Oak Cubes vs Chips vs Spirals... Which is better for Homebrewing?

Рет қаралды 11,761

Жыл бұрын

Today we're trying to find out which form of oak is the best! I have French oak in cube form, chip form and spiral form. We are oaking a traditional mead and seeing which one tastes the best. The video has all the information you need for the test... it was a fun one and I hope you enjoy it!
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Пікірлер: 57

@Brandyalla Жыл бұрын

I made an experimental mead in which I took some orange soda (artisanal, not, like, Fanta or something. Still soda though), shook all the carbonation out of it, added honey, and fermented as usual. It ended up tasting like popcorn, which took me by surprise but I ended up really liking.

@julietardos5044 Жыл бұрын

r/prisonhooch would love this

@Brandyalla Жыл бұрын

I just wanted to see what would happen lol

@garystielow232 Жыл бұрын

Very cool! I would have loved you to include a glass with no oak at all to see what effect the oak did to enhance or reduce the un-oaked flavor.

@ManMadeMead Жыл бұрын

That would have been a good idea!

@tattoolimbo Жыл бұрын

I bought some chips from Walmart, sold for grilling, could have sworn they were oak but when I got home discovered they were hickory, put in the oven to toast them and caught them on fire, duh duh duum... But used them in a grape, pineapple juice wine and I actually like it quite a bit.

@TigerPat_9180 Жыл бұрын

Really Enjoyed your Video , Thanks ! 🐯🤠

@yourmetalgod69 Жыл бұрын

I use almost all Kveik yeasts at this point. and have started mixing them as well. it gets fun when you do.

@thomaspayne9343 Жыл бұрын

Be careful with spirals in 1 gallon carboys. I used one once and it swelled some and never could get it out of the bottle.

@TigerKhan1990 2 ай бұрын

Oh wow, thanks for the heads up!

@shell-e1720 Жыл бұрын

Fun comparison!

@9thMonk Жыл бұрын

Good test! I just started a brew with Amburana spirals last week. I'd thought that, with more surface area exposed, it would be the most effective. If this brew doesn't reach the desired effect, I'll definitely try chips instead.

@davescearce799 Жыл бұрын

Not tried oaking my wines or meads yet, but plan to on my next batch. Thanks for posting this video, I will definitely get chips for this. It would be fun to see a similar kind of comparison between American and French oak chips, and between different toasting levels?

@needformead9540 Жыл бұрын

I switched to using oak barrels. I only bulk age in oak barrels now the mead comes out completely different. The micro-oxygenation you get from the barrels along with the added residual value of what the barrel had previously adds to the complexity of the mead.

@ManMadeMead Жыл бұрын

That sounds fun! I don't have a ton of experience barrel aging mead

@needformead9540 Жыл бұрын

@@ManMadeMead I did a Vikings blood in a whiskey barrel came out fantastic, has a whiskey note on the back end. I'm currently making a Cab Sauv pyment and a Chenin Blanc pyment both aging in bourbon barrels. This is Jay Drewry winner of the cattle battle BTW

@ManMadeMead Жыл бұрын

Ooh, I like both of those! Hey there!

@reneaclark7689 Жыл бұрын

Taco Tuesday mead? Goes well with corn chips 😉

@Exit_343 Жыл бұрын

Yes!! Was wondering about oaking chip!!

@Exit_343 Жыл бұрын

I'm gonna try the oak cubes real soon!!

@c.e.holmes2562 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for all the hard work you put into your videos. Can you or anyone recommend a recipe for a mead that could take the place of Baileys Irish Cream for coffee? Thank you, Edward.

@ManMadeMead Жыл бұрын

Oh man... I think that would be really tough. The big draw to Baileys is it's consistency, you would have a really hard time replacing that consistency with mead.

@sjoerdmhh Жыл бұрын

Grew my own oak tree, going to try and toast a bit today! This makes me think I can add a bit more / for longer, so thanks!

@splatterkat3838 Жыл бұрын

Does the oak need to cure awhile before you use it? Or is it safe to throw in as soon as you cut and process it?

@sjoerdmhh Жыл бұрын

@@splatterkat3838 good point, the Internet definitely tells you to cure for months or years, I just dried it for a week or two. It worked very fast, perhaps the flavour is a bit harsh and smokey now (even with a 190C roast), but I decided to embrace that and blend the one liter of oaked cider with a batch of high-ABV low-acidity cider I have in secondary to get a more Scotch-like drink. Was definitely worth it for the experimentation stage I'm in.

@riukrobu Жыл бұрын

Very interestng!

@thomaspayne9343 Жыл бұрын

Added variable--- time of oak in mead.

@zacherndon9521 Жыл бұрын

I think what's happened here is it takes less time for the chips to release the effect due to how small the pieces are. I think the thicker wood, the longer time you're going to need to extract the flavors.

@yourmetalgod69 Жыл бұрын

I have a chunk of Amburana in a Blannd for going on 3 weeks and it is giving it flavor but not at a rate I was expecting lol.And that is just fine, no hurry right. I also found the flavors I initially added were a little lacking so in went more spices. every piece of wood will yeild different amount of flavor and tannins at different rates as no two pieces ar the same even in the same tree. it makes it interesting for sure.

@gabriellindig Жыл бұрын

I've only made a few meads, but my best was a blueberry melomel. The blueberries were homegrown and the berry skins gave the best flavor, tannins and mouth feel

@theastronomer5800 Жыл бұрын

Nice! I pick black raspberries on the trails where I live and make a killer mead from them.

@28ebdh3udnav Ай бұрын

I did this with apple wood chips with some wine. Came out better than some 10USD wine from the dollar store

@tim-tim-timmy6571 Жыл бұрын

Thanks! I switched to cubes and I really dig it. For Hornindal, did you load all nutrients upfront? When I make a hydromel with Kveik, it is done overnight. Also, if you purchased Hornindal from White labs, it is an isolate, one strain of the original hornindal mix. I contacted them to ask about it.

@ManMadeMead Жыл бұрын

I believe I front loaded it

@ChristopherOSU 3 ай бұрын

Isn't the length of time listed on the bag for aging whiskey?

@magacop5180 Жыл бұрын

Where can I get you and BCs Meads? I want to try them.

@ManMadeMead Жыл бұрын

We don't sell them unfortunately! Maybe if we go pro, we will be able to one day!

@richardfellows5041 Жыл бұрын

A friend of mine, a winemaker in Livermore, advised me that these kinds of additions to flavor do not last as long as in wines aged in oak barrels. So the oak presence may not last as long in your mead. Second, if you are making small batches and using simple siphons then the oak chips won't be a problem, but with larger batches (of wine) I have found the oak chips fouled my diaphragm pump and I stopped using that form in my wine because of that. Since then I have changed over to barrels, and a small flexible impeller pump.

@kevin_ninja_jones2363 Жыл бұрын

I keep seeing onion wine and garlic wine on KZfaq I have an idea for a cooking wine it's onion garlic and tomato with some Italian spices like 10% abv

@ManMadeMead Жыл бұрын

That's interesting! I don't know if I will personally try it - but it sounds interesting! haha

@julietardos5044 Жыл бұрын

Happy Homestead did a cooking wine video with onions.

@sergioyap6122 9 ай бұрын

How would you adequately remove the oak chips or cubes once happy with the amount of oaking?

@magacop5180 6 ай бұрын

Rack the liquid

@RedmanOutdoors366 5 ай бұрын

I want to here the guy in the middle opinion more I would love to here him say look mofos this tastes like doggy poop lol 😂😂

@jongrnl Жыл бұрын

My wife and I bottled a pear mead last night and the flavors played quite well but it had a watery finish. We think it needs oak but we don’t really know where to go for that. Know what type of oak might work with pear and honey? Also, we’re in OKC so if you know of a local supplier it would help too.

@ManMadeMead Жыл бұрын

The Brewshop in OKC & Learn to Brew (closer to Edmond) are both awesome! Really any kind of oak can work with honey - it just depends on how dark or light toast you want it!

@jongrnl Жыл бұрын

@@ManMadeMead we go to learn to brew a lot but they’re on the other side of the city from me. Didn’t know if the Brew shop though. Thanks!

@richardfurlong2246 Жыл бұрын

Perhaps it was a weak spiral, all of the spirals I have used from the same company produced huge oak flavor, and that is just using 1 spiral for a 5 gallon batch. I know you even mentioned you previous experience using spirals. I am still going to continue using them, but yeah, definitely weird result from your test.

@ariochtheloud9476 Жыл бұрын

I believe the wood is acting like a tanin.. it would affect more in a non temp controlled room. just my thoughts

@nmmrg Жыл бұрын

The spiral has an inferior low surface area/agitation design and is just easier to clean

@rentintino79 Жыл бұрын

Maybe toast the chips a bit mate. I would have love to be a tester.

@jasonbennett499 Жыл бұрын

Just like barrels, some good some not so good.

@tetrisamv3960 6 ай бұрын

Guy in the hat really looks for any opportunity to show off how much he knows. Reminds me of Martin from the Simpsons.

@thejollyfrog640 11 ай бұрын

Too much exposed end grain with the spirals = lesser quality end product.

@shauntaylor479 Жыл бұрын

I just made a mead with all local ingredients from the scottish Highlands the honey is from one village over 4lbs of it I also put in heather flowers I picked and pine spruce I picked earlier in the year also I stuck in some whisky oak cubes I got from Glen ord distillery see how it tastes in a years time.

@ManMadeMead Жыл бұрын

That sounds super fun!

@shauntaylor479 Жыл бұрын

@@ManMadeMead its all pretty much on my doorstep its part of the fun sourcing your own ingredients I make whisky aswel I have my own secret source for spring water but mind you tap water in scotland is best in europe I usually just use tap for my mead