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oak chips

pmrugrat

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Jan 22, 2011
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Location
michigan
can i use the same oak chips you get at any store.  (the ones you put on the grill for food flavor)
 
There might be an alcohol oak expert but typical oak barrels are made of white oak.  I have never used oak for food flavor.  Just fruit woods, alder hickory and cedar. I would assume the oak chips you buy at the beer store wood be kiln dried or baked  and then sealed in a bag but what do I know.  They could sweep them of a furniture makers floor :-\

I have plenty of oak flooring and have used pieces of that before.  I soaked them in whiskey prior to putting them in the fermentor.

Maybe somebody knows a temp in the oven that would kill any beasties and yet not hurt the wood.
 
  I regularly use oak chips in my secondary. L.D. carlson co. Any brewing supply would have them. They also have powders , I haven't used them. I Like the French oak (med. toast). I first distill apple wine use them to flavor the brandy,then throw them in the beer. About an ounce  to two depending on the beer.  Good Luck
 
shane said:
  I regularly use oak chips in my secondary. L.D. carlson co. Any brewing supply would have them. They also have powders , I haven't used them. I Like the French oak (med. toast). I first distill apple wine use them to flavor the brandy,then throw them in the beer. About an ounce  to two depending on the beer.  Good Luck

  This is a great idea!  What beer styles benefit most from the chips?

Cheers!
 
    I  used 1 1/2 oz in my keg conditioned Bass Ale clone. Drinking it I imagined what it tastes like in Britain fresh from the keg. I also used it in a scotch ale, a maryland style india pale ale (recipe is in the BIBLE pg136) and in one of my Pumpkin Ales. It leads to a nice smooth flavor I would sometimes call vanilla taste. Friends say WOW! this beer tastes like a wine. I'll actually save the oak chips and use them in a hot pepper mash.
   
    CHEERS BACK
 
      Glad you asked, One of my many hobbies is growing hot peppers, Haberneros,cherries,cayennes. I dry some for crushing spice, but the best is  my own hot pepper sauce.I take habs,cayennes, put them in a blender and puree them. About three cups worth for a 1 quart mason jar. It will take about 4 quarts of fresh peppers to get 3 cups of mash. Put them in a bowl and add 3 heaping tablespoons of salt and add3/4 cup of heavy toast oak chips. These have been saved from the winters apple cider fermentation or better yet I will distill the cider to get apple brandy.(this stuff is the bomb). Anyways add  the oak chips into the mash ,put in the mason jar. press down to get all air out. You will have about aninch and a half room left to top of jar. Add more wood chips that soaked in the brandy and pack tightly down get all air out. Top off with a little salt. The theory is to let the gases escape but no air in.(sound familiar) I put the lid on but not tight as to let the gases out. Let sit till next spring or about 6 to 9 months.
      In the spring open THE LOOSELY FITTED TOP and take of the top salt and some of the chips. Empty in a stainless steel bowl and add 2 cups of white distilled vinegar,let it steep for two to three days and strain. This is my first press. I repeat this two more times ,2nd press,3rd press.The more presses the less hot but its all still good. I save old pepper sauce jars and fill them up. I bulk storage it in an unrinsed Dewars bottle ( adds more flavor) Dont mix them as each has their own qualities. Oh yeah for each extra mash add a week steep time.
      This is a recipe i made from reading how Tabasco makes theirs. It definetly has a unique taste. Like a wine my friends say.
    good luck , its worth the effort.
 
  I used to grow a large variety of hot & sweet peppers for salsa when we lived on a farm.  Unfortunately our soil here is mostly shale.  I've tried for years to get a good soil plot started, but it seems to just disappear through all the shale.
  Does sound good!

Thank You and Cheers!
 
      I've gotten 4' pepper plants with this method.
  Take a 5 gallon pail  and drill 4- 1/8 inch holes about 3 inches up from the bottom. Fill the bottom of the bucket with 3 inches of stone. Add potting soil in the bucket to 6 inches to the top. Bury a book of matches 5-6 inches deep in the soil breaking them apart. The logic is the roots feed off of the magnesium or phosphorous or something but it works. Plant three plants in each bucket when ready,( in CT its about may 15th). Feed with Miracle Grow once a week. On a good year I get 150 harbeneros in a bucket. It will work for any small hot peppers. Just give the bucket room to grow and sun. Ironically once the plants and peppers are growing (mid summer) starve them of water frequently, this stresses the plant and makes the peppers hotter. Once again it works. Beer ,hot peppers, food, it all goes together. hope you try it.
 
  Great idea!  I have at least 20 5 gallon buckets from various uses, should be able to grow something!  Seems to me planting here in PA is a couple weeks prior to you.  I'll give it a shot!
 
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