Barrel Advice?

Well.... there is a way to toast the inside without taking off the head.

Borrowing from my days of baking out ultrahigh vacuum chambers... A quartz lamp 'toaster', using 300-500 watt halogen bulb, properly mounted by one end, slipped in thru the bung hole (i.e. hanging in the barrel with the bung hole facing up) would do the trick. I don't advocate 'average Joe' making one of these toasters... too easy to electrocute onesself or burn down the house if done improperly.

Gene

Joe Sallustio wrote:

That's an interesting idea, but that's different from the way wine barrels are actually toasted during their manufacture.

The barrel is toasted by an oak fire, and the inside surface is occasionally swabbed with water to prevent it from catching fire. The combination of fire and water softens the wood to allow the staves to be bent into the barrel shape.

Odds are that Joe's barrel was bent by steam rather than fire, and that the wood had been kiln dried rather than air dried. It takes several years of outdoor air drying to season wood properly so that the harsh tannins are leached out and the wood is suitable for making wine barrels. Barrels made from kiln dried wood are usually meant for aging whiskey (and cheap whiskey at that!) and are not suitable for wine.

It may be possible to either toast his barrel or leach it chemically to alter its flavor profile, but either way is a gamble. Several changes of very hot water and extended soaking might do the trick more gently.

Tom S

Joe - I bought a 5 gallon (also a 10 gallon) barrel some years ago. At first these small barrels oaked wine very fast...weeks to a month or so. Now these barrels do not impart any oak flavor to wine. I add oak chips to the barrel for the flavor but like the other attributes of barrel aging. Perhaps you could make up a 10 or 12% alcohol solution using Everclear and maybe some low quality wine. Fill the barrel and let it sit for a few months or how ever it takes to leach out the bad flavor.

Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas USA

Gene, Tom, Thanks, I'm and electronics guy so I know what Gene is getting at. I doubt I could get away with getting a lamp in there without blowing up the bulb. I did try running a heat gun in the bung originally. I just did not have enough energy to do anything useful.

I have a turbo torch and thought about taking one end off and toasting it with that but the fuel is all wrong, I might end up with the taste of burnt acetylene whatever that would taste like.

I am thinking of pulling off a head and hitting it with the heat gun though. I'm pretty sure I can get to 700 F with mine, and can get my hands on a hotter one. I can try the gun on the outside first to see what I am getting into.

I'm sure Tom is right about this being bent with steam, it's not a very pretty barrel to be honest. The one thing I am pretty sure of is I don't want to put any more wine in it as is. I just don't like it. The safer play may be the hot water soaks, I need to get the bulk of the wine out of the surface if I am going to try to toast it anyway.

Thanks, Joe

Hi Bill, That's good news. That's where I want to get it, to neutral. I don't need a vinegar barrel, I use carboys and just throw in my depleted chips or beans. I don't know if they contribute to flavor but at least it makes me feel good, it ends up being great vinegar. I want to use this for wine.

Joe

William Frazier wrote:

Joe, is this barrel you been talking about using a blowtorch to be toasted all this time? I am amazed you still have not done this yet. By just taking off the top of the barrel, which is actually quite easy & blast it with a torch, you will have achieved the toasted feel which it sound like you are after. (Scrape off the white burnt ash before reassemble.

I have both scraped (with a boat ((varnish)) scraper) and re-toasted barrels. Not all that hard, just be sure to mark the staves.

SG Brix

If you do this properly there will not be any ash produced. The idea is to periodically wet the wood during the toasting process so as not to set it on fire or char the wood. You're trying to carmelize the wood sugars - not turn the thing into briquets.

Be careful around the bunghole or you'll catch it on fire. Might be a good idea to plug it with aluminum foil during the toasting process.

BTW, toasting is easier to manage if you remove _both_ heads. You may then opt to toast the heads separately.

Tom S

I'll give it a shot; we have a hoop tool my grandfather used somewhere; it may get some use this weekend.

Thanks, Joe

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote:

Be sure to take the barrel apart one end at a time, replacing the hoops after removing each head, or you'll end up with a jigsaw puzzle on your hands. You'll need to loosen the hoops on the opposite end from the head you're removing. Not a bad idea to mark everything so that you get the heads back in the correct orientation.

BTW, a wet barrel is easier to work with than one that has dried out. I'm not sure why that is. Also, you may find that chalk will help keep the hoops from slipping until you can get the nails in place.

Tom S

Thanks Tom. I'll mark it all and put an arrow on each stave to make sure I put it together correctly. I'm assuming using a torch on it's ok and I can draw it together with a ratchet strap once I get it toasted.

Joe

Tom S wrote:

You draw it together by hammering the hoops tight. You can tell when it's tight because the head will ring when you rap on it with a knuckle. At least that's how it works on 60 gallon barrels. Since it's a small barrel, maybe only your dog will hear it. ;^)

Tom S