Ancient whisky barrel

Any hardware used for mashing, fermenting or aging.

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guest5234
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Ancient whisky barrel

Post by guest5234 »

Got an old whisky about 45 gallon barrel that was previously a bourbon barrel, I have dismantled it, can I plain the staves and split into small dominoes and char the outside and add to demijohn to age whisky or moonshine or would all the tannins have been used up by previous use.cheers
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jonnys_spirit
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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

Post by jonnys_spirit »

I’ve got a number of staves from various different used barrels and heads that I’ve broken up and stacked outside in the yard for ongoing weathering. I’ll hit em with a wire brush and chop saw to make a batch of fingers when needed then toast/char depending on how i’m feeling. A half barrel and about four barrel heads has provided enough to last me almost forever for aging in glass.

Yes! This is an ideal source of oak for aging in glass or a smaller neutral barrel.

Cheers!
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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

Post by Demy »

Just cleaning may be enough, planing the wood also removes aromas created over time, it could be good or bad ...
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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

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jonnys_spirit wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 4:34 am Yes! This is an ideal source of oak for aging in glass or a smaller neutral barrel.
Can't believe I didn't think of this sooner, I've been using barrel staves for all sorts of crafts, had about a half dozen axe handles out of them, once steam straightened. And all my kids have them as name-signs above their doors. etc.

Been wanting to find a good source for fair priced aging oak. I like the small barrels, but the volume needed isn't in the cards for me, until I nail down a recipe, I like making half to 1 gallon worth at a time.

Oak Chips are bloody terrible.

Oak cubes have fared well, but also expensive/ you don't get many for the price. .

Have tried an Oak Spiral, from a now-empty bottle of this whiskey, the spiral was supposed to have been in rum previously? So this would be the "3rd" use of it, and it's not doing squat.
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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

Post by jonnys_spirit »

BlueSasquatch wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 6:56 am
jonnys_spirit wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 4:34 am Yes! This is an ideal source of oak for aging in glass or a smaller neutral barrel.
Can't believe I didn't think of this sooner, I've been using barrel staves for all sorts of crafts, had about a half dozen axe handles out of them, once steam straightened. And all my kids have them as name-signs above their doors. etc.

Been wanting to find a good source for fair priced aging oak. I like the small barrels, but the volume needed isn't in the cards for me, until I nail down a recipe, I like making half to 1 gallon worth at a time.

Oak Chips are bloody terrible.

Oak cubes have fared well, but also expensive/ you don't get many for the price. .

Have tried an Oak Spiral, from a now-empty bottle of this whiskey, the spiral was supposed to have been in rum previously? So this would be the "3rd" use of it, and it's not doing squat.
I also save all my used staves and reuse them - it works for scotch single malt and rum so why not? Some of them go into wine for first use and those get saved for re-use in spirits too... I think of it as my spice box for my spirits and wines :) Even if the finger is used and fairly neutral plopping a few into a jug full of 60%abv new make will break it down over 12-18 months or longer and contribute to the aged product... I've got a small bag of chardonnay used pieces that are special and might go into a brandy or grappa jug...

Cheers!
-j
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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

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BlueSasquatch wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 6:56 am
Can't believe I didn't think of this sooner, I've been using barrel staves for all sorts of crafts, had about a half dozen axe handles out of them, once steam straightened.
Can you share your steam-straightening process please?
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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

Post by The Baker »

Can you share your steam-straightening process please?

I tried steam-straightening some VERY old barrel staves that had been in the weather for years.
Maybe as long as forty or fifty years, dunno.

Anyway the wood had lost its flexibility.
Not the right word but you know what I mean.

After steaming I clamped it tight in the 'new' position and the result was a lot of cracking.

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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

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The Baker wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 8:28 pm Can you share your steam-straightening process please?

I tried steam-straightening some VERY old barrel staves that had been in the weather for years.
Maybe as long as forty or fifty years, dunno.

Anyway the wood had lost its flexibility.
Not the right word but you know what I mean.

After steaming I clamped it tight in the 'new' position and the result was a lot of cracking.

Geoff
Maybe dipping in water for a few days before steaming could help ...
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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

Post by NZChris »

I only keep new oak outdoors in the weather. Barrel staves were weathered before the barrels were made, by expert coopers, for the products that they were intended for, so I store them under cover.
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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

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Demy wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 4:45 am Just cleaning may be enough, planing the wood also removes aromas created over time, it could be good or bad ...
Cheers, I will have to plane one side as I was going to rebuild it and oiled the outside, would you keep the inside side of the stave which had been previously charred when first made.
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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

Post by jonnys_spirit »

guest5234 wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 6:01 am
Demy wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 4:45 am Just cleaning may be enough, planing the wood also removes aromas created over time, it could be good or bad ...
Cheers, I will have to plane one side as I was going to rebuild it and oiled the outside, would you keep the inside side of the stave which had been previously charred when first made.
When I cut them up into fingers the sides and end are invariably "cleaned up a bit" I don't worry too much about it though in my shed. The blowtorch is also useful for "sterilizing".. It all goes into the jug and I'll use a coffee filter when making a bottle up or just a small carafe for the evening..

Cheers!
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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

Post by TwoSheds »

Demy wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 9:38 pm
The Baker wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 8:28 pm Can you share your steam-straightening process please?

I tried steam-straightening some VERY old barrel staves that had been in the weather for years.
Maybe as long as forty or fifty years, dunno.

Anyway the wood had lost its flexibility.
Not the right word but you know what I mean.

After steaming I clamped it tight in the 'new' position and the result was a lot of cracking.

Geoff
Maybe dipping in water for a few days before steaming could help ...
From a woodworking perspective, green wood or air dried wood, especially of certain species, will steam bend best. Kiln dried wood is tougher, and if a barrel has been toasted, or even just surface charred, it's going to harden the lignin in the wood which would have otherwise contributed to the flexibility. I suspect (but couldn't confirm) that lignin also hardens slowly over time.

So I would expect some barrel staves could be straightened without much trouble, while others will resist completely. Worth a shot if you've got a bunch laying around and the gear to do it.
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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

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Twisted Brick wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 8:16 am Can you share your steam-straightening process please?
Ain't nothing special, I've got a wooden box that I've lined with something like 1" or 1.5" pink foam. Its only as big as a stave. well perhaps 2 or 3 stacked, but width and length are probably something like 40" x 6" and maybe 6" tall, the idea is to not have extra space, from an energy perspective.

Anywho I stuff a rag in one end, then slide the staves inside, then I take a wall-paper steamer, shitty old used one, but it works. And stick it in the other end, stuffed with rags. It's something like 1 hour per 1" of thickness, so usually about 2 hours in, I pull out the stave and then clamp it to my work-bench, let it cool off and when removed, it should hold it's new shape, straight. If it doesn't, do it again. I've not yet had to over-bend it in the opposite direction.
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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

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BlueSasquatch wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:31 am
Twisted Brick wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 8:16 am Can you share your steam-straightening process please?
Ain't nothing special, I've got a wooden box that I've lined with something like 1" or 1.5" pink foam. Its only as big as a stave. well perhaps 2 or 3 stacked, but width and length are probably something like 40" x 6" and maybe 6" tall, the idea is to not have extra space, from an energy perspective.

Anywho I stuff a rag in one end, then slide the staves inside, then I take a wall-paper steamer, shitty old used one, but it works. And stick it in the other end, stuffed with rags. It's something like 1 hour per 1" of thickness, so usually about 2 hours in, I pull out the stave and then clamp it to my work-bench, let it cool off and when removed, it should hold it's new shape, straight. If it doesn't, do it again. I've not yet had to over-bend it in the opposite direction.
Thanks BlueSasquatch. I'm wondering if I can build a box and just softly route steam from the end of my shotgun into it.
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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

Post by The Baker »

I think some people steam wood in a tube.
Could be metal or plastic.
The planks for paddle steamers are done this way.

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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

Post by BlueSasquatch »

Twisted Brick wrote: Sat Aug 20, 2022 12:23 pm Thanks BlueSasquatch. I'm wondering if I can build a box and just softly route steam from the end of my shotgun into it.
Well hey now, there's an idea. The wallpaper steamer is just a small heating element, 120v in a plastic box you fill with water, maybe half a gallon? And then a tube, so I would think a 220v keg would be "overkill" but hard to overkill in this instance, so I say go for it. Unless you're wanting another project, could make a pretty cool steam box-set up. Mine is really just shit thrown together, the box is more of a trapezoid with no straight lines. And tape holding it together mostly.

What are you wanting to bend? Barrel Staves? I found a handful in my shop this weekend, will give them a go for aging stock. But not like they need to be straightened when you're using slices of them.

Also the smell from steaming those staves, quite nice.
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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

Post by Ben »

Simple small steam box can be made from a length of PVC tube and a couple end caps. Drill an oversized steam inlet on one side or the middle, and a bleed holes on each end. Leave the ends un glued for putting material in and for pressure relief if there is a problem.
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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

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Ben wrote: Mon Aug 22, 2022 6:03 am Simple small steam box can be made from a length of PVC tube and a couple end caps. Drill an oversized steam inlet on one side or the middle, and a bleed holes on each end. Leave the ends un glued for putting material in and for pressure relief if there is a problem.
And support the whole thing somehow. PVC gets soft when it's hot and you want to be steam bending the wood, not the pipe.
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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

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I thought maybe it would levitate.
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Re: Ancient whisky barrel

Post by Twisted Brick »

BlueSasquatch wrote: Mon Aug 22, 2022 5:58 am
What are you wanting to bend? Barrel Staves? I found a handful in my shop this weekend, will give them a go for aging stock. But not like they need to be straightened when you're using slices of them.
Ya. Came from here. Had a tipsy hair-brained moment scheming of straightening one out and fitting pieces to a bain marie ala Badmo.
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