Oak Aging Options

[lewandowski46]

I am thinking ahead to some barrel aged beers/ciders/meads that are on my To Brew list and am looking at some oaking options. I almost purchased oak cubes/spirals from my LHBS but the price made me second guess. Spending 5-10 bucks for an ounce or two of cubes or spirals seemed steep for what it is your buying.

I started to research some options and wanted to get some input from the community on it.

We have a variant of white oak in Arizona, Quercus arizonica, but I can't find anywhere online where somebody experimented with this species of wood. I have about 1/4 cord of this stuff on the side of my house that we use for fire pits and camping fires, and wanted to know if it's a suitable substitute. I would condition then char or toast my own to use and can cut to size the pieces as needed.

Another option I was looking at was buying staves or chunked up staves from bourbon barrels or they have plain white oak chunks as well. This seems like a better use of money over oak cubes and they can be cut to size as needed. Anybody have luck with using something similar?

Any input appreciated.

 

[woo_pig]

I prefer the Hungarian dark oak chips. Never used anything else.

 

[ArcLight]

I prefer American Oak to French Oak, had a nicer flavor.
This was with oak cubes, soaked in Bourbon.

 

[microbusbrewery]

I hear you, the price per pound is crazy high for oak cubes. The variety can really impact the final results. For example, American oak versus Hungarian oak versus French oak...they're all a little different from one another. I don't know anything about the variety you have in AZ. You could do some tests by toasting and charring, then soaking in a neutral spirit like vodka. After a week or two, try the vodka and see if it's any good. It might also be a good idea to contact your state extension and make sure there aren't any toxicity issues with that variety. For example, I've heard a lot of cedar varieties contain a toxin but Spanish cedar does not. If you do go the route of buying oak cubes, online in bulk is an option to reduce the costs (per pound). Staves can be good but sometimes it's hard to get their history. If they're first use like from bourbon barrels, there will be plenty of oak character remaining. If they're from other sources, they may have been filled many times and been retired as a neutral barrel, meaning there might not be much character left.

 

[ArcLight]

I am thinking ahead to some barrel aged beers/ciders/meads that are on my To Brew list and am looking at some oaking options. I almost purchased oak cubes/spirals from my LHBS but the price made me second guess. Spending 5-10 bucks for an ounce or two of cubes or spirals seemed steep for what it is your buying.

Oak cubes cost $6-$8 for 3 ounces, thats $2 - $2.67 per ounce.
You only need 1 ounce for 5 gallons, trust me!

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/american-oak-cubes-medium-toast

 

[jjeffers09]

I like the idea of using spirals

 

[C-Rider]

Go to WalMart and pick up a bag of oak chips made from some old JD barrels. You'll find them near the charcoal. LOL

 

[woo_pig]

Go to WalMart and pick up a bag of oak chips made from some old JD barrels. You'll find them near the charcoal. LOL

I got some .Don't like them as much as Regular chips

 

[lewandowski46]

Oak cubes cost $6-$8 for 3 ounces, thats $2 - $2.67 per ounce.
You only need 1 ounce for 5 gallons, trust me!

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/american-oak-cubes-medium-toast

Yep you are right. I checked with my LHBS and their packages were 3 oz as well. Still a lot of money when you think about it in relation to accessibility of Oak versus a similarly priced ingredient like hops. I was trying to see if the home brew community, as innovative and DIY as we like to be, had any prior experience to alternatives to the usual oaking options you see at the LHBS. Just not seeing a lot of information around it.

Sounds like I might invest in some alternatives and post up results as I'm going.

 

[lewandowski46]

I prefer the Hungarian dark oak chips. Never used anything else.

I prefer American Oak to French Oak, had a nicer flavor.
This was with oak cubes, soaked in Bourbon.

I like the idea of using spirals

Yes, those are option, and I do appreciate the input, but this is looking at alternatives to pre-made/toasted oak cubes, spirals, honeycombs, etc.. Seeing if anybody has attempted at their own oaking from alternative sources the items at the brew stores.