Oaking an IPA in a used wine barrel?

BrewSwag 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
aeonderdonk

aeonderdonk

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 17, 2009
Messages
311
Reaction score
2
Location
Morrisville, NC
I got a wine barrel from my father in law which he used to make red wine. I've rinsed it out and it is currently full of starsanned water. I brewed an IPA yesterday and want to oak it in this barrel but am curious about a few things:

- Will my IPA taste like wine or be red?
- How long should I age it to give it a light oaky flavor (week or so?)?
 
it will probably pick up a bit of color from the barrel depending on how used it was and how many times you soaked and changed out the water. Taste it often until it is at a level your looking for......times are all different but i would definitely start tasting it after a week. Oak sometimes hits quick although barrels are slower than say chips.
 
How big is the barrel? Do you have a basement? This seems like the perfect opportunity to get some kind of lambic barrel action going...
 
5 gallon will oak quick since its more surface area to beer than say a 55 gallon barrel. Just make sure you dont neglect the tasting aspect. Oak doesn't fade quickly....or much at all for that matter. If the barrel fits in the fridge that could be interesting....never done one in a fridge.
 

Similar threads

P
Barley wine oak barrel
Replies
4
Views
584
pinpoint
P
S
Pinot Noir- classic red & rose’
Replies
0
Views
496
Srimmey
S
S
Plug oak barrel spigot hole b/c it leaks , how?
Replies
16
Views
1K
Sballe
S
C
WLP 099 Barley Wine
Replies
20
Views
2K
Cloud Surfer
C
Stormcrow
Patoka Lake Brewing
Replies
1
Views
641
Sailingeric
Sailingeric

Latest posts

Back
Top