# My new toy



## LoveTheWine (Sep 27, 2012)

My 20L white Oak barrel


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## mjrisenhoover (Sep 27, 2012)

Congratulations, hope it works well for you!


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## DirtyDawg10 (Sep 27, 2012)

Nice!!!!!!


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## Runningwolf (Sep 27, 2012)

She's a beauty, have fun!


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## tonyt (Sep 27, 2012)

Congrats. Where's the cigars?


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## Rocky (Sep 27, 2012)

LTW, nice looking barrel. May I ask where you purchased it? Also, I cannot see any hoop nails. Are there any?


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## LoveTheWine (Sep 27, 2012)

Rocky said:


> LTW, nice looking barrel. May I ask where you purchased it? Also, I cannot see any hoop nails. Are there any?



Thanks everyone

I got it here: http://www.barrelsonline.com/ShowProduct.aspx?ID=30

There are hoop nails only in the top. If you look really close in the picture you can see them. The only thing I dislike is that the bunghole is tiny, but I will probably just drill it bigger and use a silicone bung.


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## Runningwolf (Sep 28, 2012)

Rocky said:


> LTW, nice looking barrel. May I ask where you purchased it? Also, I cannot see any hoop nails. Are there any?


 
Not all hoops have nails, even on the large barrels.


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## robie (Sep 28, 2012)

Take care of it and it will provide great oaking qualities for many batches and continue on to help improve your wine in other areas for many years to come.


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## ibglowin (Sep 28, 2012)

Nice looking. Keep us posted on how it works out. How you like it.


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## Grancru (Sep 28, 2012)

Got this little guy, just don't have enough juice to fill her this year. I only have 27 gals of must fermenting right now. Maybe end up with 23-24 gals. Soooo, for now it will serve as a bar in my dining room.


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## LoveTheWine (Sep 28, 2012)

Grancru said:


> Got this little guy, just don't have enough juice to fill her this year. I only have 27 gals of must fermenting right now. Maybe end up with 23-24 gals. Soooo, for now it will serve as a bar in my dining room.




wow that is a lot of capacity!


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## Gmichaelcellars (Dec 14, 2012)

Thinking about purchasing from same company so Id like to get your opinion on barrel so far..thanks


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## LoveTheWine (Dec 20, 2012)

Finally got around to re-hydrating the barrel ready to be filled this week.
Because I had left it so long, the barrel was not very tight to say the least!
After soaking the heads and inside with hot water for a few hours, all the water was drained and filled with cold water for two days.

Seems to be nice and sealed now so In went the first wine: Fresh picked Blackberry, dry as can be (fermented with a few kilo's of Zinfandel skins thrown in) 

After this my Old Vine Zinfandel batches will be cycled through :>


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## LoveTheWine (Dec 20, 2012)

Gmichaelcellars said:


> Thinking about purchasing from same company so Id like to get your opinion on barrel so far..thanks



The barrel held only 19L not 20L like it was supposed to. I've heard this is common as the barrel swells it may be smaller then thought.

The hole for the bung was really small to so I drilled it to a #8 size stopper and bought a silicone one. The spigot is a nice extra for taking small samples without a wine thief. It also comes with a handy oak stand.

I believe the strips of wood used to make it are a bit thinner than most barrels keeping the cost down. At $110.00 shipped to Canada this is probably the best bang for the buck that you are going to find.
Hoping the quality of the wood is nice. It smells nice and sweet resembling a Jack Daniels smell.


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## Gmichaelcellars (Dec 21, 2012)

Thanks for the feedback. I went ahead and ordered one which should arrive within 3 weeks.


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## LoveTheWine (Dec 22, 2012)

Gmichaelcellars said:


> Thanks for the feedback. I went ahead and ordered one which should arrive within 3 weeks.



Good choice. Keep us posted on if you like it or not.
Which size did you go with?


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## Gmichaelcellars (Dec 22, 2012)

I purchased the 20l barrel..cant wait!


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## harleydmn (Dec 25, 2012)

I just got one from my sons for Christmas!!! What type and size drill bit did you use to enlarge the bung hole?


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## LoveTheWine (Dec 25, 2012)

harleydmn said:


> I just got one from my sons for Christmas!!! What type and size drill bit did you use to enlarge the bung hole?



I used a spade bit... boy let me tell you I wouldn't recommend it! had to take out a file to make a tight seal! I ended up with a #8 size which ended up perfect.

I would buy a suitable silicone bung first and then search for a tapered bit that will drill it to exactly that size.


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## LoveTheWine (Dec 31, 2012)

I know some out there had some interest in how these barrels are.
Here is an update:

Topped up the barrel today after 12 days, using reserve wine from the same batch. The blackberry wine is a little tart, with a PH of 3.0 going into the barrel.
Advise is on the first barrel fill to try tasting early as it easily can get over Oaked, so I did.
What is nice here is that I can compare the same wine; Oaked and Non-Oaked side by side!

The Non-Oaked is good, fruity and has a small acidic bite

Coming out of the barrel the taste is amazing! Acids have softened considerably and there is enough oak already in the wine. Wine appears much drier then the Non-Oaked , I think the barrel added a lot of tannin making it taste this way.
Looks like this barrel is indeed a good investment that wont break the bank.

I think I might have to get a vadai now just to compare


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## Gmichaelcellars (Dec 31, 2012)

Now I'm excited as mine is arriving this Friday!!!!


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## LoveTheWine (Dec 31, 2012)

Gmichaelcellars said:


> Now I'm excited as mine is arriving this Friday!!!!



That seemed fast


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## LoveTheWine (Jan 20, 2013)

My barrel starting to seep through and soak the one head last week.
Considering the wine room has been getting cold and probably has less humidity lately this may be the cause.

Whatever the case, my blackberry was well oaked so I racked it out.

Next I washed the barrel out, filled with a hot water/sulfite solution and layed in a tub vertically. I also filled the exposed head with hot tap water.
After 2 days the barrel was emptied and refilled with lukewarm water.
I now soaked the other head for a day.

After drying I filled the area where the heads meet the staves with a layer of barrel wax even though it now looked to be sealed. 

Seems to be 100% non leaking now so in went the old vine zinfandel today!


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## Boatboy24 (Jan 20, 2013)

Glad it's working out. Thanks for the thorough review and updates.


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## Gmichaelcellars (Jan 21, 2013)

I had a bit of seeping on one of the heads as well. My Barbera has been in barrel since January 3 so I figure its getting close to being finished.


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## Lucky_lefty (May 8, 2013)

Which model did you go with I have been eyeing one of these for a while. 
Black hoop steel hoop or Brass hoop? they are all toasted/roasted so is there a big difference?


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## Wade E (May 8, 2013)

The difference in hoops is just price and looks I would imagine.


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## LoveTheWine (May 8, 2013)

Thought I heard somewhere to stay away from the black banded one as the paint peels. Not sure if this is 100% true or not.


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## Lucky_lefty (May 8, 2013)

ok I was thinking steel anyway. I will try one. For 95 bucks its not that bad.


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