When to retire a Barrel

[Ajmassa]

@Ajmassa : I've also read that there may be differences in evaporation due to humidity. I don't know exactly what they are, but I can tell you I lose a lot more to the angels in winter (when humidity in the house is around 40%), vs summer. Unfortunately, I don't have a temp/humidity controlled space - just means I top up a bit more when the heat is running.

Ok so about 2 minutes of googling and i pretty much got all the info i’d need for this topic. interestingly enough the top result on google is a quote from this site by @ibglowin from 2013.

70% Relative humidity - the ethanol and water evaporate at the same rate. ideal humidity
RH < 70% - more water evaporates, abv increases but the angels share amount becomes more than you’d like .
RH >70% - more ethanol evaporates so abv decreases, but angels share amount is more workable. too high and risk compromising the oak from mold.

https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/barrel-temp-humidity.36573/

 

[sour_grapes]

It may be worth noting that @ibglowin was not the original author of that quote (which is not clear from the 2013 quote). Take a looky here:

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:XEaQs-vrTB8Jttps://www.winebusiness.com/wbm/?go=getArticle&dataId=36252+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari

Ok so about 2 minutes of googling and i pretty much got all the info i’d need for this topic. interestingly enough the top result on google is a quote from this site by @ibglowin from 2013.

70% Relative humidity - the ethanol and water evaporate at the same rate. ideal humidity
RH < 70% - more water evaporates, abv increases but the angels share amount becomes more than you’d like .
RH >70% - more ethanol evaporates so abv decreases, but angels share amount is more workable. too high and risk compromising the oak from mold.

https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/barrel-temp-humidity.36573/[/URL]

It may be worth noting that [USER...36252+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari

 

[Ajmassa]

It may be worth noting that @ibglowin was not the original author of that quote (which is not clear from the 2013 quote). Take a looky here:

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:XEaQs-vrTB8Jttps://www.winebusiness.com/wbm/?go=getArticle&dataId=36252+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari


It may be worth noting that [USER...36252+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari

yeah i assumed this and did actually make mention of it likely being a quote of a quote but i deleted it. i’ll proofread before posting and remove a lot. Sometimes i get too wordy. So my mention of the quote i quoted actually being a quote of a quote — yea that ended up on the cutting room floor lol. (ok that wordiness was intentional. but this one is not. back to work now. good day sir )

and good job on pulling the original source.
Curtis Phillips will be pleased.

 

[winemaker81]

Loving this thread. I’m coming up on week 4 in a brand new 8 gallon barrel for my Malbec and was just thinking about my barrel’s useful life. 5-10 years sounds great.

Mine are currently 11 years old, and I knew guys with barrels well over 20. Take good care of them, and they last.

The money spent on a barrel is a larger up-front investment -- I've seen new 15 gallon American oak for $325. Divide that by 10 and it's a much more reasonable $32.50 per year.

I recently spent $25 USD on 1 lb Hungarian oak cubes -- 5 oz will go into each barrel and 2 oz is already in a carboy, leaving me 4 oz for another use. Perking a neutral barrel with oak adjuncts is relatively inexpensive. It also makes a neutral barrel more versatile, as I can add any oak adjunct I want AND can mix-n-match to produce custom flavor profiles.