I want to add oak chips to my straight meads to add another dimension of flavor. I have found a variety of ideas about volume of oak chips to add, toasted or untoasted, length of time to keep oak in mead. I have tried 1/2 cup of toasted oak chips for about 1 week following secondary fermentation and this produced only a mild effect. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Suggestions for oaking?
- Thread starter Beeman2
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First suggestion would be switch to cubes, they take longer to infuse but should give a better oak flavour. You're going to have to be a lot more patient than 1 week though, as 1 or 2 oz may take 1-2 months to infuse to an amount you like, sometimes even longer.
For chips, I've heard they infuse really quickly, so I'm surprised that after a week it isn't like chewing on a 2x4! Not sure what to tell you about that, other than give it even longer.
For chips, I've heard they infuse really quickly, so I'm surprised that after a week it isn't like chewing on a 2x4! Not sure what to tell you about that, other than give it even longer.
There is also an excellent thread in the Patron's section called "Got Wood?" that has an article written by Oskaar along with a bunch of other interesting links. It wood be good to read it. 
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Then there are oak spirals. If their claims are to be believed, they take some of the guesswork out of oaking. I've only tried them with one batch so far, but I got reasonably good results. YMMV.
