apple wood

[sjfarkas]

does anyone have a source for apple wood that is clear and large enough to be 1/4 sawn?  I want to get some barrels made to age apple brandy in. 8)  I have plenty of wood from the orchards, but none of it is good enough.

[northwoods1]

does anyone have a source for apple wood that is clear and large enough to be 1/4 sawn?  I want to get some barrels made to age apple brandy in. 8)  I have plenty of wood from the orchards, but none of it is good enough.

Hard to find apple large enough to get any appreciable kind of decent lumber out of. Most are trimmed as orchard trees and that doesn't allow for it really. How much do you need and for barrel staves I am assuming you need 3-4" wide? Most likely wouldn't need to be all quarter sawn just more 1/4 sawed than plain. And how long? I ask these questions because I have a limited supply of apple. regards, tc

[Coon]

Around these parts the apple trees don't normally grow to anything more than about 10" dbh although I know where there is one that was 16" dbh a couple years back.  This tree seems to be growing bigger and bigger every year too and I think that is due to the lack of it producing fruit.  It is the only apple tree in the vicinity.  The others have been gone for well over ten years.  This reminds me that I need to go see how this tree is doing.  I try to keep it pruned of dead branches which come home with me to be used in the smoker.  I will get pics of it the next time I go out to the woodlot which I hope is sooner than later. 

Brad.

[Jeff]

We have a multitude of apple orchards in Michigan, but I've never seen a tree big enough to quarter saw and never heard of it being used to make barrels. White oak is the cask nad barrel wood from what I understand.

[sjfarkas]

I only need enought to make a 20 liter(approx 5 gal) cask.  It's for an experiment.  We're starting our apple brandy now and I think that a good marketing gimmick would be apple brandy aged in apple wood barrels and filtered with applewood charcoal and bottled with an apple in the bottle.  If the applewood imparts some good flavors like I think it will then I would need more.  This would be for the high end, special occasion(expensive) brandy.

[Coon]

I think you might run into problems with this experiment without considering this as a factor....  I have used many different fruitwoods and a few hardwoods experimenting with aging wines as well as smoking different meats and meat products.  The woods you will be using need to be dried and aged at a minimum of two years (air dried) or you will end with a bitter tasting product.  Birch and apple woods are of the worst from what I recall.  I don't recall if the woods we had used for the barrels were quartersawn or not and my grandfather ain't around to ask. 

Brad. 

[sjfarkas]

Thanks for the info.  I would still like to try the apple wood barrel and if it takes 2 years to let it age and dry well I guess I'll have to wait 2 years, but finding the wood is the first step.

[Coon]

I would definately have to agree that finding the wood is going to be the biggest part.  Personally Myself I would like to try aging a batch of birch beer in a birch barrel.  I am hoping to get into a really nice mature to over mature stand of beautiful large white birch this winter.  I found this stand while picking morels.  ;D  The only access is w/atv or snowmobile and about a two mile hike in on existing trail.   ;)

[SwampDonkey]

The trouble with the modern apple orchards is they are using dwarf trees. The old time apple trees that were in orchards around here 100 years or more ago had apple trees that grew big around and tall. My cousins built a 3 story tree house in one, supported by stilts under it. I have built a tree platform in old ones here at the house, 25 feet up. I cut my orchard out a few years back, replaced them with yellow birch. My trees were 100 years old, dad's uncle planted them at the beginning of the last century. He was just a bit over 100 years old himself when he passed away 16 years ago.