10gal oak kegs - why aren't these more popular?

[Crispyvelo]

I picked up a 10 gallon american oak keg from Barrelsunlimited back in 2013 for a couple hundred bucks. I made a petite syrah port wine in it the first season, now have a cabernet franc from 2014 harvest. We may use it for one more wine season before I retire it and use it for sour beer production.

Open question - Why are these so dang hard to find (and expensive)!? It seems like barrel producers don't want to be bothered with the small barrels, but I know the home-brew community would kill to get their hands on neutral 10 gallon oak barrels.

Someone needs to quit there job and start producing 10-gal oak barrels at an affordable price for home brewers. Volunteers?

 

[microbusbrewery]

My two cents, I think they're not as popular because of the reason you cited...they are expensive. I would imagine while the material cost would be lower, the labor cost isn't too far off from a full size barrel, so it's probably hard for coopers to make an affordable 10 gallon barrel. There's other considerations like O2 transfer because of thinner staves (compared to full size barrels), faster extraction due to greater surface area to wort volume compared to full size barrels, and the fact that there are much cheaper alternatives to introduce wood character (chips, cubes). Add those all up and that's probably why they're not more common than they are. Don't get me wrong though...I'd like one. I picked up a 55 gallon oak barrel for an absurdly low price from one of our local breweries. We use it for club projects but I'd love to pick up a smaller one for 10 gallon sized experiments.

 

[Crispyvelo]

Someone needs to start this business - a lower cost option for small oak barrels (or containers). Think 5 or 10 gallon sizes. Out of curiosity - who would buy one of these if they were, say, under $150?

 

[TallDan]

Someone needs to start this business - a lower cost option for small oak barrels (or containers). Think 5 or 10 gallon sizes. Out of curiosity - who would buy one of these if they were, say, under $150?

You mean like this?

http://www.morebeer.com/products/va...l-53gal.html?gclid=CNedze_C48kCFQ8zaQodDZwH7Q

 

[Crispyvelo]

Yes! But I would love to see options under $100.

 

[TallDan]

Yes! But I would love to see options under $100.

It'd be great if they were $10 with free shipping, but that's just not realistic. I'm surprised that they're available as cheaply as i posted above. Making an oak barrel has considerable costs in materials and labor.

 

[madscientist451]

Open question - Why are these so dang hard to find (and expensive)!? It seems like barrel producers don't want to be bothered with the small barrels, but I know the home-brew community would kill to get their hands on neutral 10 gallon oak barrels.

The quick answer:
Barrel makers are up to their eyeballs in orders making the standard size barrels for wine, cider, beer and a whole bunch of new distillers. The alcoholic beverage industry is extremely profitable and there is a huge increase in use of barrels.
I don't use the 10 gallon size because of the cost. I'll oak my ciders and wine using staves and wood cubes.

 

[Crispyvelo]

Given that you can buy a new 60-gallon american oak barrel for under $400, it seems crazy that it costs half that for a 5-gallon barrel. Someone is making out like a bandit because clearly there is a greater cost savings on materials than is reflected in the final product price. +1 on $10 w/ free shipping

 

[BrotherBock]

I think too much weight in this thread is being put into the size of the barrel's impact on price. I imagine labor, time, shipping, retail markup, etc is the majority of the cost. Making a 10 gallon barrel takes the same process as a 60, just a little less cost on materials.

 

[TallDan]

Given that you can buy a new 60-gallon american oak barrel for under $400, it seems crazy that it costs half that for a 5-gallon barrel. Someone is making out like a bandit because clearly there is a greater cost savings on materials than is reflected in the final product price. +1 on $10 w/ free shipping

Labor isn't much different as mentioned above and the larger barrels are made in much higher quantities, making the process more efficient. I really don't think the 5-10g barrels are that overpriced, personally. Oak isn't a cheap wood to begin with.

 

[GrogNerd]

http://www.1000oaksbarrel.com/