# Oak cubes - not sinking



## Wiccan_Lager (Dec 11, 2012)

Hey guys,

this is probably me freaking out over nothing but a put some heavy toast oak cubes into my 6 gallon carboy of Petite Sirah/Zinfandel/alicante and light oak chips in my 6 gallon carboy of zinfandel/alicante over a month ago and not a single one of them have sunk to the bottom. 

Is this a sign of something gone/going wrong? Could it be there is gas in the mix? Is the SG still too high for cubes to sink? Could temperature effect them? Does this dress make my but look big?


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## DoctorCAD (Dec 11, 2012)

They are wood...

Wood floats...

Sir Bedevere: There are ways of telling whether she is a witch. 
Peasant 1: Are there? Oh well, tell us. 
Sir Bedevere: Tell me. What do you do with witches? 
Peasant 1: Burn them. 
Sir Bedevere: And what do you burn, apart from witches? 
Peasant 1: More witches. 
Peasant 2: Wood. 
Sir Bedevere: Good. Now, why do witches burn? 
Peasant 3: ...because they're made of... wood? 
Sir Bedevere: Good. So how do you tell whether she is made of wood? 
Peasant 1: Build a bridge out of her. 
Sir Bedevere: But can you not also build bridges out of stone? 
Peasant 1: Oh yeah. 
Sir Bedevere: Does wood sink in water? 
Peasant 1: No, no, it floats!... It floats! Throw her into the pond! 
Sir Bedevere: No, no. What else floats in water? 
Peasant 1: Bread. 
Peasant 2: Apples. 
Peasant 3: Very small rocks. 
Peasant 1: Cider. 
Peasant 2: Gravy. 
Peasant 3: Cherries. 
Peasant 1: Mud. 
Peasant 2: Churches. 
Peasant 3: Lead! Lead! 
King Arthur: A Duck. 
Sir Bedevere: ...Exactly. So, logically... 
Peasant 1: If she weighed the same as a duck... she's made of wood. 
Sir Bedevere: And therefore... 
Peasant 2: ...A witch!


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## ShawnDTurner (Dec 11, 2012)

Once saturated they will sink


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## Wiccan_Lager (Dec 11, 2012)

DoctorCAD said:


> They are wood...
> 
> Wood floats...
> 
> ...



Funniest thing I read in a long time. I am stealing this.

I lauyghed out loud and blew my spot. I am at work and now they know I am not working.


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## Wiccan_Lager (Dec 11, 2012)

ShawnDTurner said:


> Once saturated they will sink



YOu see, that's what I read and it takes a couple of weeks. But it's been over a month and they are just floatin' away. I was just making sure that something else could be happening.


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## Boatboy24 (Dec 11, 2012)

If you have a brake bleeder and the wine is in a glass carboy, you can get it under vacuum for a bit. That'll help get the air out of the wood and the wine in.


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## Pumpkinman (Dec 11, 2012)

Monty Python at its best


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## GreginND (Dec 11, 2012)

I have had cubes float for months in my carboy. Is there a reason you want them to sink? I don't think there is anything wrong with them floating.


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## tonyt (Dec 11, 2012)

If they don't sink it means you did something very wrong. In that case bottle it all up, cork it and send it to me for proper disposal. Seriously, it will be fine.


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## olusteebus (Dec 11, 2012)

Thank you DoctorCad. Or should I say, "Captain Obvious"!


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## Rocky (Dec 11, 2012)

I use oak cubes in my bulk aging. Sometimes they sink, sometimes not. I am sure to splash rack out of the carboy with cubes in order to better distribute the oak flavor.


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## pjd (Dec 11, 2012)

They will float as long as there is CO2 in the wine. Once the wine looses its gas, they will sink. Not to worry, the cubes will do their thing in 6 weeks or less whether they float or not.


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## Wiccan_Lager (Dec 13, 2012)

Not that I want them to sink, I just thought they are supposed so sink. WHen I see them just floating there I thought maybe I was supopsed to steam em or there was something screwy with the wine. I am not doubting that they are going to flavor the wine. Just making sure I dont ruin my batch.

If you guys are sayin they can some sometimes float the whole time, then on biggy. I am just nervous.


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