# Oak a mead?



## FlowerPlanter

Made my first oaked red wine with white oak that I toasted myself. Chocolate and very slight vanilla notes to it. It's still young but it turned out very good.

Anyone oak just a straight mead?

Not sure if it would be good for a sweet mead or not.


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## Michael H.

Hi FlowerPlanter! 

They age Chateau d'Yquem in new oak barrels and that is said to be the most prestigious of the sweet white wines. So why not do the same for a mead? 

I would aim for a more toasty, vanilla sort of vibe rather than a heavy oaky, smokey flavour. I'd be interested in the results!


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## BeeNurse

Is there a difference in using Red Oak, vs White Oak ? How would it effect flavor ??


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## Tenbears

Although I oak some melomels and many wines. I rarely Oak a straight mead. Oak is used in winemaking to vary the color, flavor, tannin profile and texture of wine. Meads usual preform very consistently and produce a fine beverage. Oaking mead seem to mask the individual qualities of the honey, With that I will say every rule has an exception. If I misread the mead, of my slow ferment techniques result in a stalled fermentation which requires additional sugars and yeast. As a result I find the mead has a hot mouth feel. Them I will oak that mead. the hotter the alcohol the heavier the toast. seems to make a smooth mead that ages nicely. 

BeeNurse. White oak is preferred and yields the best results. there are many verities of oak and geographical differences can greatly affect it's performance. French Oak being considered the best, followed by American Oak. then Hungarian, Red oak can be used but imparts different qualities. I have also found that the heart wood from a pignut hickory imparts some nice flavor profiles.


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## Eikel

Flower Planter, I'm assuming you used the oven to toast the oak for few hrs at 400+ deg or so. How bad did it "smell up" the house? (making the house smell like a smoker will be a notch above the onions in a dehydrator)


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## FlowerPlanter

That is the chart I used as a guild for toasting my oak, I made sticks 3/4 x 3/8 long enough to fit in a carboy (next time I will make them a bit long so they go right to the airlock)

I roasted it on about 350 for 20 min on and 20 min off for 3 times then 400 once. Ended up with many sticks all different shades from the different temps inside the oven. (don't do this inside it gets too smoky and takes days for it to go away, don't ask me how I know) My oak sticks turned out from light, med and med plus. I check inside the wood and the color goes all the way through. The target is the vanillin.

Was thinking about toasting oak planks first, then planing off the char and get straight to the caramelized wood underneath. 

Others have tried red oak and said it taste like cat pee, so make sure it's white oak. If you need any let me know.

>Oaking mead seem to mask the individual qualities of the honey, 

That's what I was thinking. 

Thanks tenbears and others.


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## Eikel

Thanks Flower Planter.

Did you stack the sticks or lay them flat on a cookie sheet? I bet planing off the char would create on hellofa mess and play the devil with the blades.

I was thinking of using the gas grill for toasting and your method would fit into that approach. My Waterloo was placing sliced onions in a dehydrator and leaving for a few hours, eyes started watering when you walked in the door and the house smelled like onions for over a week. Had the difference between inside and outside games clearly explained to me; I'm still on probation and that was over 20 years ago.

Thanks for the white oak offer but I'm in the middle of a bunch of white oak, hickory and herds of squirrels (aka, tree rats).


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## FlowerPlanter

I put them flat on the oven racks next time I will use the propane grill outside the top rack.


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## Eikel

I was considering using a cookie sheet to lessen the direct heat of the burners and stacking the sticks


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## Tenbears

The cat pee comes from pin oak, not red oak. red oak does impart a more earthy profile than white. but It is not bad like pin oak. Could be my pallet though! 

I am a bit of a Viking at times! :lpf:


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## Eikel

I've been "slapped" with enough cattle tails to know what a number of "things" taste like but never, never a cat.


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## Tenbears

Boy I could tell you a story about a bar friends took me too, and a bar owner that owned a Cat. The place is legendary Here in N.W.PA.


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## Eikel

Sounds like a good one, best told over a glass of mead and not in an open forum. I'll bow to your expertise on the cat and stay away from pin oak for oaking.


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