Used wine barrels

[John D]

I have searched the forums but still have ? I have the opportunity to by 10 used wine barrels. French , Hungarian, American, oak and one other cant remember. They are $95 each and will be emptied next week. Is there a type wine stored in them that I should not get for grain spirit storage or brandy. I will be able to clean and re char the ones not usable in my 30 by 40 complete wood working shop. They are 59 gal kinda big and not DSP yet. He will not have anymore available for two years.

I was reading CFR and if I understand it I can store NGS in them and be able to state the age or aged on the Grain Spirit label. Still kinda fuzzy on that !

Thanks again for any info. John

Front of tee shirt. Get yours at my BackDoor. Back of tee shirt bottle image and Distillery under it.

[jwymore]

Things to ask is how many times they have been used, what is the toast and what was in them. I would want to know this before purchasing. Even if thoroughly cleaned, red wine barrels will likely leach some red color into your spirit as well as a little flavor. Possibly desirable for brandy but probably not for grain spirits. If your supplier has a steam or high pressure barrel washer on site have him clean the barrels for you before shipping.

[mendodistilling]

Look into barrel storing. Va can be a major problem, once you have it its not a good thing to fight. Get some sulphur gas from welding supply, air gas, mMatheson, and treat often while not in use. Rinse after wards. j is right, get seller to wash them if they can with steam. Fill with water first if dry stored so they wwon't leak after dry storage.

[PeteB]

Va can be a major problem, once you have it its not a good thing to fight.

What is Va please?

I know a distillery that used Pinot (red wine) barrels and their whisky went pink. They didn't wash the barrels before use.

I have rye whisky that has been in 53 gallon pinot barrels that I didn't wash,for 13 months. When I heard about the pink whisky I checked mine and it was not pink

[John D]

I think it is a fungus that will grow if you don't burn a match or two in each barrel every few months while not being used.

[mendodistilling]

http://www.barrelbroker.com/barrelcare.php

what causes vinegar, acetobacter.

[mendodistilling]

sorry, its volatile acidity which causes vinegar smell.

[mendodistilling]

or acetone, mainly you will smell acetone. especially if barrel sits empty in the heat.

[John D]

Ok.

I have read the comments broke google search. If ALL things came together under the sun and If ALL things came together under the moon. Would they be worth buying at $95 x 10 or buy 5 new and be done with it. Sometimes I get stuck on the deal! And not the practicality of the product.

Thanks

[nabtastic]

I'm confused as well. Are you making a Brandy or a NGS? if NGS/GNS I wouldn't bother barrel aging. I have no personal expirience with brandy, but IMO I would only buy a used barrel if I was specifically looking for that flavor or aroma. We buy used bourbon barrels on the reg and have had no problems. We'll begin with wine barrels later this year.

That being said, since you don't have your DSP yet I wouldn't bother buying barrels. There are plenty other things to spend time and money on. Also, NC, VA, TN, and KY all have numerous wineries so don't worry if this fellow won't have any for a while.

PS: it'll be cheaper to drive a truck and trailer to pick up these barrels than ship it. I tried a brokerage in Danville, KY - wanted $60 to ship less than 80 miles. Also, you can by barrels that are broken down on ebay and reassymble them. I only mention because you seem to want to tear the barrels down anyway.

[stevea]

No not acetone. If you smell that nail-polish remover smell it's likely to be ethyl acetate.

Volatile acidity is a product of ethanol & fusel oxidation by hetero-fermentative bacteria or yeasts. Requires oxygen.