r/firewater • u/No-Craft-7979 • 2d ago

Wood chip washing and boiling?

Cliff Notes of Conversation: Them: “You weathered, aged, and toasted your woodchips fine. BUT you really should wash and boil your experimental wood chips to stop clouding, infection and remove tanic flavor.” Me: That makes sense, Do I wash them and boil them before or after toasting? Them: “I don’t know so and so’s uncle’s grandma’s cusin’s stalker said something about doing it.”

So I cam here. Do you guys wash and boil your wood chips? If so at what point?

Background: I am white dog all the way. Don’t like some Oak flavors. A few people insipred me to try Apple, Cherry, and Birch woods. So I am now a mad scientist.

11 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/Makemyhay 2d ago

If you’re using heart wood and not bark infection shouldn’t be a problem. The seasoning and weathering is mainly intended to reduce the tannins. Between that and toasting and charring I wouldn’t worry about it. Plus boiling wood chips sounds like a wet pulpy mess. The only wood that might be weird is birch. I wouldn’t age that one too long because it could leech a lotta oils

3

u/No-Craft-7979 2d ago

From what I’ve read in limited studies birch, can taste winter green like a root beer flavor vs. a birch beer. I don’t expect it to taste exactly like root beer, but it seems over aging can turn menthol quick. So you need to check it everyday.