Wood for a barrel

Any hardware used for mashing, fermenting or aging.

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tiramisu
Swill Maker
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Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2018 3:03 pm

Wood for a barrel

Post by tiramisu »

I've got it in my head that making whisky requires making a barrel from a piece of oak
then making some white corn whiskey... then making a single malt bourbon.
recharring the barrel and then making a proper barley whiskey with or without peat.


I suppose I could bring it on myself to make vodka and gin, rum, then a whiskey
but I would die of old age before I made a whiskey....

So... Can a specialty lumber store deliver properly aged and seasoned oak
or do you actually have to go to a mill?

I know what is involved in making a barrel and I only want to make one
but I'd like to do a proper job.

Norwegian Barrel Making Tax


Thankks,
t
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8Ball
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Re: Wood for a barrel

Post by 8Ball »

Find a cooper and buy the wood directly from him. You probably will get valuable insight into the build process as well.

🎱
🎱 The struggle is real and this rabbit hole just got interesting.
Per a conversation I had with Mr. Jay Gibbs regarding white oak barrel staves: “…you gotta get it burning good.”
CopperFiend
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Re: Wood for a barrel

Post by CopperFiend »

I've built 4 barrels now, from 1L up to 20L. I bought a proper big ex-bourbon barrel from a local supplier (they normally buy them to turn into plant pots!) And resawed it. That way you get the benefit of it not being new wood (helps prevent over-oaking) and also it's already quartersawn (extremely important) and you know it works as it's been a commercial barrel before!

This is absolutely the way I would recommend doing it. Getting properly sawn and dried oak timber is very specialist with no guarantees of quality. Plus, ex-bourbon barrels go for insanely cheap. I made 4 barrels out of one big one. I have to say it isn't an easy task if you've never coopered before but I hadn't. I have a metal and woodwork background so I have all the tools and materials however.

If you have any questions, let me know. Maybe you can learn from my initial mistakes! 🙂 all four have been working well for the last year with no leaks so I am pretty happy with that, also my whisky tastes divine.

Cheers,
Copper
cob
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Re: Wood for a barrel

Post by cob »

be water my friend
The Baker
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Location: Northern Victoria, Australia

Re: Wood for a barrel

Post by The Baker »

Tried rebuilding a barrel.

Lots of effort, poor result.

Geoff
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tiramisu
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Re: Wood for a barrel

Post by tiramisu »

We have Bur Oak, Quercus macrocarp, growing locally here that is a type of white oak.
I am going to reach out to some local sawyers and see if I can find myself some winter cuts to season.

Still looking for some modern techniques and jigs to make the job easier but I'm sure I will figure it out
as I go along.

Angles and circles seem like something that is a lot easier to do with modern tools.
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