what type of wood is used to make barrels

Barrel Production

1. Raw Material The wood for the barrels is American white oak from the middle to eastern United States and parts of East Canada. ...
2. Head Production First of all the surfaces of the wood are planed. ...
3. The Staves The long staves are also planed for colour and resistance against outside forces. ...

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Full Answer

What kind of wood is used to make wine barrels?

Only one type of wood has been tried and true for construction of wine barrels over thousands of years of wine-making: oak.

What trees are used to make whiskey barrels?

Important to note is that trees of the same species can produce divergent characteristics depending on where they were sourced. With Quercus Alba, the Ozarks serve as a major harvest ground of white oak for whiskey barrels. For instance, that’s where well known cooperage Independent Stave Company sources their wood.

What is a barrel made out of?

A barrel [1] or cask [2] is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, usually alcoholic beverages; [3] a small barrel or cask is known as a keg. [4]

Why is American oak used to make wine barrels?

When American oak was first being used to make barrels, it was thought that the oak wasn't the right quality, as it imparted off-flavors into the wine. Rather, it was the way that the barrels were constructed. Americans were used to making whiskey barrels, which utilized wood dried in a kiln, and sawed staves.

What are barrels made out of?

What are barrels made of? Barrels can be made of any wood, but Rye's and Bourbon's have to be made using charred white American oak. Even within this one species of oak, where the wood is grown matters in a big way.

What wood is used for scotch barrels?

white oakQuercus alba, also known as white oak or American oak, dominates the whiskey industry thanks to the mandated use of new charred oak barrels for bourbon aging.

What type of wood are Jack Daniels barrels made of?

American White Oak barrelsThe Jack Daniel's Barrel Tree is made out of 140 used American White Oak barrels. 2. The barrels weigh approximately 115 pounds each — and when they're full, the barrels weigh about 550 pounds.

Which oak is used for barrels?

American oak is a traditional choice for whiskey barrels. However, both American oak and French oak are important to the spirits industry.

Why can't you make a barrel out of red oak?

Re: Why not Red Oak? There are sugars in Red Oak that can become toxic when mixed with ethanol.

What is a bourbon barrel made of?

What Are Bourbon Barrels Made Of? The bourbon barrel is made from Quercus alba or American white oak trees that are preferably over 90 years old. Oak barrels for aging bourbon have bubble-like cellular structures (tyloses) that bulge into the xylem cavities, thus blocking water movement.

Why is white oak used for barrels?

The wood cells of white oak trees contain a plastic-like substance called tyloses that makes the durable wood waterproof and accounts for its use in barrels, buckets, and ships. Beyond functionality, white oak barrels also impart highly desirable qualities to the liquid contained.

Can you make a barrel out of maple?

"Growing up in the industry you'd hear old-timers say you can't make barrels out of maple or other species," says Chris Morris, master distiller for Woodford Reserve Distillery.

What kind of wood is used to age whiskey?

Oak (especially American white oak) is far and away the most common type of wood used for making whiskey. However, it is not the only type used. Occasionally, other woods such as maple, hickory, and a host of others are used for aging whiskey.

Are whiskey barrels red or white oak?

Most bourbon barrels are made by binding roughly 31–33 white oak staves with steel hoops and rivets. The barrels are charred for flavor before they're filled with spirits. Then, the liquid is aged in the barrels for at least two to four years, though often longer for signature labels, before it's bottled.

How many barrels can be made from an oak tree?

The average American oak tree harvested for barrels is 100 years old. A typical tree yields about two barrels.

How much does a wooden barrel cost?

An oak barrel can range in price from $900 all the way up to $2,000 depending on if it is made from American Oak or French Oak.

What wood is used to make wine barrels?

Only one type of wood has been tried and true for construction of wine barrels over thousands of years of wine-making: oak. Although cherry, walnut, chestnut, pine and redwood can be made into barrels, and some have been used for making wine, only oak seems to have the right relationship with the grape to satisfactorily age it and enhance its flavors. Oak is composed of chemical compounds like tannin that give wine its vanilla, tea and tobacco-like characteristics without being overpowering.

What type of oak is used in wine barrels?

In the vast majority of cases, wine barrels are made with one of two types of French oak (Quercus robur or Quercus sessiliflora) or with American oak (Quercus alba). The French oaks are used primarily to make Bordeaux barrels, which hold 59.43 gallons of wine.

How many gallons of wine are in a puncheon barrel?

Bordeaux and Burgundy barrels are considered "small barrels," while hogshead and puncheons are much larger. A hogshead barrel, which was the typical barrel in the Middle Ages, holds 79.25 gallons of wine. A puncheon comes in both this size and a whopping 132.08 gallons--over twice the size of Bordeauxs and Burgundies!

Why do winemakers use hogshead barrels?

In general, because contact with the oak is smaller by volume for these wines, winemakers use hogshead or puncheon barrels if they want the oaky flavors to be less pronounced (as in, for example, Sangiovese and some pinot noirs).

How long did French coopers let wood dry?

French coopers instead let their wood dry outdoors for up to two years and split their staves by hand, which gave the wine more flavor. Once Americans started to use the French techniques with their native trees, they produced barrels that were just as good for wine-making as the French ones.

What is French oak barrel used for?

They are are used for many types of wine, but for cabernet sauvignon, merlot and Bordeaux in particular. French oak is also used to make Burgundy barrels, which hold 60.2 gallons, and to age pinot noirs and Burgundies. American oak barrels are made in both sizes and hold all types of wine.

Why was oak used in barrels?

When American oak was first being used to make barrels, it was thought that the oak wasn't the right quality, as it imparted off-flavors into the wine. Rather, it was the way that the barrels were constructed. Americans were used to making whiskey barrels, which utilized wood dried in a kiln, and sawed staves.

What is barrel made of?

The term barrel can also refer to roughly cylindrical containers or drums made of modern materials like plastic, steel or aluminium. The barrel has also been used as a standard size of measure referring to a set capacity or weight of a given commodity.

What is a wine barrel?

Wooden wine barrel at an exhibition in Croatia. A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wood or metal hoops.

How is sherry stored?

Sherry is stored in 600-litre (130 imp gal; 160 US gal) casks made of North American oak, which is slightly more porous than French or Spanish oak. The casks, or butts, are filled five-sixths full, leaving " the space of two fists" empty at the top to allow flor to develop on top of the wine. Sherry is also commonly swapped between barrels of different ages, a process that is known as solera .

What is barrel aged beer?

See also: Barrel-aged beer. Beer barrels at the Munich Oktoberfest. Beers are sometimes aged in barrels which were previously used for maturing wines or spirits. This is most common in darker beers such as stout, which is sometimes aged in oak barrels identical to those used for whiskey.

What is 200% oak?

Some winemakers use "200% new oak", where the wine is put into new oak barrels twice during the aging process . Bulk wines are sometimes more cheaply flavored by soaking in oak chips or added commercial oak flavoring instead of being aged in a barrel because of the much lower cost.

How many gallons of oil is in a barrel?

A barrel of oil, defined as 42 US gallons ( 35 imp gal; 160 L), is still used as a measure of volume for oil, although oil is no longer shipped in barrels. The barrel has also come into use as a generic term for a wooden cask of any size.

What are the parts of a barrel called?

The wooden parts that make up a barrel are called staves, the top and bottom are both called heads or headers, and the rings that hold the staves together are called hoops. These are usually made of galvanized iron, though historically they were made of flexible bits of wood called withies.

Used Bourbon Barrels

As per the U.S. brewing laws, straight bourbon must always be aged in newly made American white oak barrels, turning a used barrel into an excess for bourbon distilleries.

Used Rum Barrels

Fortunately, I was able to get my hands on one of the exotic used barrels of Caribbean rum that began its journey as an Old Forester bourbon cask. The dark and weathered barrel even looked like it had aged rum in the Caribbean sun or on a pirate ship long enough to stand out as a statement piece in my dark cellar.

Used Wine Barrels

My idea behind crafting a beer aged in wine-used barrels was to enhance the already complex flavors of the beer with exotic wine characters. So I made an effort to find a freshly used wine barrel that complimented my particular beer style.

Port Wine Barrels

The port-wine barrel I found was also a unique-looking masterpiece, slightly larger than the typically used bourbon barrels and stained blood-red from prolonged use. Its appearance ultimately betrayed the fruity flavor contributions it hid within, bringing out a new side to my imperial stout beer choice.

Sherry Casks

The sherry barrel is easily the most majestic of all the used crafting barrels in my cellar. With a capacity nearly three times higher than used whiskey barrels, it dwarfs my second most giant barrel and has become quite the photo-op for my friends and associates.

Final Thoughts

I want to share a final piece of advice before you start aging craft beer. It would help if you went local while looking for the ideal used barrels due to cheaper availability, minimal carbon footprint, and zero shipping expenses.

Overview

Uses today

History

Barrel shape, construction and parts

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