# French vs American?



## intoxicating (Apr 22, 2010)

I experiment with developing recipes from various fruits adding either red or white wine for structure or vinous character. I am looking for which oak will add the "vanilla" flavors with a minimum of "chocolate" and no "leather". Also, which level of toast? In particular, I am currently working on a caramel apple that is UNREMARKABLE, and I want it to be buttery and chewy. It is just an unoffensive white, not mouthwatering apple and rich caramel. I also plan to make more mead.


----------



## vcasey (Apr 22, 2010)

What was your recipe for the caramel apple? I will be picking up the ingredients for mine this weekend or next. I'll be using sparkling amber DME and crystal malt to try and get a nice mouth feel as well as add the caramel flavor. This one will also get made with 100% apple juice and I am still thinking about using a vanilla bean, golden raisins and either french or american med. toast oak and may very well do half and half on the oak.
I had planned to make this as a cyser using honey to get the SG I want to start with but decided against that because I have 7 meads planned for the rest of this year.


----------



## JimCook (Apr 22, 2010)

Intoxicating,


The lower toasting levels generally contribute more toward the vanilla character. Hungarian oak tends to provide more of a leather character, although it's not exclusive to this type of wood. Check out this Stavin link along with the corresponding links for Hungarian and American oak for a brief description of toasting effects. 


If you are planning on using Stavin cubes, I've personally noticed a caramel flavor coming from French Oak House Toast cubes and the vanilla notes coming from American or French Medium Toast cubes. The European oaks seem to be a little more subtle in regards to flavor introduction, but this will depend on how many cubes you're adding (I recommend going low - you can always add more). 


- Jim


----------

