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fermenting A noobish question about aged mash

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I want to do this for a special reserve batch.  Even though I am just a hobbyist at the moment, I do want to eventualy turn this into a business I will truly enjoy.  I think chilliheads would love a hot sauce that has been aged that long.  So when it comes out, you won't have to wait.  In the meantime, I will be the one doing all the waiting . . .
 
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I'm not sure but if conditions remain right, I would think it could be done.  What I do know is I want one of those barrels!  Those are cool.  Why don't you do 10 quart jars w/ one pound in each and harvest one jar every year to find out if it's still good.  If you can make it to 5 or 6 I'm sure you can make it to 10.
 
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PepperDaddy said:
I'm not sure but if conditions remain right, I would thick it could be done.  What I do know is I want one of those barrels!  Those are cool.  Why don't you do 10 quart jars w/ one pound in each and harvest one jar every year to find out if it's still good.  If you can make it to 5 or 6 I'm sure you can make it to 10.
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The problem with that is that it would take me 5 to 6 years to find out if its viable, and another ten years to run the larger batch . . .
 
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I have done numerous ferments however I don't go over 90 days with them. Yep, I know that Tabasco goes for several years and i'd be willing to bet that they're kept in a pretty well controlled environment. If I were going to try and save a mash for 10 years I'd probably let it go it's normal fermentation as I always do and once the activity in the jar has stopped transfer it to the Oak barrel and put it in a refrigerator to let it go it's time. It'll still be aging and there'll be less chance of it going bad on you. Yes the Ph will help it however low Ph is really only shelf stable for maybe 6 months to a year in and of itself. You're also going to want to make sure that the inside of the oak barrel is sterilized before adding the mash to it and sealing it up. I'll still infuse the mash with all the oaken goodness. JMHO :) 
 
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If you want to age it 10 years you definitely do not want one of those new barrels. You'll be getting an oak profile, and that's it. If it's worth waiting for you need to be drawing more flavors than wood.
 
Some of the best Scotch whiskeys actually use American bourbon barrels to draw out a multitude of flavors. Bourbon is aged in new charred oak barrels, so the Scotch draws out tones of the bourbon, oak, and smoke. Barrel selection is an important part of Scotch making. They experiment with wine barrels, cognac barrels, etc.
 
That's why you see 12 year Scotchs, etc. One wants to taste all the flavors and notes. If a new oak barrel, you'd just have a one-note sauce. Oak-y.
 
I wouldn't dive into a 10-year age without a few quicker ages, and barrel experiments. Hell no! Wait 10 years, and you just picked a barrel off the net.
 
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For wood flavor, I got some barrel staves from the Jack Daniels distillery in Tennessee. I like the idea of adding small chunks of wood to the batch for flavor in a glass container without having to worry that the oak barrel will leak or overpower my mash.
 
Maybe you can find some used barrels from a local distillery or vineyard. 
 
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Or smoke the pods first over oak. Oak is a great smoking wood, and not as intense as others. Cold smoke them so they don't really cook (like smoking cheese), but don't dry-smoke (dehydrate). Then ferment, and age for 3-6 months. Should taste good.

I guess you need to ask yourself what you are after. A woody taste? A smoky taste? An aged pepper taste? Subtle notes of spirits or wine? Etc. Once you know, then you can proceed with what works best.
 
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Cold smoke the pods over oak and just ferment is glass jars or food-safe buckets, etc. Shit, it will taste better anyway. No real need for oak barrels, Tabasco does not taste oak-y at all. It's aged 3 years in oak. Wine and spirits act differently (I was just thinking about this). Maybe sauce actually acts as a barrier to the wood. I have no idea. I just know Tabasco is not oak-y.

Will you risk 10 years trying to find out? I'd do short aging periods.
 
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THP has a great suggestion and it's easy to test. Go to any homebrew store and you can get toasted oak chips which have been toasted to different levels. I'd try first with some medium toasted chips and just let it go for maybe 6 months then see if you can tell a difference. If you do then your golden if not then as THP says, most likely it doesn't do anything. Either way you have an answer as to whether or not it's worth doing and we'll be following along to see the outcome.
 
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You can buy smoker wood chips that are chipped up whiskey barrels. I know Jack Daniels has one and so does Jim Beam. With that, you get the oak, the char, and the bourbon. Mix them into your mash and experiment till you get the right combo of wood chips and mash.
 
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