Hey Motog4-75 Here is what I found about French oak vs English oak. English oak is also seen as European oak, which then falls under French oak. There is still a slight difference, but not that noticeable. White oak is used for barrels because it is a closed cell wood, as opposed to red oak which is open cell. That being said the differences between French (Quercus petraea) and American (Quercus alba) is that the French has a tighter grain, higher tannins, and lower aromatics. Because of the tighter grain it is primarily used with aging wine because of its much lower rate of oxygenation, which can cause wines to turn to vinegar. These characteristics make it unacceptable for use in aging whiskys because oxygenation is important in the aging of whiskys. American white oak also has more vanillins which is desirable in whiskys and not in wines. For speeding up the seasoning process you need heat. In warmer to hot climates (Jamaica for instances), barreled spirits age much faster than in cooler to cold climates (Scotland). Keep being awesome!! Cheers!
@@distillergreyling9135 strange 🤔 No offense taken, was just curious. By the way I toasted some oak in my oven yesterday that I cut a couple of months ago from a friend's house. Came out perfect 👌 The house was smelling of caramelised biscuits & vanilla. My wife came in & asked what am I baking. I said just oak. Oh. 😁 Did it on fan top grill 180° for approx 1.5 to 2 hours. Then turned off & let it cool down in the oven for a few hours before taking out. Turned out a good medium toast. I'm looking forward to using it in a batch of wine.
Just a thought maybe someone will chime in and tell me yea or nay on this. If i was to acquire some wet oak or other wood could i run it through a dehydrator to speed up the process? Or would it be detrimental to the final product overall? thinking drying it out some using it then making my toast/char?
You neglected one of the most important factors. Oak barrels NEVER present the end grain to the spirits. This is the number 1 reason why spirits aged with oak chips taste awful. The longer the cubes, staves, or dominoes, the less end grain to side grain ratio. There is a calculation that can be done (surface in square centimeters) to volume, but I don't know the calculation. Someone else will chime-in...
Hey Will! Thanks for the comment it really made me dig a bit. I found this and it explained it well. homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7707688 For this video I was aiming to get my oak toasted, but I definitely want to make a video about aging. How the oak/barrel, time, temperature and elevation influences you end product. Keep being awesome!!
Thanks. What about English oak, is that the same as french?
& how do you speed up the seasoning process? I can't wait. Haven't got patience.
Hey Motog4-75
Here is what I found about French oak vs English oak.
English oak is also seen as European oak, which then falls under French oak.
There is still a slight difference, but not that noticeable.
White oak is used for barrels because it is a closed cell wood, as opposed to red oak which is open cell. That being said the differences between French (Quercus petraea) and American (Quercus alba) is that the French has a tighter grain, higher tannins, and lower aromatics. Because of the tighter grain it is primarily used with aging wine because of its much lower rate of oxygenation, which can cause wines to turn to vinegar. These characteristics make it unacceptable for use in aging whiskys because oxygenation is important in the aging of whiskys. American white oak also has more vanillins which is desirable in whiskys and not in wines.
For speeding up the seasoning process you need heat. In warmer to hot climates (Jamaica for instances), barreled spirits age much faster than in cooler to cold climates (Scotland).
Keep being awesome!!
Cheers!
@@distillergreyling9135 thanks.
Was also wondering why there is a hyphon 75 at the top of your message?
Sweet, thanks for the comment Moto G4!
Apologies, see its how my app makes the names.
@@distillergreyling9135 strange 🤔
No offense taken, was just curious.
By the way I toasted some oak in my oven yesterday that I cut a couple of months ago from a friend's house. Came out perfect 👌
The house was smelling of caramelised biscuits & vanilla.
My wife came in & asked what am I baking. I said just oak.
Oh.
😁
Did it on fan top grill 180° for approx 1.5 to 2 hours. Then turned off & let it cool down in the oven for a few hours before taking out.
Turned out a good medium toast.
I'm looking forward to using it in a batch of wine.
Cool cool!
That sounds delicious 😋!
It sounds like its going to make a great tasting spirit!
Just a thought maybe someone will chime in and tell me yea or nay on this. If i was to acquire some wet oak or other wood could i run it through a dehydrator to speed up the process? Or would it be detrimental to the final product overall? thinking drying it out some using it then making my toast/char?
I bet I would love Hungarian oak.
You neglected one of the most important factors. Oak barrels NEVER present the end grain to the spirits. This is the number 1 reason why spirits aged with oak chips taste awful. The longer the cubes, staves, or dominoes, the less end grain to side grain ratio. There is a calculation that can be done (surface in square centimeters) to volume, but I don't know the calculation. Someone else will chime-in...
Hey Will!
Thanks for the comment it really made me dig a bit.
I found this and it explained it well.
homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7707688
For this video I was aiming to get my oak toasted, but I definitely want to make a video about aging.
How the oak/barrel, time, temperature and elevation influences you end product.
Keep being awesome!!
@@distillergreyling9135 Thanks for the link. I love to watch your discussions...
Awesome! 👍🏻👍🏻