Spanish Cedar Spirals

[aquariumdrinker]

anyone know of an online source?

[NHBrewer]

I went to the local Hardwood store, they sell flooring and rough materials for woodworkers, and bought more than twice what I am using in one fermenter for three dollars. Got a piece about 2 inches by 2 inches about 2.5 feet. Cut it to length the spit it with my hatchet. Pushed through carboy neck, I should have done it in a corny because now I have to get the cedar out, and racked beer onto it and dry hops. This is chilling now awaiting SWMBO to come home from work so that I can have some time off of Daddy Duty to rack into kegs. I'll get back and post result soon. So not sure where to get them online but it was cheap and easy to find locally.

Chris

[aquariumdrinker]

thanks Chris, what beer did you add it to an IPA?

[NHBrewer]

Yep sort of. 11 gallons
100% Marris Otter at 17P.
2 ounces Galena 90 min
2 each Galena Cascade and N Brewer at 30 min
2 each Cascade N Brewer and Mt Hood in the last 3 minutes
Then 2 ounces of Cascade and .5 each N Brewer and Mt Hood in the dry hop per fermenter along with the Cedar.
Both racked into secondary after dropping the Cal ale yeast and returned to 68 for one week for the Cedar and dry hops. Then drop the temp prior to racking to a CO2 flushed corny. This is my usual procedure except I added the Cedar in to see what I can get. I feel like I added a lot of it but it floated on the top of the carboy and I think this may have caused me to have less surface area in contact with the beer therefore less flavor transfer. My plan was to over Cedar it, not knowing the impact I would get, with the understanding that I could blend it back with the control beer if it is too much. We will know better in the next couple of days and some tonight when I get to racking.

Hope that is not too much info

Chris

[Sent From My iPhone]

Make sure it's not treated in any way.
http://www.thewoodbox.com/exoticwoods/spanish-cedar.htm
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=18538&cookietest=1&TabSelect=Reviews

[NHBrewer]

I am sure it is untreated. Just kilned dry. Fortunately Cedar has been used for many year because of its natural resistance to bugs etc. This means that it is fairly easy to find it untreated.
I did not mean to Hy-jack your thread but I would think you could get it without having to track down the spirals.

Chris

[Grist Licker]

WOW! Cedar? Can someone describe the flavor contribution from cedar? I know what cedar smells like, just never heard of anyone using it in beer. I imagine it melding well with something malty but subtle, like a mild.

[AndrewD]

From pictures I've seen, the spirals look like a good sized dowel that had been chucked in a lathe and haphazardly cut from one end to another with a knife. Would be easy for anyone with a good lathe to do I would imagine.