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Author Topic: Anybody purchased from this guy?  (Read 6360 times)

Offline summy

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Anybody purchased from this guy?
« on: December 21, 2009, 09:43:31 am »
Hey all.  My wife just purchased a barrel from this seller on ebay and was wondering if anyone has purchased from him before.  Barrel price is awesome, shipping price isn't...  Total price of $128 is still less expensive than getting it from thousand oaks or some of the others in the US.  He has a money back guarantee and great feedback (100%).
http://cgi.ebay.com/20L-Wood-Wooden-Wine-Rum-Whiskey-Liquor-Barrel-Beer-Keg_W0QQitemZ370089232755QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item562b098973

Barrel aging is about the only aspect of homebrewing I've yet to explore, so this is the perfect Christmas gift.  Guess I'll be reading up on all things oak 8).
Fementing:
  *Primary -
  *Lagering -

On Tap
 *BPA
 *Denny's BVIP
 *Brunch Stout
 

In Bottles
 *IIPA
 *RyeIPA
 *Black IPA
 *Red IPA
 *White IPA (entered an all-IPA competition)
  *Kolsch

Offline 1vertical

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Re: Anybody purchased from this guy?
« Reply #1 on: December 21, 2009, 11:04:20 pm »
thanks for the lead on to this source. I am holding out for a good Used BBl that contained some burgundy or rum
or merlot because of the microbes contained in them...the new oak is interesting but I am not knowing the best
way to proceed to properly break it in and introduce it to beer or introduce the beer to the new oak....??? I hope
discussion will follow, but in reading some of the links already posted, I pose the question of the best modus operandii to follow... ???  There was something about the charring...and beer...and the wood in new barrels and the beer....hmmmmm.

Went in and read it for you
Edit and quote from the hbd library,,,"Do not buy a whiskey barrel as they are charred on the inside and really only meant for making whiskey. Do you really want that burnt wood flavor in your lambic-style beer? '
AND this..."Since a barrel is a major investment ask to speak to a cooper about how to prepare the barrel. Ask what will be done if the barrel fails to hold water when you fill it."
« Last Edit: December 21, 2009, 11:14:49 pm by 1vertical »
A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.

Offline summy

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Re: Anybody purchased from this guy?
« Reply #2 on: December 22, 2009, 06:24:09 am »
The seller has a 30 day guarantee as far as holding liquids goes.  He does also include an "instruction sheet" on how to use/care for the barrel.  I thought about a water/whisky mixture while making sure the staves seal up properly.  Like I said, it will be a work in progress with LOTS of reading before I use it for beer.  I will probably only use it for really BIG beers.  I've got a RIS coming up at some point.
Fementing:
  *Primary -
  *Lagering -

On Tap
 *BPA
 *Denny's BVIP
 *Brunch Stout
 

In Bottles
 *IIPA
 *RyeIPA
 *Black IPA
 *Red IPA
 *White IPA (entered an all-IPA competition)
  *Kolsch

Offline deepsouth

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Re: Anybody purchased from this guy?
« Reply #3 on: December 22, 2009, 07:33:25 am »
i have a couple of the small 5.25 gallon oak barrels...  i was told when they are empty, to fill them with 5 gallons of distilled water and 5 campden tablets. 

whisky of your choice also works if you can rememeber to rotate the barrel to keep it from drying out on the inside.
Hoppy Homebrewers of South Mississippi (est. 2009)

AHA# 196703

bottled:     white house honey ale

Offline karlh

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Re: Anybody purchased from this guy?
« Reply #4 on: December 30, 2009, 10:20:22 pm »
I have not purchased from this guy, but have a few oak barrels that were all "new", but had sat a few years before I got them.  This is how I treat them before putting beer in. 

With each, they need to be soaked until they do not leak (like I said mine have all been sitting dry for more than a year before I got them... but they have also been much more affordable for what its worth).  To jump start the "cleaning" process (if I can submerge the entire barrel in something like a rubbermaid container), I usually add about 1T of washing soda (aka soda ash) per gallon to the soaking water.  When the barrel holds water I put it through 1 or two more weekly water changes with soda ash solution.  This stuff is a strong base (high pH), so I then follow with a combination of citric (or other food grade) acid and some sort of sulfite solution (e.g. campden tabs). 

After a batch of beer I follow a cleaning regimen as above.  I can usually do about three batches of clean beer before there are distinct sour characteristics developing.  Barrels are not going to keep producing clean oak flavored beers indefinitely, and if this is your goal, you should use chips, cubes, or something other than a barrel.  I started experimenting with oak barrels because I want to make sour beers.  I usually make a batch or two of "clean" beer with a new barrel, and then begin with flanders and lambic style beers.  From what I have read, if your barrel produces vinegar, its firewood. 
Karl
Mundelein, IL  USA

Offline 1vertical

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Re: Anybody purchased from this guy?
« Reply #5 on: December 30, 2009, 10:54:42 pm »
Thanks karlh,
I was headed toward sour beers if  I can ever manage to get my act together... :-\
A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.

Offline karlh

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Re: Anybody purchased from this guy?
« Reply #6 on: January 07, 2010, 04:57:30 pm »
I thought I would show folks what my last "new" barrel looked like when I filled it for the first time.


It took approximately a week of topping it up before it was watertight, but it now has no leaks. 
Karl
Mundelein, IL  USA

Offline hopman

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Re: Anybody purchased from this guy?
« Reply #7 on: January 07, 2010, 05:25:21 pm »
Most barrels take time to reabsorb moisture, to make the wood slates swell, and sealing the barrel. If your not satisfied and cannot get reimbursement, how much would you like to sell it for? ::) I'm sure my club would love to get that barrel.

Offline summy

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Re: Anybody purchased from this guy?
« Reply #8 on: January 07, 2010, 07:49:02 pm »
I received mine today in the mail finally.  It is smaller than I thought it would be...  Looks good though.  One difference with mine I see from the others I've seen around is that mine seems to be lacquered/varnished on the outside.  The one in the post above looks to me to be bare wood?  Should there be a finish applied like there is on mine?  Does it matter either way?
Fementing:
  *Primary -
  *Lagering -

On Tap
 *BPA
 *Denny's BVIP
 *Brunch Stout
 

In Bottles
 *IIPA
 *RyeIPA
 *Black IPA
 *Red IPA
 *White IPA (entered an all-IPA competition)
  *Kolsch

Offline karlh

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Re: Anybody purchased from this guy?
« Reply #9 on: January 08, 2010, 06:18:10 am »
Most barrels take time to reabsorb moisture, to make the wood slates swell, and sealing the barrel. If your not satisfied and cannot get reimbursement, how much would you like to sell it for? ::) I'm sure my club would love to get that barrel.
Its not for sale.  As I said in my earlier post, it took a week to seal up, but now has no leaks.  The only trouble with this (15 gallon) barrel was that I did not have a suitable container to submerge the whole thing in.  I have three smaller, 10 gallon barrels, and a rubbermaid container that they would fit in entirely.  With those, I could fill them up inside the container and essentially submerge the whole thing until it was swollen and sealed.  With this one I simply kept filling until it stopped leaking and that took about a week.  For me, this sort of leaking has occurred with all of my barrels, and I have come to expect it.  After they swell, they hold beer just fine.

Karl
Mundelein, IL  USA