Age Your Own Beer In Used Wine Barrels
Aging beer with used wine barrels has become a common feature in breweries worldwide. Homebrewers have discovered and identified the beauty of wood-aged beer. While it may not be practical for a homebrewer to fill the whole barrel, various homebrew clubs employ the divide-and-conquer method. Most of the members ferment and brew the same recipes and then blend their contributions in the community barrels. A lot of breweries have become popular for its varied beer styles and most of them are barrel-aged. You can avoid the chore if you consider the following tips:
Used wine barrels make wild and sour beer. However, you need to take a note of these little things:
Moreover, due to its porous nature, wood admits a trickle of oxygen with time. The oxygen, combined with certain sugars, present in the wood, creates a favorable environment for Brettanomyces. Remember that your whiskey barrel can become sour, but you cannot get your clean barrel back. Microorganisms infiltrate the barrel and can burrow up to a centimeter into the wood, which is far to deep to be able to sanitize without fully destroying the barrel. Thus, instead of cleaning the used barrel, convert it into an inoculation tank, dedicated to guarding the blend of homebrew bacteria and yeasts.
Home-brewing is no doubt more fun, as you can experiment and not have to follow a set of regulations. If you wish to sour your beer in a used wine barrels, go ahead. Want to infuse little Gewürztraminer feature into imperial wheat? Go for it. But remember you need to keep the barrels moist. Also, be ready to take whatever your microbes offer you. Take good care of barrels and they will yield great results in your brews.
Buy old used wine barrels online with Rocky Mountain Barrel Company. Rocky Mountain Barrel Company offers a wide range of old used wine and whiskey barrels. Check out our website to see a wide range of used barrels. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us!
- Always stick to freshly cleared barrels
- For clean beer, use spirits barrel
- For sour beer, use wine barrels
Used wine barrels make wild and sour beer. However, you need to take a note of these little things:
- Wine has a more mellow flavor compared to spirits. So, oak wine barrels give a shine to beer. However, rum or whiskey barrels may steal the limelight.
- Vintners frequently refill barrels. The repeated wine batches draw out wood’s raw feature before accepting your beer.
- Wine has low alcohol content and thus, bugs such as Lactobacillus and Brettanomyces can survive in the staves. Brettanomyces growth is indeed the major reason that winemakers need to retire the wine barrels after a certain period of time.
Moreover, due to its porous nature, wood admits a trickle of oxygen with time. The oxygen, combined with certain sugars, present in the wood, creates a favorable environment for Brettanomyces. Remember that your whiskey barrel can become sour, but you cannot get your clean barrel back. Microorganisms infiltrate the barrel and can burrow up to a centimeter into the wood, which is far to deep to be able to sanitize without fully destroying the barrel. Thus, instead of cleaning the used barrel, convert it into an inoculation tank, dedicated to guarding the blend of homebrew bacteria and yeasts.
Home-brewing is no doubt more fun, as you can experiment and not have to follow a set of regulations. If you wish to sour your beer in a used wine barrels, go ahead. Want to infuse little Gewürztraminer feature into imperial wheat? Go for it. But remember you need to keep the barrels moist. Also, be ready to take whatever your microbes offer you. Take good care of barrels and they will yield great results in your brews.
Buy old used wine barrels online with Rocky Mountain Barrel Company. Rocky Mountain Barrel Company offers a wide range of old used wine and whiskey barrels. Check out our website to see a wide range of used barrels. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us!