Oak Barrel Score!!!!!

I just picked one up for $85.00 from Adventures in Homebrewing. (I swear I paid 85 for mine, though now it appears to be listed as $89.00 It might have been on sale a week ago when I ordered it.



My 50th Birthday Barleywine is going in it first.

Are you seasoning the barrel with that bottle of Jack or was that a Birthday present?

Dunerunner said:

Are you seasoning the barrel with that bottle of Jack or was that a Birthday present?

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Seasoning....I think the barrel is probably an early birthday present to myself. That and the Kegorator I'm building.

Very Nice!

That Jack will taste even better when it comes out of that barrel!

Me & a couple of friends picked up 2. Apparently they arrived already. Can't wait.

sjjn said:

Me & a couple of friends picked up 2. Apparently they arrived already. Can't wait.

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So how many times have you hugged yours so far? Every time I go by mine.

Revvy said:

So how many times have you hugged yours so far? Every time I go by mine.

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Creepy. :cross:

$48 shipping kills it for me though

:rockin:

Awwwww.. wook at da widdle bawwels... sooo cute!!

I just picked up something at harbor freight to make moving it around when it is full, easier. It was on sale for 11 bucks at the parking lot sale this weekend.

The Haul Master mini moving dolly.

Hmm, Ill be within a mile of both of their stores next Sunday... I may need to pick one up. $89 isn't bad!

MultumInParvo said:

Hmm, Ill be within a mile of both of their stores next Sunday... I may need to pick one up. $89 isn't bad!

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You can't just pick up a barrel, you have to pre-order online. They don't keep them on site, at least at the Taylor store, I don't know about the Ann Arbor Location. At the end of the transaction, you select "In store Pick Up."

I would call them tomorrow anyway and see if they have any still in stock. Or even go to their FB page and ask.

Revvy said:

You can't just pick up a barrel, you have to pre-order online. They don't keep them on site, at least at the Taylor store, I don't know about the Ann Arbor Location. At the end of the transaction, you select "In store Pick Up."

I would call them tomorrow anyway and see if they have any still in stock. Or even go to their FB page and ask.

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I'll do just that. Thanks.

I guess I am just too old school and think that if they have it online its at their store. I guess that really isn't the case much anymore...

MultumInParvo said:

I'll do just that. Thanks.

I guess I am just too old school and think that if they have it online its at their store. I guess that really isn't the case much anymore...

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I'm the same way. I think the pallete of 150 barrels came into either their central warehouse or the Ann Arbor store, but mine was the only one sent to Taylor evidently.

Revvy, that was a coin operated washer... Do you always drive to the laundromat to rack your beers?

Guilty of coveting my neighbors barrel

pfgonzo said:

Revvy, that was a coin operated washer... Do you always drive to the laundromat to rack your beers?

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I'm sure that's a laundromat in his apartment. And I'm sure the Reverend is quite the oddity with his brewing projects that spill over into the community areas

Yup we have coin op machines in the condo building I live in, it's a pita, but at least I found a good use for them.

Just out of curiosity? How to you sanitise a wooden barrel?

Nice score!

From what I have read, sanitation is the same as if you were using wood chips. An acid based added to water. The steps of keeping the oak barrel water tight seems a bit of a pain though. I have never used barrels my self, though I do hope to at some point.

I don't think you can really "sanitize" a barrel. Typically winemakers will burn small sulfur sticks in them which will prevent them from getting infected but once a barrel is infected, I don't think there is any way to get it un-infected. Star-san will only soak so far into the wood but won't soak in as far as the infection does.

A new barrel, simply from being charred will be santized and if they are kept sealed up, they'll stay that way for a fair amount of time but you have to maintain it, like I was saying above, by either a sulfur stick or maybe keeping something like bourbon or other alchohol in it.

Keeping it water tight isn't a pain at all. You put liquid in it while keeping a some sort of tray or something underneath to catch the drips. It'll leak a bir for a short period of time but as soon as the wood gets wet, it'll start to expand and tighted up to the point it is water-tight.

I've read a lot of things where folks fill it with 180 degree water to kill off anything at least on the surface.

As to water tightness, Cape is right, it's all about the moisture content in the wood. If the wood is wet, it's swollen and therefore it's a tight seal. If it dries out (which you're not supposed to let happen, but evidently you can correct it if you get one dry by re-filling it with water) the gaps form and it's leaky.

I was lucky, this batch was decommissioned and drain of whiskey on the 28th or 29th of May, so it hadn't dried out. I just filled it with 5 gallons of distilled water and some Jack.

Revvy, cool score on the dolly, good idea!
I've got a barrel on order and have a couple questions for you or anyone else out there:
1. What do you use to cover the hole - the included bung, or should you use an airlock incase the beer still ferments a bit?
2. How long for aging? I read somewhere that the small barrels impart a lot more oakyness due to the larger surface area compared to the liquid amount. One article said 1 month in a 5 gal barrel is about the same as a year in a 55. ???

I think the "on the surface" is the issue... and just to be clear, if you have a barrel that has been taken care of properly and hasn't shown any real evidence of infection, absolutely... I think the hot water, perhaps a bit of star-san (although I would never put star-san in a barrel) or some liquor (what I normally do) would definitely work to keep it clean.

I think once a barrel is really funky though... I am pretty skeptical that you can re-claim it.

I have three 59 gallon french oak barrels in my basement I ferment with (one for a lambic and two for a RR Consecration clone) and those barrels are chock full o' bugs. I don't see anyone getting those bugs out of the barrels in any way. Once they're buggified, I really doubt they can then be used for any non-sours.

Then... all of that said... if a barrel is emptied and left with gunk in it just out to the elements, it'll go moldy and really nasty... and again, I'm really skeptical you could ever bring that barrel back to be used for anything. I have a 59 gallon bourbon barrel in my garage I just never got to use before it went way off... and I would never try to do anything with that barrel other than maybe chopping it up and using the chips in my smoker.

lpdjshaw said:

1. What do you use to cover the hole - the included bung, or should you use an airlock incase the beer still ferments a bit?

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I would def use an airlock and stopper. Not all bung holes are the same size (that's a funny sentence) but a sizes 10-11 rubber stoppers usually fit the larger barrels.

lpdjshaw said:

2. How long for aging? I read somewhere that the small barrels impart a lot more oakyness due to the larger surface area compared to the liquid amount. One article said 1 month in a 5 gal barrel is about the same as a year in a 55. ???

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Depends on the beer and what you're really trying to acheive. I think the "1 month = 1 year" peice you saw has to do with oxygen absorbtion. The larger surface area to volume ratio will allow for dramatically more oxygen to leach through the wood and effect the beer (usually in good ways) but the "oakyness" will typically be driven by the level of char on the barrel and the underlying beer.

I'm not sure there is a solid rule of thumb other than simply trying tiny samples of the beer from time to time and seeing where it is at.

Revvy said:

Seasoning....I think the barrel is probably an early birthday present to myself. That and the Kegorator I'm building.

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Hold on. Are you saying you might be converting to kegging soon??

How should these barrels be stored after use?

lpdjshaw said:

How should these barrels be stored after use?

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With distilled (or water you brought up to 180 degrees) in it, a little bourbon doesn't hurt. You never want it to dry out.

Cool, thanks Revvy. Does it need to be full or have just enough to create humidity inside the barrel?

Great stuff Revvy! I got a hold of one from the Balcones shipment to New Orleans. A batch is on the wood as we type.

Another question. I understand the oak and bourbon character fades with each batch. How many batches do you get from of a fresh barrel?

pfgonzo said:

Revvy, that was a coin operated washer... Do you always drive to the laundromat to rack your beers?

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For a minute there, I thought he was going to tell us about a new secret agitation process he uses during racking. I was about to go looking for an old washing machine on CL to start my agitation DIY build.

the barrel of the picture is made in Mexico?

wineoakbarrel said:

the barrel of the picture is made in Mexico?

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I don't know. The distillery that decommisioned them is in Texas. So I guess it's a possibility.

Adventures in Homebrewing Website said:

From the distiller:

I'm a long-time home brewer and the head distiller at Balcones Distillery here in Texas . Hope this is cool to do this on the forum, but I wanted to make it known that we a greater than normal quantity of recently dumped 20 liter whiskey barrels available for sale. With this summer being as hot as it's been, I'd hate to see them dry out waiting for homes. These are great barrels for homebrewers not only because of their size, but because they come pretty much sterile and were leak free when they were dumped. Because they're used, you don't have to worry about over-oaking your beer like you would with a new barrel.

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Homercidal said:

Hold on. Are you saying you might be converting to kegging soon??

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I for one am excited. I can't wait for his quick replies to the zillions of people that over/undercarbed their kegs and then post asking how to fix it:

"Two weeks at serving pressure and temperature is the MINIMUM required for carbonation. I had a barley wine that once took a full 3 weeks to carbonate!"



edit: spelling

zachattack said:

I had a barely wine that once took a full 3 weeks to carbonate!"

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Meh, somethings I don't believe should be kegged, and barleywines are one of them.