Apfelwein experiment.. oaking

My last batch of apfelwein actually tasted somewhat whiskey like (aside from the apple character). So I was thinking, got an idea from a distillery website to saw and roast some oak myself to age the apfelwein with. They say it is better than the store bought stuff and I have a bunch of oak logs around. Some of the people on the site said to torch one side, but after careful reading the best way is to roast the oak for 3 hours at 400 deg in the oven covered in aluminum foil, or else you'll get more of a campfire smoke taste doing it the other way. I'm not sure if anyone else has tried this with an apfelwein... Hopefully it comes out good.

Hope this doesn't seem blasphemous

 

Holy awesomeness. Can't wait to hear how this turns out.

 

I put three gallons on two ounces of French oak cubes about a year and a half ago. When I sampled last, it was very good. Oak was the dominant flavor, but not overwhelming, the apple was also present. Especially if you like an oaky white wine, I think you'll like it!

 

Nice! So I might not be the first, but it's good to know that the end product is good

 

I can't comment on how the taste changed when aging in the bottles, because mine is still sitting on the oak. The samples I was referring to were taken with my wine thief. That's what I get for tucking it away in the corner of my basement before starting a remodel. It's easy to keep your hands off of something when you literally can't get to it. That part of the basement is done now though, and I did try it a few weeks ago. I'm debating putting it on tap for this years Halloween party.

 

I haven't done it, but I'm planning on doing a dry, oak aged cider. My LHBC is doing an apple pressing event at the end of the month. (I'm excited for this one - my first meeting!!) I already got Lalvin EC1118 (champagne) and purchased medium toast french chips.

I'm very interested in how yours is turning out...
* How long did you put it on oak?
* How long are you planning to age it?

 

So you are doing bulk aging on the oak? Did you just add it to the primary? How long are you planning on letting it go?

 

I originally made five gallons. I don't recall how long I left it in primary, ( I think only a month or two,) then I racked three gallons to secondary on oak, inside of a three gallon carboy. That is where it is currently sitting. I bottled the remaining two'ish gallons, and actually have one wine bottle left that I would like to compare to the oaked version, and to see how it has changed with age.
As far as how long I plan on letting it age, hopefully not much longer. I didn't plan to age it nearly this long, but it seams to be working out to my benefit. I really want to enjoy it this fall.