky flavor compounds.

I'd go with cherry or poplar. Oak is very porous compared to those two.

Maple for sure. I got a piece big enough to make 2 paddles at Menards for like $7

djelemenohpee said:

im new to home brewing (doing first brew this sunday). I just bought a wooden spoon from a kitchen store. is this ok to used for my LME brew this weekend?

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In the case of extract brewing, I would only use a wooden spoon during the boil. That is for the sake of sanitation. You might be alright, but I suggest you try to pickup a plastic spoon at your local homebrew store before you brew. After you chill your wort and pitch the yeast, you will need to stir it up well. That's when a wooden spoon might not be advisable to use, in my opinion.

The wooden mash paddles being discussed here are used in all-grain brewing when the wort is at a high temperature which protects against contamination.

Bamboo... clean simple and renewable!
Plus bamboo is grass and what better to stir a grass seed mash with than a grass paddle!

My dad made mind out of Pine. I doubt after properly seasoned any wood will impart much flavor with as little contact time as it gets with the grist/wort.

I went with Poplar for my "beer inoculation stick" and chose the whitest, most odor free piece. And of course, this is completely untreated wood. Size 1"x6"x4'

The hand, wrist and forearm are modeled off my wife. I widened it a bit to be sure to have enough wood. The hand grip is modeled off a Beaver canoe paddle hand grip. Total length 46 3/4".

Still considering narrowing or rounding the shaft a little. But if I ever name my home brewery, there's a lot of room there for it.

Tools used:
Jig saw with the finest, thinnest wood blade I had
Dremel with a stone intended for chainsaw sharpening
Sand paper
Saw horses
Pencil
Yard stick
Wife's hand
Beer

love that mash paddle!

Sweet. You ought to burn a tattoo onto the forearm. An anchor, or something.

I've used poplar before several times. It's pretty nice and there are only a couple of down sides I've found. First it tends to warp a bit more than oak especially when the stock is thinned out. And it is much softer so it will be more susceptible to gouges and dings, this is usually only a problem if you use a keggle though. Also +1 on the tung oil, but it does need a lot of time to cure (2-3 weeks) if you are planning on using it before then you may want to consider something else.

I would assume that any poplar other than tulip poplar would degrade rather quickly. Red oak is undesirable, but white works well.

You are much better off using sugar maple (hard maple) or American elm or any other diffuse porous wood. The problem with oak is that its ring porous and has larger cells that crush easily and lead to degradation and breakdown.