Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Sarge
Order a charred oak keg to store it in. Greatly improves with age. Almost forgot, make sure you open the bung hole before you tap it
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very true,
also very expensive. Alternatively, you could get some
toasted oak chips (white oak, not red oak) and store it in any container you like, a glass jug or jar for example. I've used this second method to oak my mead in the carboys. I used a long piece of cheesecloth, sprinkled the oak chips on the cheesecloth and then rolled it up like a big sausage. Then I wrapped it with thread to keep it in that shape (though next time, I'll just make it into links like breakfast sausages for the same effect) and threaded it into the small neck of the carboy and down into the mead. This has another big advantage over barrels--speed. The surface area of the chips is much greater than the surface area of the barrel so the oaking happens more quickly, and/or you can get away with much less oak.
The links I posted were just representative, you can shop for them yourself.