Oak Wine Barrel Staves

[Twisted Brick]

I ran across this CL ad yesterday. There are a number of posts here citing successes in toasting and charring (sometimes after trimming) ex-wine barrel staves. Gonna go pick up a bundle. Anything I should be wary of?

https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/for ... 42839.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Bushman]

That is a great price, just make sure the outside hasn't been given a coat of shellac but if it has you can always sand it down.

[Twisted Brick]

Thanks Bushman, good advice.

[brat]

Damn that's a great price!! And it's only about 40 mins from my house. I wonder if it's a year around thing or is it a year around supply?

[RedwoodHillBilly]

Wine barrel staves are just fine. JBC gave me a bag full of them. I sand all sides, then toast and char them. Not as good as a barrel, but a close second.

[Twisted Brick]

Dunno. The ad has been up for almost a month. Hopefully they still got some. I'm gonna call 'em tomorrow. Will report back.

[nerdybrewer]

I was visiting Wenatchee Wa a few months ago and picked up a 10# bag of cut up staves.
Added them to my twice used Bourbon barrel full of rum and I'm getting nice color and flavor.

[Twisted Brick]

Good news: I was told they still have "quite a few available".

[Twisted Brick]

So I picked up a bundle of staves, and found out they originated from barrels from Napa Valley. The 26-stave bundle weighed in at 53lbs and the oak scent smelled delicious. I was so stoked to acquire my very first lot of oak for ageing that I guess you could say I got wood...

For shiggles, I cut two staves in half and steamed them for 3 hours in an oven roaster at 350-400F (my oven sucks). The intent was to cause them to relax enough to straighten out (I read of someone else being successful doing this) but it didn't work on these. I changed the water out every 30min, the first 3 changes progressively clearing from a deep red color that made the entire downstairs smell of wine. During the last 2 changes the wine smell was completely gone and the kitchen filled with a wonderful oaky vanilla aroma. The final hour I removed the lid and toasted the exposed wood at ~400F.

I assume the steaming removed a good portion of the imbedded wine, but I ground and sanded the stained side down to new wood. Since wine barrel-finishing of spirits (beyond port and sherry) is gaining momentum, I'm eager to follow any number of toasting/charring regimes. Any ideas/advice/suggestions greatly appreciated.

TB

[The Baker]

Shipwrights working on Murray River (Australia) paddle steamers also need to make wooden planks pliable enough to work with, so that they can bend them to the right shape.

They put the plank into a pipe, close the ends and introduce steam (over a considerable period...).
The original boats and many still working, have steam boilers to work the paddles....

Geoff

[sampix]

Just a heads up if you are looking for another source for staves. I was at my local big box hardware store and their wine half barrel planters caught my eye. Then I noticed they had a pile of hoops and staves sitting in a corner from three or four units that had fallen apart. "What are your plans for those broken ones?" I asked. "I need five or six pieces of that wood for a project." "Well, I can't give them to you. How about $2?" And they gave me the whole pile.

[jonnys_spirit]

I'd do that deal in a second! Stack in your yard to season and just use as needed. Heck the planter was only $39 no-deal and that was a steal for "plenty of nice oak"...

Cheers,
j

[kiwi Bruce]

You have enough to to a few experiments...the consensus with charring swings between those who use an oven or their grill..."chuck em' on the Barbie" and using a propane touch, which I prefer. The object of the "char" is to break down the wood cells and release the sugars in the wood (caramelizing them) and a boat load of other flavoring agents. I feel the an open flame does this better than a sealed oven or a grill...but you'll find half the HD's that do toast their own used staves, will disagree...BUT, as I said...you have enough staves to to a few experiments.