home made brew paddle

[cowboygun]

So, between me and my uncle, we chopped the tree, milled the log, sized to length, shaped, sanded and now I am looking for information on finishes for my brew paddle. It is made of pine. I was thinking of rubbing the paddle down with vegetable oil, but was concerned if it was a bad idea. I would appreciate your guy's thoughts. Thank you.

[jomebrew]

Pine is kind of sappy and soft.  I would use it to stir hot water several times and see if it continues t impart pine flavor.

[brewfun]

So, between me and my uncle, we chopped the tree, milled the log, sized to length, shaped, sanded and now I am looking for information on finishes for my brew paddle. It is made of pine. I was thinking of rubbing the paddle down with vegetable oil, but was concerned if it was a bad idea. I would appreciate your guy's thoughts. Thank you.

Did you kiln or season the wood?

The tighter the grain, the better. No knots or voids is important. Walnut oil is the preferred sealant for mash paddles.

[cowboygun]

Thanks brewfun, it is a good piece of wood. There are no knots, splits, voids, etc. It was seasoned for a couple of months. Naturally I didn't know what exactly I needed beside a good looking piece of wood with no knots or holes, but my uncle is a logger, so he knew what to look for, tight grain and everything. Thanks jomebrew, I will have to try that out, but should I oil it before I stir around some hot water?

[Wingeezer]

I made mine from white oak and planned to use it just as is - no finish at all.

Some folk said that if I did that,  the oak would turn black over time. (mold?)

But I have been using it regularly now for over two years and it looks just as it did the first time I used it. 

Can't say whether or not pine would remain as pristine.     I don't believe I would be wanting to put any sort of oil finish on it though!


Brian.

[drb1215]

Hi,

My paddle is maple, just a tad bit harder than pine.  I have no finish on it and have had no issues. I just make sure that I rinse it off good after use, shake off the excess water and let it air dry.  Looks as good as it did when new.

Just take good care of it and you should be fine.


Dan

[cowboygun]

Thanks Brian and Dan.

I had received some advice about taking the brew paddle and stir it in some boiling water a couple of times in the boil kettle to release the oils from the wood prior to use. Doing this is supposedly a way to minimize contamination caused by the oil leeching out of the wood which can cause a loss head in head retention and possibly transfer flavor to your wort.

So I put this theory to test today partly. I boiled my paddle and stirred it around for about 45-60 min. I definitely had oils seep out, the water turned a yellowish hue. I also saw the paddle had bubbles and sap leaching out of it at the tapered portion leading to the long neck of the paddle and a concentration of sap at the water line on the neck. I will continue to do this at least one more time or until the this doesn't happen anymore or is significantly minimized.

Just curious if anybody has this issue or has seen anything like it?