Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Its been a while since I posted. Thought I'd share a pic of some toasted oak I did up in the oven for a batch of rum in the fermenter.



375 for an hour 400 for an hour flipping a few times along the way.

Untoasted one sitting on top to show the color change.

A sure way to piss off the wife is to do it in the kitchen when she is home!!!

Looks Good,
They look like that are about 20x20,
Will they fit in your aging vessel?

yes about 20 x 20

These are for aging in a 20l stainless keg so i didn't bother to cut them down

I have a bunch that i did which are cut in half 10 x 20 for glass carboy that slide right in the top!!

Just wondering where everyone gets their raw oak staves in Australia, possibly western Sydney area if anyone is around there.
I can find places that sell charred/toasted dominoes but nothing raw that I can toast/char myself.
Any help would be appreciated :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Why bother?
Are you unsatisfied with the flavour profile of the toasted ones you can get?
It can't be than much cheaper to do it your own.

Try “Roll Out The Barrell” in Qld. Just bought 5kg of stave off-cuts for $25 when I was in Brisbane last week. They will post but the postage cost is a bit of a killer. Still cheap and it will allow you to prepare the oak the way you want it.

I do my own because there are none locally and shipping is damn near as much as the staves.

scythe wrote:Why bother?
Are you unsatisfied with the flavour profile of the toasted ones you can get?
It can't be than much cheaper to do it your own.

It's more that I wanted to go through the process myself & experiment with different levels of toasting & char.
Isn't that why we all do what we do ?

Lesgold wrote:Try “Roll Out The Barrell” in Qld. Just bought 5kg of stave off-cuts for $25 when I was in Brisbane last week. They will post but the postage cost is a bit of a killer. Still cheap and it will allow you to prepare the oak the way you want it.

Cheers Lesgold :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Doing it yourself is rewarding and enjoyable with the experimentation of finding what you like. Some people will soak their wood in a wine or port to give different profile to the spirit they are aging. All part of the fun!!

Careful toasting in the house!!
Your house and stove will smell like toasted wood for a long time!!!

Make sure to clean out the stove before (without chemicals) as to not impart food smells or chemicals into the wood. If your stove needs a good cleaning and you need chemicals, do it a week before so you have a chance to burn things off before you toast your wood. then clean with out chemicals right before you toast. im pretty picky with cleanliness and my spirits production.

here is a chart for different flavor profiles. I find that 375 for an hour then 400 for another hour gives me the profile i like.



375 isn't too bad on the smoke but toasting above 400 will create a lot of smoke so find a way to do it outside or you will regret it.

I bought a plank of American oak from Anagote in Marrickville. Cant remember the price. I have enough to last years now.

AJS wrote:I bought a plank of American oak from Anagote in Marrickville. Cant remember the price. I have enough to last years now.

Cheers AJS :handgestures-thumbupleft:

CH3CH2OH wrote:Doing it yourself is rewarding and enjoyable with the experimentation of finding what you like. Some people will soak their wood in a wine or port to give different profile to the spirit they are aging. All part of the fun!!

Careful toasting in the house!!
Your house and stove will smell like toasted wood for a long time!!!

Make sure to clean out the stove before (without chemicals) as to not impart food smells or chemicals into the wood. If your stove needs a good cleaning and you need chemicals, do it a week before so you have a chance to burn things off before you toast your wood. then clean with out chemicals right before you toast. im pretty picky with cleanliness and my spirits production.

here is a chart for different flavor profiles. I find that 375 for an hour then 400 for another hour gives me the profile i like.

toastflavorsline.jpg

375 isn't too bad on the smoke but toasting above 400 will create a lot of smoke so find a way to do it outside or you will regret it.

Thanks CH3 that's awesome :handgestures-thumbupleft:

No prob mate