Other woods?

[jamesngalveston]

never use cedar are pine, both contain pitch, are rosin...not good for wine, it will leach out and ruin the whole batch.

 

[Bob1016]

There's a long history of using acacia and other woods in Italy and for sherry.
I've used Spanish cedar (not the resinous red cedar) in beer and mead (1oz/6gal) and it adds a nice fruitiness and some extra tannin without the oak flavor (usefull for meads).
I also have some lychee wood that I hand split into quarters aging/seasoning right now, I'll probably spilt it into staves in a few months and give I a total of 2 years befor using it (toasted first) as cubes or segments.

 

[sour_grapes]

Actually, my question is somewhat different. I am interested in sticking with oak, but making my own. What if I took a regular ol' piece of red oak from my local big box store, cut it into cubes, and dried it in my oven. Hit it with a torch for a little char, perhaps. Would this be roughly equivalent to the (American) oak cubes I can buy at my LHBS?

 

[WI_Wino]

Actually, my question is somewhat different. I am interested in sticking with oak, but making my own. What if I took a regular ol' piece of red oak from my local big box store, cut it into cubes, and dried it in my oven. Hit it with a torch for a little char, perhaps. Would this be roughly equivalent to the (American) oak cubes I can buy at my LHBS?

Nope, the stuff you buy at LHBS is white oak. I have heard that red oak imparts a cat urine taste/smell (no joke).

 

[sour_grapes]

Okay, that is obviously a good thing to know in advance! Thanks!

 

[Downwards]

Update! The apple wine I was going to use for this came out so darn good I just didn't want to risk experimenting with it. Catch 22 right? What would be the point of experimenting on one that comes out bad? anyway once it have some on the rack, I'll start another big batch for the fruit woods. Our stock of home made was almost nothing, but I have lots aging now..

 

[pebbles2015]

Curious if you ever finished this experiment Downwards?

 

[Johnd]

Curious if you ever finished this experiment Downwards?

Downwards hasn't posted here for over 2.5 years, don't be surprised if you don't get a reply from the OP.

 

[Jericurl]

Funny that this should pop up today.

I asked this question in another forum and as a result, ended up buying a variety pack from here: http://www.blackswanbarrels.com/honey-comb-barrel-alternative/

I also got this stuff for a tequila lime mead I'm planning. https://www.etsy.com/transaction/1224136301

I'll try to remember to update this thread once I experiment with them.

 

[marino]

For port, I've seen mahogany barrels and chestnut barrels being used