Used 5 gallon wine barrels

Anyone have any ideas about where to find some used wine barrels?

5gal isnt very common so finding it used you would be extremely lucky,

buying used in small sizes usually is nearly as expensive as buying new

Even a 13 gallon or 10 would work, but like you stated they are hard to find.

I just think a new one would be intense. Maybe I could pour alot of boiling water in then soak it in wine for a bit?

refilling with water would work well

vadai barrels is a good source for nice cheap barrels, 13gal for ~170

many used barrels come up on ebay every now and again.
Home vinters are good too if you know any.

sloroger said:

Check out this company for new and used barrels in various sizes... www.qualitybarrels.com. Great company with reliably good barrels.

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Neutral Red Barrels



$42.00

thats damn cheap for a barrel before shipping.
Neutral barrels can be great for making lambics.

damn thats alot of lambic though.

lol

Why are the older barrels so much cheaper............?
What does it mean?

babalu87 said:

Why are the older barrels so much cheaper............?
What does it mean?

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new barrels are fresh and new. That new oak is desirable in distilling and wine making. That flavor profile is not desirable in lambic making.

Old barrels are less desirable too wine makers.
So they are sold of as scrap wood or to people that want too turn them into things like planters.

As long as the older barrel held wort thats what I'd want for Lambics/Reds etc.

Babalu, how many times do I have to tell you this, unless the barrel has been properly taken care of before it gets to you it will make nothing but vinegar. A barrel can go bad in a few hours if someone who doesn't know/care is handling it. Stale, sour wine sitting in the bottom of a barrel makes acetic acid at the speed of light. And while acetic acid is a part of the lambic profile it is a minor part. A VERY minor part. Too much of it and you just blew your load on 60 gallons of brew that won't even make good salad dressing.

You get what you pay for. There is a reason a barrel that once sold for $650 is now selling for $40. Even a 'neutral' barrel is still worth keeping for a vineyard because it's still a 'neutral' storage vessel. It's when it turns sour and is only good for holding petunias that they sell it off. So go make friends with a wine-maker and trade him some really good beer for old barrels in good shape.

Oh, wait a minute...

PTN

The barrel that is holding the clubs Imperial Stout was an $85 bourbon barrel

I just had a McThought...

I'm headed down to Carolina for vacation. I should look around and see about finding a whiskey distillery to visit while we're there. We're headed down in the truck and our dive gear an luggage don't take up all that much space

PTN

Be careful diving down there.........snags galore.

I assume back waters and not the open ocean?

Oh, thats a good idea...... yo

Nope, 20-30 miles off Morehead City. Da Graveyahd ob de Adlantic. "Snags" is what we go looking fo'. Snags mean sumptin' interestin' down there worth lookin' at.

PTN

Good luck finding a distiller in the Carolinas... Lots of wineries around but not a lot else for barrels. I can only think of one distiller off hand in NC and I am not sure that they use barrels as they seem to specialize in a "traditional" style of beverage. I talked with local brewers and it seems KY is the best spot for barrels. Doesn't mean they aren't there, just not easy to locate.

Some wineries will keep their $40 barrels, more or less, in good shape but a lot don't. Acetobacter is a concern, no matter how it is kept. Just make sure you get one that says they have kept the barrel "ready to fill" or similar. Remember, unless you can pick it up, a $40 barrel will end up costing you $150+ to get it to your door.

Thanks Barc. I've been finding that out, thank you Google. Lots of vineyards, not so many distilleries. I don't think I have time to go to Kentucky or Tennessee, I've already paid for three days of diving. That's ok, time will tell.

PTN

paulthenurse said:

Thanks Barc. I've been finding that out, thank you Google. Lots of vineyards, not so many distilleries. I don't think I have time to go to Kentucky or Tennessee, I've already paid for three days of diving. That's ok, time will tell.

PTN

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Glad to help. There is some good wine in the area, though. A lot of stigma behind "likker" around here, though. "Where are the only places Baptists don't say hello to each other?" "Strip clubs and the liquor store."


If you're in the area, I'd recommend heading out to Kinston to Mother Earth Brewery. It is a bit over an hour up there from Morehead but they have some great beer. The guys that brew are awesome, too. Greg used to work up at Victory and Pete has pretty much done everything. Josh is their head brewer and seems to really know his stuff...

Great! We're leaving Morehead City on that Thursday afternoon when the boat gets back to the dock and have reservations in Greensboro that night. I figured we would go thru the Yadkin Valley and the drive a while on the Smokie Mtn Skyway as we head for the barn. No where we have to be till the following Monday morning. I see a lot of beer, wine and BBQ as that week goes by

PTN

Yadkin Valley (on 421) has TONS of wineries. There's plenty on I-40, also.

Morehead to Greensboro isn't all that far but give yourself plenty of time to stop off at the Tap Room at Mother Earth, Big Boss in Raleigh (another GREAT group of guys), Carolina Brewery in Chapel Hill (get their IPA), and then limp on out to Greensboro. And those are just the breweries on the way. If you're looking for another brewery to check out one evening, head up to Greenville to Ham's. Outstanding guys and better beer (if that's possible). Get yourself a Tiki's California Gold and a Peg Leg and call it good.

If you're really not looking for a brewery but a beer, Raleigh has a Flying Saucer and it is pretty good this time of year. Colleges are pretty much a non-issue and you can sit outside in the evenings if it hasn't been in the 100s that day!

Are these guys legit? If so, I'm interested... can anyone besides OP (no offense) comment on this site?