I have a cider that could be ready to go into bottles, but I want to add just a subtle oak note to it. I picked up some medium toasted french oak chips, now what? It's a 5 gallon batch of a prety clean tasting store bought juice semi- dry cider with just a hint of an acid bite (ale yeast). Started it last spring, April or so. I plan on bottle conditioning and would love to have it ready for Christmas, probably too late for Thanksgiving I presume??
Adding oak help
- Thread starter cjbalough
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I want to add just a subtle oak note to it. I picked up some medium toasted french oak chips, now what? Add 2 oz medium toast oak taste it after 10 or so days and if not to your liking let it go a bit. I like oak in cider at 20 - 30 days. You want it to taste just a bit stronger than you would like as it will age and mellow a bit.
I use 2oz/gallon. First I boil oak chips in water for 15 minutes then drain. Put in bag and drop in cider. Working on one know where I soaked bourbon in chips for a week then dropped in the cider added cherry juice for a cherry bourbon oak cider.
Thanks! I tried adding an ounce or so, after boiling, by putting the chips in a hop bag.....couldn't get it into the carboy though.
Anyhow, this cider has been sitting for some time, so it will need yeast added at bottling so I've just started a fresh 1- gal batch. I'm going to let it go a coupple weeks, then secondary it on a coupple ounces of the oak chips and add this new cider to taste when I bottle the aged batch in a nother month or so.
That should allow me to get the flavor I want and add enough yeast to bottle condition.
Anyhow, this cider has been sitting for some time, so it will need yeast added at bottling so I've just started a fresh 1- gal batch. I'm going to let it go a coupple weeks, then secondary it on a coupple ounces of the oak chips and add this new cider to taste when I bottle the aged batch in a nother month or so.
That should allow me to get the flavor I want and add enough yeast to bottle condition.
You can just dump them in with out the bag and while racking place a small bit of cheese cloth over the end of your racking tube. I just sanitize it and use a piece of string to tie it on. It works great as a filter for large particles like oak chips.
wishingiwasfishing
Well-Known Member
I tried the oak chips a few times, never cared for them. KingBrianI has a terrific method posted at the website. It adds the right type of flavor through the mix of roasting/slight charring. When you're roasting the oak in this manner your house really smells like wonderful whiskey notes! Soaking in whiskey is not mandatory, you can just roast/char and use...and I don't agree with his assessment of only using white oak. There are so many species of oak, some are quite good for smoking woods, some aren't...huge variation in all aspects of what kind of tree characteristics they have.
