Hello,
I have been looking for articles or books on stainless steel accelerated maturation of rum and brandy, did not find any. Can any one recommend a book or an article?
also what are your thoughts on traditional barrels aging Vs accelerated maturation results? Is the accelerated maturation good and acceptable way to speed up productivity??
Reply:
I think everyone here can agree that accelerated aging in stainless steel tanks is far superior to traditional barrel aging. Throw some chunks of wood in and you're good to go.
amirite ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Reply:1 hour ago, daveflintstone said:
Reply:
Any grape brandy not aged in an oak container must be labeled "immature brandy." Acceleration, even if it works, is not an acceptable alternative under TTB's rules. Note that I'm the neutral messenger here. I don't take a position that one is better than the other; I just say that there are legal consequences to not aging grape brandy in an oak container for two years or more.
5.22(d)(1) ... . Fruit brandy, derived from grapes, shall be designated as “grape brandy” or “brandy”, except that in the case of brandy (other than neutral brandy, pomace brandy, marc brandy, grappa brandy, Pisco, Pisco Perú, or Pisco Chileno) distilled from the fermented juice, mash, or wine of grapes, or the residue thereof, which has been stored in oak containers for less than 2 years, the statement of class and type shall be immediately preceded, in the same size and kind of type, by the word “immature”.
Reply:1 hour ago, dhdunbar said:
Reply:16 hours ago, dhdunbar said:
Reply:
No - the spirits must be aged in the oak. Buying wine that has been stored in oak means only that you paying someone else to store something you will still have to store for an additional two years,. I'm not competent to comment on whether distilling wine that has been in oak will benefit the brandy produced.
Stipping out the excess verbiage to get to the basic, we get, "In the case of brandy distilled from wine of grapes, which has been stored in oak containers for less than 2 years, the statement of class and type shall be immediately preceded, in the same size and kind of type, by the word “immature”.
So, I see your logic. Does the phrase "which has been stored in oak containers for less than two years," modify "brandy" or modify "wine of grape." The answer to that lies in the age statement, in §5.40, again simplified for clarity, and referring only to grape brandy, not other fruit brandy:
(b) Statements of age for brandy, Age may, but need not, be stated on labels of brandies, except that an appropriate statement with respect to age shall appear on the brand label in case of brandy (other than immature brandies which are not customarily stored in oak containers) not stored in oak containers for a period of at least 2 years." And age means, by the definition at 5.11, "The period during which, after distillation and before bottling, distilled spirits have been stored in oak containers.
