New barrel shortage issues.

[Telluride]

I'm sure people have thought of this, but has anyone tried what the wine industry does and just line the walls of a fermenter with charred oak? It seems like you could match or increase the surface area to dictate time and extraction rates and im sure its got to be cheaper and utilize less space. Space comes at a premium where I live

[Mahad]

Looks like an old conversation but here I go, my name is Mahad and I am the owner of D.R. Cooperage and Grain down here in New Mexico.  I hope this message is read becasue I have spent the last year developing a kit with plans that turns anyone with little to no woodworking experience into a cooper able to produce my specially designed 27 gallon barrels.  It would be awesome to chat with anyone interested in this idea.  Coopering can be difficult especially without some of the specially designed tools and fixtures to help cut things like stave shape or the croze, but I think i've got the remedy to this know-how issue.  Though the process is designed for novices in the hands of a skilled wood worker the next level of mixed wood barrels (thanks to the special barrel design) could be available to you.  Give me a ring 505-688-6397 or shoot me an email Mahad@DRCooperageandGrain.com I would love to talk and field any questions about this new approach to getting custom barrels in the hands of craft beverage makers.  

I believe in the second wave of craft distilling where not only raw materials are locally sourced but the production of tools and aging techniques are also practiced in-house or locally.  

http://www.abqjournal.com/696318/meet-the-coopers-local-entrepreneurs-get-into-barrel-making-business.html

[Jake Holshue]

We make our own barrels here out of Oregon oak. It is not cost effective unless you are cranking the SOB's out like mad dogs.

Just saying...

[JustAndy]

Quote

16 hours ago, Jake Holshue said:

We make our own barrels here out of Oregon oak. It is not cost effective unless you are cranking the SOB's out like mad dogs.

How much of that is the cost of using oregon oak vs the labor of doing it?

 

[Jake Holshue]

Well there are many cost issues associated with the process. I feel the most significant is the upfront cost. I think the biggest misnomer about making barrels is some the thought you can just walk down to the general store and pick up some coopering equipment. There are some pieces of equipment you can pick up, but several of our machines are either pre WWII or just thereafter. We had to buy a cooperage out of Canada that was going out of business, and ship all the equipment down here. On the other side, I have seen these mega machines that cost upward of $5 million that you put logs in one side and barrels come out the other end. Its crazy either way and I caution anyone thinking about making their own barrels.