Show us your Barrels

[Yob]

cant believe this doesnt already exist...

Home Cellar and testing facility...



and these arent all mine but I can claim to be involved and was filling them on the weekend...



All ex port single Malt Whiskey Barrels with RIS in them... gunna take some getting through

 

[Grott]

All ex port single Malt Whiskey Barrels with RIS in them... gunna take some getting through

Need help then?

 

[Yob]

I'm assuming various parts of Australia will help us out

 

[LAGERFRENZY]

the John Holmes of barrelporn

 

[Yob]

Those banana benders have quite a few pieces of pretty hard wood...

 

[LAGERFRENZY]

Yes many Queenslanders' woods are hard and tall and proud but they're not loaded to the gills with RIS you teaser!

 

[Mikeyr]

More wood than mardi gras!

And on a serious note ....... god damn!

 

[JDW81]

How are you dealing with the inevitable "angel's share" Yob?

 

[Yob]

copping it on the chin.. at home Im in a solaire type setup so Im constantly (every now and then) topping it up with fresh fermented.

In the other system it'll be a blend coming out and a top up to the barrels so invariably... brew more :drinks:

 

[Fraser's BRB]

As someone who knows nothing about barrels for beer, but is interested to find out more, how big are those and how many uses do you get out of them?

From your post above I gather you're topping up as you go, does this mean you never really empty the barrel and start again or are you just topping up to account for the loss to timber?

Edit: by how big, I mean what volume?

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

Yob

Is the fact that they've been used for whisky important to you?

I have access to those barrels before they go to the distillery if that's any help.

 

[barls]

heres the one i share with stuster
currently fermenting a flemish red.

 

[droid]

I'm not sure about Yob's set-up but when adding to a barrel it seems unanimous to add the fresh brew whilst it still has a couple of gravity points to go, providing a natural purge - That's how I layered mine, which means there'll be yeast in suspension that then falls out of suspension and forms a cake. You could always pull some beer from the bottom and take out the yeast and keep beer in for a long, long time, temperature and environment dependant.

Another tip I learned after the fact was to taste the beer from the top, middle and bottom so you get a good idea how the whole barrel tastes.

Oh no, here comes the brain-cramp, if you empty the barrel I was told 4 brews before you are risking compromising the barrel, but if you keep it wet with beer...then...

 

[sstacey]

So how do you clean these things? I understand straight from the distillery they had high alc in them, but what about after having a beer in them? There must be yeast sediment for starters. Are they ok if you keep putting fresh beer in or can they be cleaned. I'd love a barrel but don't want to have to chuck it every few brews if it goes feral.

 

[sp0rk]

As someone who knows nothing about barrels for beer, but is interested to find out more, how big are those and how many uses do you get out of them?

From your post above I gather you're topping up as you go, does this mean you never really empty the barrel and start again or are you just topping up to account for the loss to timber?

Edit: by how big, I mean what volume?

I think we need to find some 50-100L port barrels from a local winery and do a Hunter Brewing co-operative brew to fill a few

 

[Fraser's BRB]

I think we need to find some 50-100L port barrels from a local winery and do a Hunter Brewing co-operative brew to fill a few

I like the way you think. I'm all for it.

 

[Yob]

Yob

Is the fact that they've been used for whisky important to you?

I have access to those barrels before they go to the distillery if that's any help.

yeah man, the fact they've had Lark Single Malt in them for 5 years is key..

Im not really (at this point) interested in Wine Barrels, my passion is the Whisky infusion into RIS... was great in the Scotch ale too before I ****** the barrel)

we have a cooper lined up to shave and re char the barrels when the Whisky eventually fades.

Interested to know more though...

#shakesheadatselfknowingwhatscoming

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

OK, no probs. Was hoping I could pay one forward for your sterling work on the bulk buy.

Be aware that reshaved and fired barrels have a distinct character which passes to the contents. Most quality conscious wineries don't use reworked barrels for that reason. Mind you the character is basically "vin cotto" flavour, could work in beer.

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

I think we need to find some 50-100L port barrels from a local winery and do a Hunter Brewing co-operative brew to fill a few

A 110 litre barrel is called an octave, about the only people with them are Yalumba who have them made specially for a wine called "The Octavius". Second hand octaves are highly sought after, expect to pay well for them.

50 litres barrels are mostly display barrels, be careful they are often waxed or otherwise effed up because it's not considered a serious size (surface area to volume ratio is too high)

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

So how do you clean these things?

With one of these:

There's a good version made by Rapidfil in Oz but their site is down at the moment.