Oak Barrels
Christopher Helms
home wine makers and there are methods for keeping them sanitized
between batches of wine but I've never seen anyone selling them for
home brewers. Is there any reason why oak or some other hardwood
wouldn't work for beer?
Bob F
One of the guys in my homebrew club had a small oak barrel with beer in it.
Ecnerwal
"Bob F" <bobn...@gmail.com> wrote:
You can do the whole process in wood. That's what was used for years.
Why don't you see it done more now? It's an expensive affection (About
$200 for a 6 gallon, never mind the time/chemicals required to maintain
the thing) and a great way to get infections - there are actual cracks
and crevices in there that can be hard/impossible to get adequately
sanitized. Having a live steam boiler is very handy if you really want
your cask cleaned.
If you don't maintain it, it leaks.
If this happens to be where you want to spend your money, go for it, but
at least be aware of the downsides. You can buy a lot of toys or
ingredients with that kind of money.
If you really get into it, you could revive the Burton union system.
As far as I know, there is no particular benefit to aging beer in in
oak, as opposed to wine or spirits. If you can stand the bill for
filling it up in the first place, (and perhaps try to find one smaller
than 6 gallons) you can turn cheap whiskey into expensive whiskey with a
barrel and time.
--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by
Joel
My homebrew club filled a just-emptied bourbon barrel with
an export stout. The barrel cost something on the order of $50,
and we had brewed the stout (55 gallons) a couple weeks earlier.
It turned out really nice. But as far as cleaning, etc., for
reuse, we figured it wasn't practical.
A more direct answer to your question is that yes, you could
use one of the wine barrels for beer, if you liked.
--
Joel Plutchak
"New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any
other reason but because they are not already common." - John Locke
Christopher Helms
<MyNameForw...@ReplaceWithMyVices.Com.invalid> wrote:
> In article <hfhk67$ci...@news.eternal-september.org>,
> "Bob F" <bobnos...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Christopher Helms wrote:
> > > Has anybody ever tried to do a secondary in one? They sell them for
> > > home wine makers and there are methods for keeping them sanitized
> > > between batches of wine but I've never seen anyone selling them for
> > > home brewers. Is there any reason why oak or some other hardwood
> > > wouldn't work for beer?
>
> > One of the guys in my homebrew club had a small oak barrel with beer in it.
>
> You can do the whole process in wood. That's what was used for years.
> Why don't you see it done more now? It's an expensive affection (About
> $200 for a 6 gallon, never mind the time/chemicals required to maintain
> the thing) and a great way to get infections - there are actual cracks
> and crevices in there that can be hard/impossible to get adequately
> sanitized. Having a live steam boiler is very handy if you really want
> your cask cleaned.
>
> If you don't maintain it, it leaks.
>
> If this happens to be where you want to spend your money, go for it, but
> at least be aware of the downsides. You can buy a lot of toys or
> ingredients with that kind of money.
You're right. The price of a new 6.5 gallon wood barrel is practically
a deal breaker all by itself. I could buy 250 pounds of malt and a
glass carboy for the price of one of those damn things. I was
wondering if anyone had tried it and gotten results good or
interesting enough to make it worth the cost and the various forms of
babysitting that a wooden barrel would require.
Christopher Helms
> Christopher Helms <Chrishelms...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >Has anybody ever tried to do a secondary in one? They sell them for
> >home wine makers and there are methods for keeping them sanitized
> >between batches of wine but I've never seen anyone selling them for
> >home brewers. Is there any reason why oak or some other hardwood
> >wouldn't work for beer?
>
> My homebrew club filled a just-emptied bourbon barrel with
> an export stout. The barrel cost something on the order of $50,
> and we had brewed the stout (55 gallons) a couple weeks earlier.
> It turned out really nice. But as far as cleaning, etc., for
> reuse, we figured it wasn't practical.
> A more direct answer to your question is that yes, you could
> use one of the wine barrels for beer, if you liked.
> --
> Joel Plutchak
I might consider it if it wasn't for the cost and if there was a
proven method for keeping it clean and sanitized between batches.
There are ways to do it with wine but I don't know what would be
available for dealing with beer, or even if there is anything
available.
John Bleichert
I would be more likely to add sanitized oak (or other wood) chips to a
secondary for that vanillin-ish oak effect. If I wanted it ;-)
--
-----------------------------------------------
The heat from below can burn your eyes out!!
Joe Sallustio
I have barrels but use them for wine. Beer barrels were lined with
tar as I recall. I have added oak chips to stout in the final minutes
of the boil to good effect. If you are looking for a barrel try
Vadia, they are the best relatively inexpensive barrel available in
North America as I see it. Barrels are nothing like carboys, they
require constant care and feeding...
Jerry
<MyNameForw...@ReplaceWithMyVices.Com.invalid> wrote:
> In article <hfhk67$ci...@news.eternal-september.org>,
>
> > Christopher Helms wrote:
> > > Has anybody ever tried to do a secondary in one? They sell them for
> > > home wine makers and there are methods for keeping them sanitized
> > > between batches of wine but I've never seen anyone selling them for
> > > home brewers. Is there any reason why oak or some other hardwood
> > > wouldn't work for beer?
>
> > One of the guys in my homebrew club had a small oak barrel with beer in it.
>
> You can do the whole process in wood. That's what was used for years.
> Why don't you see it done more now? It's an expensive affection (About
> $200 for a 6 gallon, never mind the time/chemicals required to maintain
> the thing) and a great way to get infections - there are actual cracks
> and crevices in there that can be hard/impossible to get adequately
> sanitized. Having a live steam boiler is very handy if you really want
> your cask cleaned.
I wouldn't use it for primary fermentation but it's safe to use as a
secondary as the OP suggested they want to do. Plus, they can be found
used (used once for whiskey) for around $100. Still pricey but not as
bad as new.
--
Jerry
Jerry
Search on homebrewtalk.com. There's usually someone on there who has a
hook-up for used whiskey barrels looking to do a group purchase.
--
Jerry
Christopher Helms
> On Dec 7, 11:07 am, John Bleichert <syb...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> > On 2009-12-07, Christopher Helms <Chrishelms...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > > Has anybody ever tried to do a secondary in one? They sell them for
> > > home wine makers and there are methods for keeping them sanitized
> > > between batches of wine but I've never seen anyone selling them for
> > > home brewers. Is there any reason why oak or some other hardwood
> > > wouldn't work for beer?
>
> > I would be more likely to add sanitized oak (or other wood) chips to a
> > secondary for that vanillin-ish oak effect. If I wanted it ;-)
>
> > --
> > -----------------------------------------------
> > The heat from below can burn your eyes out!!
>
> I have barrels but use them for wine. Beer barrels were lined with
> tar as I recall. I have added oak chips to stout in the final minutes
> of the boil to good effect.
That sounds like a much more practical way to go. Is there anything
special about the chips you use or are they just the regular ones they
sell in bags for grilling?
T.J. Higgins
Homebrew shops sell oak chips. I don't know if they are the same as
the ones for grilling. An example is at
<http://www.ebrew.com/oak_chips/american_oak_chips.htm>
--
TJH
Joe Sallustio
> >That sounds like a much more practical way to go. Is there anything
> >special about the chips you use or are they just the regular ones they
> >sell in bags for grilling?
>
> Homebrew shops sell oak chips. I don't know if they are the same as
> the ones for grilling. An example is at
> <http://www.ebrew.com/oak_chips/american_oak_chips.htm>
>
kinds, French and European (usually Hungarian) taste similar, American
is a bit different; all are white oak. Whiskey barrels are made from
American oak but they char a whiskey barrel rather than toast like a
wine barrel. The goal is different, the char is a partial filter.
The toast can be medium, medium heavy and heavy. I like medium heavy
to heavy. Untoasted is gawd awful, its just not pleasant in my
experience, Beans are cubes of a regular size so are uniform, chips
are irregular but work fine. I don't like the sawdust either but they
sell it so someone likes it...
You can do this a couple ways, put an ounce or two in at say 5 minutes
before the end of the boil or take some vodka and add oak to it to
make an 'essence' you can add anytime. I wouldn't add more than an
ounce or two of chips first time out.
Joe
Zymogod
effect. I'm going to be getting some charred oak casks for making some
sort of Kentucky libation. After 3 uses or so they are no good for the
Kentucky libation anymore but I can use them for a couple of batches of
beer then.