LAKEMONSTER

Hello ADI community, I'm the owner of a craft brewery in St. Paul, MN working on adding a distilling component in an adjacent space. Being that we have a brewhouse set up for mash/lauter with beer, single malt/malt whiskey is a big part of our plan. I'm hoping to use a mix of new and used cooperage, but as I've been reaching out to coopers for pricing and availability I've gotten worried I'm going to be out of luck with new barrels. I've reached out to ISC, Kelvin, Barrel Mill, Black Swan, Speyside, Kentucky Bourbon Barrels and Barrels Unlimited, all have either: 1. not responded at all or 2.said they are 24+ months out and not taking on any new customers. I sweet talked the barrel mill folks ("local MN distillery!") and they said they could maybe squeeze in 2 barrels in 2024 for me. What are you all seeing in the market for new barrels? Are there any resources I'm not utilizing to find new cooperage? We weren't planning on producing straight Bourbon or Rye as we are set up to process malt, so it's not the end of the world if I'm stuck with used barrels but I like a lot of the craft malt whiskeys I've had with new oak and was hoping to have some of that in my blending stock. Cheers,