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Author Topic: Prepping oak spirals  (Read 5137 times)

Offline mchrispen

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Re: Prepping oak spirals
« Reply #15 on: August 08, 2015, 06:42:26 am »

I wonder if oak aging Brett beers, sour or not, is a different think than oak aging regular beers. Perhaps some different long term outcomes are possible?

It should be quite different as Brett eats the cellulose of the wood. I am sure there are biotransforms occurring as well as the Brett further attacking dextrines and polyphenols. My saisons go into a barrel at 1.004 and usually out under .98. Taste as it ages and the variation is incredible.

I have some chips I used in one of my first Brett beers. Been saving them in a mason jar in the fridge. Some of the chips are now little more than sponges after two years.
Matt Chrispen
Sometime Austin Zealot
Blogging from the garage @ accidentalis.com
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Offline majorvices

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Re: Prepping oak spirals
« Reply #16 on: August 09, 2015, 06:31:55 am »
I like to get medium toast and put it in the over at 400 degrees until I get the color I want. I like the vanilla character you get out of that dark of a toast. That's the best way to sanitize them too, if you are worried about that. I have also just thrown them straight in the fermentor with fine results (though I did get an infection doing that with chips once.)
I didn't think of the ole oven.  If they're already medium toast spirals, I'm assuming a bake at 250° or so wouldn't change that much? 

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I would assume you would need at least 40 minutes at that temp, but I'm not sure exactly on the time for sanitizing, but I'm pretty confident that would work. Depends on what you want. Check this chart out though


Thanks, are there times that go with that chart or does it assume a constant time? 

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I toasted some cubes yesterday and timed it. It took about 2 hours to go from light/medium to medium/dark toast @ 380 degrees. I can post some pics later if you are interested.

Offline JT

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Re: Prepping oak spirals
« Reply #17 on: August 09, 2015, 07:05:48 am »
I like to get medium toast and put it in the over at 400 degrees until I get the color I want. I like the vanilla character you get out of that dark of a toast. That's the best way to sanitize them too, if you are worried about that. I have also just thrown them straight in the fermentor with fine results (though I did get an infection doing that with chips once.)
I didn't think of the ole oven.  If they're already medium toast spirals, I'm assuming a bake at 250° or so wouldn't change that much? 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

I would assume you would need at least 40 minutes at that temp, but I'm not sure exactly on the time for sanitizing, but I'm pretty confident that would work. Depends on what you want. Check this chart out though


Thanks, are there times that go with that chart or does it assume a constant time? 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

I toasted some cubes yesterday and timed it. It took about 2 hours to go from light/medium to medium/dark toast @ 380 degrees. I can post some pics later if you are interested.
Thanks major, this is good info to have.  My spirals are already medium toast, I'm more wanting to heat them for sanitation purposes. 

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Offline majorvices

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Re: Prepping oak spirals
« Reply #18 on: August 09, 2015, 07:32:29 am »
I'd guess 30-40 minutes should do it without increasing the toast level much.