Wood I, wood eye

[homer]

Is there some rule of thumb for, time , amount, etc for adding Oak? bk

 

[roblloyd]

I believe most oak is used up in 4-6 weeks but that might depend on the type - shavings, chips, cubes, staves. I think the smaller they are the quicker the oak is used up.

A little can go a long way so add and taste test after a couple days and repeat until you like it. You can always add more but it's hard to take out.

 

[joea132]

Cubes and staves are better quality than dust or chips. Oak Cubes reccomend 2-3 oz. per 6 gallons for 2 months. Do yourself a favor and only add 2 oz. though. You can always add more later but never take it out once it's in. I only have experience with cubes and I'm happy with the results.

 

[Runningwolf]

I was told once at a winery when the oak drops, it's about used up.

 

[ibglowin]

It varies so much depending on the wine. If you make many kits you will see pretty quickly that some use chips. Some beans. Beans have more oak than chips and will take longer to extract. Chips will extract in almost no time as they are so thin the wine can permeate quickly and easily and extract the tannin in 3-5 days literally. If you have a specific varietal you can always ask what might be recommended for this wine for say 6 gallons.

 

[Wade E]

I feel that the staves, cubes, and spirals give a more authentic oak flavor then chips and actually also prefer the oak dust over the chips. The bigger the wood the longer it takes as there is less surface area to wine.