Barrel

Jason Sledd's barrel and bulldog

(To do)

Types of Wood Used in Barrels

Acacia

Acacia wood, also known as "Black Locust," is a species of tree native to the southeastern United States - although its roots have spread worldwide, from Europe all the way to Asia and as far south as Southern Africa. More recently, Acacia has been used as an alternative to the traditional white oak when aging White wine.

Although white wine is often aged in steel casks, wine makers have since discovered that aging in an Acacia barrel preserves the wines aromatic and fruit characteristics. Acacia wood does not contain as much tannin content as oak, thus, it better preserves freshness as well as floral and varietal characteristics. Additionally, white wines aged in Acacia barrels do not suffer from a loss of overall structure.

Acacia is predominantly used in applications for furniture and flooring, however, its physical and chemical properties have led this wood variety to become an integral material within the wine industry: Acacia wood is ideal for aging White wine.

American White Oak

American White Oak (Quercus Alba) is regarded as one of the preeminent species of hardwood grown here in the United States of America. This species of White Oak has tyloses, an outgrowth of the parenchyma cells which stems from a reaction to natural stresses in the environment such as drought; which gives the wood a closed cellular structure, making it water- and rot- resistant.

Within the Wine & Spirits industry, Quercus Alba or American White Oak is the primary source of material in the production of Whiskey barrels; now inundated by law, requiring all bourbon whiskey to be aged in charred new oak barrels.

What makes this species of wood key to the whiskey industry is it chemical structure and the effect this imparts on the aging whiskey. American White Oak is known for its high vanillin content, oak lactone (coconut/bourbon characteristic), and wood sugars which all affect the bourbons taste. Additionally, American White Oak affects the coloring of the bourbon itself. Impure wood varieties like Pine contain resin canals which pass strong flavors into maturing whiskey.

Misc Info

• Barrels used by some lambic producers were originally 4000 liter barrels used by breweries like Pilsner Urquell. The barrels used for lager brewing are pitched. However, they were rebuilt to hold 1000 liters, and the pitch was removed before being sent to lambic brewers in Pajottenland .

General Resources and Articles

Maintenance and Repairs

• Master Cooper Douglas Rennie at Seguin Moreau Napa Cooperage - Repairing Barrel Leaks Video
• American Lambic Blog - Barrel Maintenance for Lambic Brewing
• Citric Acid & Sulfite Barrel Preparation; M&M Wine Grape Company.
• Keeping It Clean - Barrel maintenance for those new to oak barrels; BYO article.
• Barrel Maintenance and Storage, Farmhouse Beer Blog.
• Funk Factory Guezeria - Pyramid Stacking Technique for Barrels
• From End Table to Aging Vessel: Reconditioning an old barrel. Ale of the Riverwards Blog by Ed Coffey.
• Ryan Steagal's video of repairing a hole in the side of a barrel.

Racking Canes

• Bulldog Mfg
• GW Kent Bulldog
• My Pressure Racking Cane, A Beer Diary blog.

Barrel Taps

• Funk Factory Guezeria - Barrel Tap

Waxing Small Barrels

• Paraffin waxing a barrel, Funk Factory blog article.
• Great Fermentations Blog - Waxing Smaller Barrels with paraffin wax.

Embrace The Funk Tips

• Barrel Cleaning and Storage
• Barrel Repairs and Maintenance
• Barrel Filling Procedure

Milk The Funk Tips and Discussions

• Dave Janssen's discussion on MTF about a CO2 Pressure Racking Cane for Barrels, with tips from Eccentric Beekeeper
• Ed Coffey's Cheap CO2 Racking Cane discussion on MTF

Manufacturers and Suppliers

Pro Sizes

• Black Swan Barrels.
• East Coast Wood Barrels.
• Rocky Mountain Barrel Company.

Offers Smaller Sizes

• Oak Barrels, Ltd.
• The Barrel Mill.
• Corsair.
• American Barrel Exchange.

See Also

Additional Articles on MTF Wiki

• Foeder

External Resources

• "Anson on Thursday: Oak ageing holds key to wine sweetness", an article on analyzing oak on a molecular level for desired qualities.
• BasicBrewing radio interview with CJ Shamus; great information on using small barrels for a sour beer program.