Oaking

[SuchSweetThunder]

I've got 5 gallons of Orange Blossom Mead in Secondary--Tasting pretty good at 2 months old, but definitely room to mature. I have never aged a mead on oak before, but I now have American medium-toast oak cubes from my sour-beer excursions. How long should I keep the mead on oak? I know oak cubes are slower, would it be safe to leave them in there for a month or two? How many should I add? I just want some subtle tannins and oakiness from the cubes, not a ton of flavor. I plan to toast them in the oven to sanitize and then add to the carboy.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Matrix4b]

For a 5 gal batch I usually do 1 oz of oak chips for 3 weeks. It smooths it out with out adding too much. I would not go over 2 months with cubes. I would actually stick with a month.

Also, 1 oz is just fine. I like to put it in a mesh hops bag and drop it in. That way you can easily remove it. Don't pack the mesh bag but put in loosely.

Matrix

 

[SuchSweetThunder]

Cool thanks! I'll probably wait a month or so then before adding the oak. The sample tasted pretty good already, so I'm thinking 2 months in secondary and then longer in bottles and we'll be good!

 

[alaktheman]

I'm actually planning on doing the same thing with my 5 gallon batch of orange blossom but I have medium toasted French oak spirals instead. Any advice on what I should do for my batch? I'm looking for a light oaky flavor not too much.