Oak question

[gwaugh]

Hi everyone. I have a 5 gal batch of mixed berry (mostly blackberries and blueberries) mead that I am thinking of adding some oak cubes to.

It's basically the "Mambo in your Mouth" recipe from The Complete Meadmaker. My process was the no heat method and I added the fruit in secondary. I tasted it today and took a hydro reading. I plan to give it another week on the fruit and then rack off where I would add the oak.

My questions are:

1. Do I need to worry about sanitizing the cubes at all or will the alcohol take care of any bacteria?

2. Any thoughts on how long I should leave the mead on the oak before racking off?

 

[snuesen]

Unless you need to get it off the fruit at a certain time, why not just toss in the oak and save a racking?

If you have some vodka or a campden solution handy, soak for a while (or heat in oven), but if they're straight from the bag it's probably not a huge risk.... Your judgment call there.

What kind of oak? How many oz? It depends on a lot of variables as to how long you keep it in carboy. Depending on what you did with the fruit, may add tannin as well

 

[gwaugh]

Its 2 oz of American oak medium toast that I got from Northern Brewer. The fruit didn't have anything done to it. It was frozen fruit I allowed to thaw before adding to a secondary. I was thinking of simply adding the oak now but I've read if left on fruit or oak too long you can get too much flavor from both. I thought if I did them seperately I could avoid that by tasting periodically. Also I read that with fruits like raspberries and blackberries you have to rack a few times for clarity because of small seeds.

 

[Matrix4b]

I regularly use oak in the form of chips. For me the best time is when it's off of the fruit and nearly clear. I just drop in 1 oz of chips for about 6 weeks. Then take the chips out and wait for it to finish clearing prior to bottling. Mine always taste good.

For cubes, I would go with a light toast, or for the more bold medium toast. Also, cubes take longer to infuse than chips but just by a smidge. So, 6 weeks on the cubes would be good. 3 oz? I only use 1 oz for a 5 gal. So if you do go more, you may want to lower the time a bit. I would do at least 4 weeks for 3 oz of cubes in a 5 gal. Sound good. Hope that this helps.

Matrix

 

[gwaugh]

Thanks for the info. I think my procedure will be to give the fruit another week or so and then rack off the fruit, add the oak and give it a few weeks. Then I'll start tasting until I'm happy. My first tasting had pretty good fruit character but I think I would like a little more.

What's the longest people usually leave fruit in? Is there any risk as time goes on?

 

[SouthernGorilla]

What's the longest people usually leave fruit in? Is there any risk as time goes on?

I just did a one-gallon batch that sat on the blackberries in primary for a solid month. That didn't create much blackberry flavor so I racked to secondary and let it sit on another pound of blackberries for a week. I still don't think it has quite enough flavor in it. But it might show through better after it's mellowed out a bit.

Personally, I think the warnings about getting too much flavor from leaving it on the fruit too long are bunk. The fruit only has so much flavor to contribute. It's not like you could use a pound of fruit to make a gallon of flavor extract. I'd say the most important factor in how much flavor you get is how much fruit you use. You could leave two berries in the secondary for the entire aging period and not get any noticeable flavor from them. Or you could add five pounds of berries to a gallon batch and end up with a juice drink in a week.

 

[Matrix4b]

fruit is best in the secondary. I usually put it on from 3 weeks to a month and 1/2. One mead I did it on the fruit for a solid 2 months. It's mostly up to you. More time does not mean more flavor. The alcohol will only extract a certian amount of flavor. Most people say 2 weeks is enough.

Matrix