Buying a used wine barrel

Systems, Gear, & DIY
1

I am looking into buying a used wine barrel.  I found a wine classifieds website that seems to be aimed at other vintners.  Some of them mention the conditions under which they are stored such as “Barrels are rinsed thoroughly with 160F water, then ozonated water, and finally treated with sulfur gas before being sealed. Treatment will be repeated monthly until the barrels are sold.”  Is this good for beer?

2

Wineries don’t really want wine character to carry over to the next batch like brewers would. I have used freshly dumped wine barrels with great success. You can still use these wine barrels  but they may be neutral by the time you get them, imparting very little wood flavor. Wineries use cubes, staves and chips to add oak flavor back in neutral barrels.

You might be able to contact the winery directly and score some barrels but one thing to consider is that wineries use barrels until the barrel either develops a problem (like an infection) or have been used so much they are literally falling apart. This is one reason why wine barrels are hard to come by.

Some time wine barrels are inoculated with malolactic bacteria. This bacteria will further dry out whatever beer you put in it and once it is in the wood it is quite difficult to get out. I have enjoyed the saisons I have brewed in wine bbls inoculated with malolactic.

3

Thanks,  I would rather get a freshly dumped barrel, but this site didn’t seem to have any.  Any idea where I might find a fresh barrel? If it were within a few hours drive of northernmost northern California, I would go get one and save on shipping.

4

[quote=“uisgue, post:3, topic:22242, username:uisgue”]

Thanks,  I would rather get a freshly dumped barrel, but this site didn’t seem to have any.  Any idea where I might find a fresh barrel? If it were within a few hours drive of northernmost northern California, I would go get one and save on shipping.
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Doug, King Estates has told me they sell barrels.

5

If you’re trying to procure a single barrel then your best chance would be contacting wineries you can reach by vehicle directly and see if they will sell you one immediately after dumping. Do this by phone rather than email. Whoever handles the website’s emails is probably an event planner or sales staff who has no idea what to do with your email.