Diminishing The Flavor From Small Barrels

[Kitchen]

I am thinking about upscaling a couple recipes I have for mead to 10 gallon batches and aging them in small new Acacia barrels. I would like to get at least 6 months of barrel time for this test, but fear this would be too long in a new barrel.

I was thinking about storing water in the barrels during primary fermentation to try and leech out some of the flavor but I am unsure if this would be a good idea. Any advice?

I was thinking about using acidified water with sulfites added in. Would this work?

 

[Johnd]

I am thinking about upscaling a couple recipes I have for mead to 10 gallon batches and aging them in small new Acacia barrels. I would like to get at least 6 months of barrel time for this test, but fear this would be too long in a new barrel.

I was thinking about storing water in the barrels during primary fermentation to try and leech out some of the flavor but I am unsure if this would be a good idea. Any advice?

I was thinking about using acidified water with sulfites added in. Would this work?

I'm assuming that Acacia behaves as oak does for flavoring, so my answer is based upon that assumption. Yes, it will absolutely work, the flavor will leach out into the water just like it does into wine. Get started early, it'll probably take over a year to get enough woody flavor out of the barrel to be able to leave wines in for 6 months without overdoing it. Monitor your sulfite levels just like you would with wine and keep them in the right range for your pH. Adding acid as you suggest is a good practice, as it reduces greatly the amount of sulfite you need.

 

[mainshipfred]

Typically Acacia barrels are not toasted so they come neutral. Wineries use them for wines they don't want to oak but want the micro oxygenation.

 

[Kitchen]

Typically Acacia barrels are not toasted so they come neutral. Wineries use them for wines they don't want to oak but want the micro oxygenation.

I actually read that they give a floral note with a bit of spiciness, albeit less intense flavor then oak. I am interested in how it would work with a mead.