Sorry if this is posted in the wrong section .
But what i wanted to know is , do any of the members have a preference when it comes to oak chips v cubes/blocks & why?
A friend of mine is a cabinet maker by trade ,he offered me any off cuts of american white oak he had knocking about .
This isnt the only wood he uses clearly ,so he was asking me about what types of wood could be used in brewing beer .i couldnt think of many bar the big three or so everybody knows.
Has anybody here tried anything outside the box in this area . or are there any woods which should be avoided .either because they will foul or otherwise harm the beer/you the drinker ?
Lets face it nobody wants their lovely winter/xmas brew, to turn out like the salmon mousse from the meaning of life .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tIg2nK67LQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tIg2nK67LQ)
Interesting question and I'd love to know the answer myself. Was going to experiment with this myself. In Radical Brewing Randy Mosher recommends chucking some cuts of oak around the size of a finger into a cheap bourbon bottle for 6 months to a year and then adding these to your secondary to give your stout some character. Also supposedly improves the nasty cheap bourbon to no end too!
But as for other woods I couldn't tell ya. Just stay away from Yew and Rosewood I'd say. I've had a really bad reaction to poplar dust but that wouldn't necessarily be a problem here
What are the big three?
As a starting point, I'd say forget about anything that isn't a hardwood (pine and other evergreens, for example). There may be hardwoods that have unacceptable characters, but I don't think we know all the specifics yet :).
Ah, the other thing is that wood used in carpentry mightn't be suitable for brewing. The various varieties of oak used in beer making are typically seasoned for a few years (causing the extractives to evaporate). So I don't know all the details, but I've heard that you don't want to use wood "straight from Home Depot" (or wherever) because you'll end up with nastiness in the beer.
Cedar is used to good effect in hitachino. Bud use beechwood I hear.
The beechwood in bud is also to speed fermentation. They steam it till it starts to split apart and put in in the fermenter. It increases the surface area for the yeast to settle on
Quote from: Beermonger on August 29, 2015, 02:23:16 AM
Ah, the other thing is that wood used in carpentry mightn't be suitable for brewing. The various varieties of oak used in beer making are typically seasoned for a few years (causing the extractives to evaporate). So I don't know all the details, but I've heard that you don't want to use wood "straight from Home Depot" (or wherever) because you'll end up with nastiness in the beer.
He`s a cabinet maker so all the wood he orders has been seasoned already . it`s a far cry from going to the builders yard for a few 2x4`s .will be chatting to him this weekend , will find out more about he woods he uses and typical seasoning before the reach the public.
Quote from: Beermonger on August 29, 2015, 02:12:05 AM
What are the big three?
As a starting point, I'd say forget about anything that isn't a hardwood (pine and other evergreens, for example). There may be hardwoods that have unacceptable characters, but I don't think we know all the specifics yet :).
Oak, Beech , Cheeder stuff like that most people prob know of .
Had a quick look to see if anybody has tried other types of wood . not really had a decent chance to read this all . will make a cuppa and give it a proper look .
http://www.academicwino.com/2011/12/antioxidant-capacity-of-different-woods.html/ (http://www.academicwino.com/2011/12/antioxidant-capacity-of-different-woods.html/)