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Author Topic: Woodinville Whiskey Co. barrel  (Read 12261 times)

Offline smkranz

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Woodinville Whiskey Co. barrel
« on: June 03, 2012, 11:24:34 pm »
I ordered one of their 8 gallon once-used bourbon barrels. $183 including $38 shipping to Maryland.  Yikes, our club got a 53 gallon barrel thru our local micro a couple years ago for about $120.  But no one was ready to coordinate that kind of project again quite yet, so this barrel's all on me.

It arrived in one piece in spite of the barrel just being placed bare naked in an ordinary shipping box, i.e. no other packing materials, bubble wrap, etc. to protect it.  Kind of surprising.

I fashioned a rough cradle from two short pieces of 2x4 lumber and 4 triangle wedges cut from the same 2x4s.  Not knowing whether to expect leaks, the cradle & barrel are set up inside the pan from a rabbit cage.  But it has not leaked.

The barrel came with a little card that suggests rinsing and something else, maybe a sulfur stick.  Nah...I had a batch of fully fermented, hi-test Biere de Garde that was ready to go.  Our experience from our last barrel, and the advice from our micro brewer, said to just put the beer in as-is.  So after prying the wooden stopper out, I first flushed the barrel with CO2 to purge it of air (omg the aromas!), then into the barrel my Biere went.

I topped it off and stuck an airlock on it, and will start sampling in another week or so.  Happily, I have about a gallon of the original Biere to use for keeping the barrel topped off if my sampling gets a little heavy-handed.  8)

Cheers.
Steve K.
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Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Woodinville Whiskey Co. barrel
« Reply #1 on: June 04, 2012, 12:16:56 am »
Nice!  I expect to try this beer on club night 2013 :)
Tom Schmidlin

Offline 1vertical

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Re: Woodinville Whiskey Co. barrel
« Reply #2 on: June 04, 2012, 03:32:06 am »
NO on the sulfur stick.  Avoid that madness. Can you say ewwwwwww.

good deal and thanks for the source. Seems a little pricy but you
take what you can get when you want an oak unit.

tom, if you get a taste please post notes about your experience.
thanks
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Offline svejk

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Re: Woodinville Whiskey Co. barrel
« Reply #3 on: June 04, 2012, 09:31:57 am »
I agree that a sulfur stick sounds like a bad idea - I'm surprised they would suggest that because the vapors can explode (see Gordon Strong's "Brewing Better Beer" for details on that).

If you are going to NHC this year, you'll get a chance to try Naked City's Opacity at Pro Night .  It is an imperial stout that was aged in a Woodinville Whiskey barrel that my club collaborated on.  It really turned out great (info here http://www.seattleproper.com/nhc-2012/opacity). 

We'll also have a few other beers aged in smaller barrels that we'll be serving both at club night and at a couple of hospitality shifts as well.

Offline smkranz

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Re: Woodinville Whiskey Co. barrel
« Reply #4 on: June 04, 2012, 09:21:32 pm »
Nice!  I expect to try this beer on club night 2013 :)

No promises that there will be any of it left by then.   ;)
« Last Edit: June 04, 2012, 09:24:55 pm by smkranz »
Steve K.
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Offline smkranz

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Re: Woodinville Whiskey Co. barrel
« Reply #5 on: June 04, 2012, 09:22:53 pm »
I agree that a sulfur stick sounds like a bad idea - I'm surprised they would suggest that because the vapors can explode (see Gordon Strong's "Brewing Better Beer" for details on that).

If you are going to NHC this year, you'll get a chance to try Naked City's Opacity at Pro Night .  It is an imperial stout that was aged in a Woodinville Whiskey barrel that my club collaborated on.  It really turned out great (info here http://www.seattleproper.com/nhc-2012/opacity). 

We'll also have a few other beers aged in smaller barrels that we'll be serving both at club night and at a couple of hospitality shifts as well.
I'll be there, and will try to look for it!
Steve K.
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Midnight Homebrewers' League
http://www.midnighthomebrewers.org

Offline smkranz

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Re: Woodinville Whiskey Co. barrel
« Reply #6 on: July 17, 2012, 11:06:30 pm »
The Biere de Garde was in the barrel exactly one month and the bourbon character is amazing.  Much stronger than the equivalent time in a 53-gallon Jack Daniels barrel.  I could gave gotten by with less time, but I didn't have the next beer ready to go in yet.  Woodinville is also a more intensely flavored bourbon (we visited Woodinville Whiskey Co. on our trip to NHC and brought back 5 bottles...yikes!).  Their Rye and Vodka are also excellent...I'm thinking my next barrel will be one of their Rye barrels.

I pulled the beer, and put beer #2 (a Wheat Wine) right into the barrel the same day.  After 3 weeks, the Wheat Wine is already getting oaky, with a faint hint of bourbon.  I figure to keep it in for another month or so.  By then, hopefully there will be another beer ready to go in.  No idea what yet, tho there won't likely be much if any bourbon character left in the barrel by then.

Maybe it's time for my first brett beer.
Steve K.
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Midnight Homebrewers' League
http://www.midnighthomebrewers.org

Offline 1vertical

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Re: Woodinville Whiskey Co. barrel
« Reply #7 on: July 17, 2012, 11:17:45 pm »
Maybe it's time for my first brett beer.

Sounds familiar  ;)
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Offline kylekohlmorgen

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Re: Woodinville Whiskey Co. barrel
« Reply #8 on: August 04, 2012, 11:44:54 am »
The Biere de Garde was in the barrel exactly one month and the bourbon character is amazing.  Much stronger than the equivalent time in a 53-gallon Jack Daniels barrel.  I could gave gotten by with less time, but I didn't have the next beer ready to go in yet.  Woodinville is also a more intensely flavored bourbon (we visited Woodinville Whiskey Co. on our trip to NHC and brought back 5 bottles...yikes!).  Their Rye and Vodka are also excellent...I'm thinking my next barrel will be one of their Rye barrels.

I pulled the beer, and put beer #2 (a Wheat Wine) right into the barrel the same day.  After 3 weeks, the Wheat Wine is already getting oaky, with a faint hint of bourbon.  I figure to keep it in for another month or so.  By then, hopefully there will be another beer ready to go in.  No idea what yet, tho there won't likely be much if any bourbon character left in the barrel by then.

Maybe it's time for my first brett beer.

Following up on this post because I'm definitely interested in one of these lil' guys!

Did you notice any oxidation flavors in the first two beers? O2 diffusion is my biggest fear.

Have you funkified it yet?

Would you say its worth the investment?
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Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Woodinville Whiskey Co. barrel
« Reply #9 on: August 04, 2012, 01:35:32 pm »
The Biere de Garde was in the barrel exactly one month and the bourbon character is amazing.  Much stronger than the equivalent time in a 53-gallon Jack Daniels barrel.  I could gave gotten by with less time, but I didn't have the next beer ready to go in yet.  Woodinville is also a more intensely flavored bourbon (we visited Woodinville Whiskey Co. on our trip to NHC and brought back 5 bottles...yikes!).  Their Rye and Vodka are also excellent...I'm thinking my next barrel will be one of their Rye barrels.

I pulled the beer, and put beer #2 (a Wheat Wine) right into the barrel the same day.  After 3 weeks, the Wheat Wine is already getting oaky, with a faint hint of bourbon.  I figure to keep it in for another month or so.  By then, hopefully there will be another beer ready to go in.  No idea what yet, tho there won't likely be much if any bourbon character left in the barrel by then.

Maybe it's time for my first brett beer.

Following up on this post because I'm definitely interested in one of these lil' guys!

Did you notice any oxidation flavors in the first two beers? O2 diffusion is my biggest fear.

Have you funkified it yet?

Would you say its worth the investment?

o2 diffusion is part of the point with barrels. smaller barrels will get more quicker so you need to monitor it closely.but some oxegation character is desirable with barrel beers, if you just want the oak/booze without the o2 use cubes, sprials, chips etc in glass
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Offline smkranz

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Re: Woodinville Whiskey Co. barrel
« Reply #10 on: August 05, 2012, 12:36:14 pm »
1.  Did you notice any oxidation flavors in the first two beers? O2 diffusion is my biggest fear.

Nope, not yet at least.  It might also be too soon to know.  I wouldn't worry about it.  I'd suggest you make a batch that will pretty much top off the barrel with 8 gallons of fermented beer.  Flush the barrel with CO2 if you can, before you fill it.  Commercial brewers are making barrel-aged beers to beat the band these days, and most of them are great.

2.  Have you funkified it yet?

Not yet, but I'm thinking the Cherry Wheat that's going in shortly will get funked w/brett.  I also have a few gallons that won't fit into the barrel, which I will keg and carb normally.

3.  Would you say its worth the investment?

I recognize that lots of what I spend on this hobby falls way outside of the realm of "worth the investment", but rather is spent because I want to, and I can.  In the case of this barrel:

 - I wanted more bourbon barrel beers of my own, on my schedule rather than brewing with others to fill a large barrel;
 - it was relatively affordable (compared with $300-$400 for a new oak barrel);
 - it fits on a shelf in my basement;
 - the Spousal Unit didn't beat me with a 2x4 because of the barrel;
 - the beers are coming out of it mighty good;
 - and I will definitely do it again.

So by all of those measures, I guess that's a long way to say yes  8).
« Last Edit: August 05, 2012, 12:43:53 pm by smkranz »
Steve K.
BJCP Beer & Mead Certified
Midnight Homebrewers' League
http://www.midnighthomebrewers.org