Winter Barrel Storage

[Mack10]

Hey All,

I was wondering where you keep your barrels during the winter (those of us that get prolonged periods of cold)?

Bought a "fresh" Balcones 5 gallon and will finish the last run of HBB to fill it this week. My first barrel, so I am hoping to give as little to the angels as possible.

I have already tried a google hd search and haven't found much except a couple horror stories of massive losses due to prolonged exposure to cold temps it seems.

Thanks in advance for replies from the experienced. I read here almost daily and have learned much, but still have a long way to go.

Cheers,

Mack

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

My barrels, along with the jars, stay in the attic year round. Hot, cold, dry, humid. I let nature have its way. You'll lose way more in the hot months than the cold. You need both hot and cold for fluctuation. The angels also need their share.

There is a word for local uniqueness of influence to spirits. When I find the word, I'll report back. It's all about your water, your temps, your environment for conditioning a spirit that can not be replicated. Let it be what it wants to be

[Mack10]

Thanks for the response SCD.

The attic is where it will reside until at least next April. At that point I will start checking it with a sample thief to assess progress.

As for the local flavor profile, I get that. Boil my hard well water then rack it off before mashing...heavy lime, some iron, etal. Goes back to beer brewing days.

I have spent most of my spare time this Summer working on building up an inventory of whiskey to enjoy in the future.

[sparky marky]

I have the exact same barrel from homebrewing.org. I filled it in June and have kept it in the utility room which is at room temp most of the time but twice a week will get hot because of the dryer.
It took 18.5 liters to fill it at 59%abv. 12 weeks in there is about 2-2.5 liters missing, a lot of that I expect was just absorbed into the dry wood in the first few days.

These small new barrels go fast, il be checking it for being done after 5 months and I don’t expect to be leaving it 7 months

[cuginosgrizzo]

There is a word for local uniqueness of influence to spirits. When I find the word, I'll report back. It's all about your water, your temps, your environment for conditioning a spirit that can not be replicated. Let it be what it wants to be

for winemaking that word would be terroir

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

There is a word for local uniqueness of influence to spirits. When I find the word, I'll report back. It's all about your water, your temps, your environment for conditioning a spirit that can not be replicated. Let it be what it wants to be

for winemaking that word would be terroir

Yes! Thank you C-dog. That would be the same they use for spirits and beer. You start to see more mention in the other drinks with the craft influence of beer and spirits these days.

Man, you would be surprised ay how hard it is to search for a specialized word from just the definition.