A couple days ago I drained one of my mini barrels to make room for some stout.
Today I went to empty the other one, and it was bone dry.
Sometime in the last 6 weeks since I last rotated it, it must have developed a small leak. There is just a small spot under the barrel, so it must have slowly dripped over the weeks.
When I first got this barrel, it had a drip after doing the initial soaking procedure, but the manufacturer sent me some wax and that seemed to fix it.
Apparently not a permanent fix
I'll try contacting the manufacturer again but doubt they will do anything about it now. 3L of wheated whisky gone. At least I still have the other 3L.
---
I have a 50L pot still with dual Liebig condenser.
I typically make Whisky, grappa, and brandy.
Bummer... what kind of barrel is it? I recently purchased a gibbs barrel and am pleased with it. Within 10 minutes it was sealed and is holding 2 gallon of single malt now.i bet you're happy to have that other 3l
It was a Red Head barrel. I was really happy with their support back in march, they mailed me the wax at no charge, including sending it into Canada because I couldn't go pick it up in the US like I normally would due to covid. I've emailed them, so we'll see what they say.
---
I have a 50L pot still with dual Liebig condenser.
I typically make Whisky, grappa, and brandy.
Any cooper who sends you wax to fix a barrel has sold you an inferior product in my opinion, and shouldnt be calling them selves Coopers.
I'd be looking for them to replace the barrel at minimum with one that didn't leak.
It would also be the last barrel I ever bought from them.
As with most things, you get what you pay for.
Good Coopers charge what they do for a reason.
I started out using nothing but Gibbs barrels.
I know on this forum everybody raves about Gibbs but I had nothing but problems.
I had a ten gallon barrel that after three years had two gallons left. This is compared to the Barrel Mill barrels that had 8 &1/2 gallons left after three years. I will say that those two gallons were crazy exceptional but not that much better than what was in the Barrel Mill barrels.
Right now I have about eight Barrel Mill barrels and have retired two Gibbs barrels.
I can not stress enough on getting a good barrel.
We work to hard to lose our product to poor cooperage.
Windy City wrote: ↑Fri Nov 06, 2020 9:20 pm
I started out using nothing but Gibbs barrels.
I know on this forum everybody raves about Gibbs but I had nothing but problems.
I had a ten gallon barrel that after three years had two gallons left. This is compared to the Barrel Mill barrels that had 8 &1/2 gallons left after three years. I will say that those two gallons were crazy exceptional but not that much better than what was in the Barrel Mill barrels.
Right now I have about eight Barrel Mill barrels and have retired two Gibbs barrels.
I can not stress enough on getting a good barrel.
We work to hard to lose our product to poor cooperage.
I’m curious as to when you noticed the heavy loss occurring? Was it a major failure?
🎱 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.”
I’m curious as to when you noticed the heavy loss occurring? Was it a major failure?
[/quote]
I was building out my basement for about two and a half years and the barrels were in a store room in my house but were unassessable due to all the things that used to be in the basement were being stored in there too
During that time though any time I walked in the room it did have a great smell
GreenEnvy22 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 06, 2020 3:39 pm
It was a Red Head barrel. I was really happy with their support back in march, they mailed me the wax at no charge, including sending it into Canada because I couldn't go pick it up in the US like I normally would due to covid. I've emailed them, so we'll see what they say.
I bought one from red head in 10l size for my wedding. About the leakiest thing in my house other than the pasta colander. Won’t ever make that mistake again, I had to use so much damned bees wax to have enough to bottle for our 1st anniversary. A few weeks after I dumped it, it shrunk up so much the end bands fell off. Shamefully crappy, thin, leaky “barrels”.
Barrel mill and ISC barrels for me from here on out.
