Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Guys just a quick question on where you get your oak and what type you use.

Ive notice some people buy old wine barrels and chop them up but it seems like a bit too much hassle for me.
Can you just get a couple of pieces of oak from bunnings and chop them up? If so is there a particular type of oak to get?
Or do you buy raw sticks from your HBS and then toast/char them?

Cheers,
Dropbear

Hey mate, if you put your approximate location into your profile someone might be able to hook you up.

It's pretty expensive to get them from the HBS, and doesn't take too much to break up a half ex-wine barrel. From what I understand people mainly use these as you can be sure they're oak if they've been used for wine (note the ones at my local bunnings for plantings aren't oak), just look for a red stain inside.

All you need to break them up and make staves is a hammer, a butane torch (or oven if toasting) and a saw, takes maybe an hour to get a lifetime's supply.

As a rule most garden centre barrels are treated with nasties you don't want in your bevvies.

hey dropbear

I buy the 1kg bags from the HBS only because my local has been good enough to expand the range and they order in specific types for me, usually around $20-25 kg. I have seen some good tips on here about toasting your own and i know that the wineries near me sell there old barrels for about 60-100 bucks so give them a buzz. i wouldnt go and buy any old barrel as you cant be sure whats been stored or treatments to the wood.

You can also get offcuts of staves from coopers in your local area, saves you having to pull a barrel apart. I know Roll Out Of the Barrel will send you oak offcuts but their prices are pretty steep.

If you looking for the easiest option just pick them up from the HBS

Cheers for the tip guys and I just updated my location.

Might have to stick with HBS for now cause I already spend enough money on grog (this and beer) that I cant justify the outlay for a whole wine barrel even though it would be a life time supply

blond.chap wrote:All you need to break them up and make staves is a hammer, a butane torch (or oven if toasting) and a saw, takes maybe an hour to get a lifetime's supply.

Heya BC is there any other prep before toasting or charring mate? do you leave the wine on or sand off either side, or just whack it all in? cheers

I'm 30km from you drop bear, have some stave offcuts coming on the weekend ill throw you a few :handgestures-thumbupleft:

tasteslikechicken wrote:

blond.chap wrote:All you need to break them up and make staves is a hammer, a butane torch (or oven if toasting) and a saw, takes maybe an hour to get a lifetime's supply.

Heya BC is there any other prep before toasting or charring mate? do you leave the wine on or sand off either side, or just whack it all in? cheers

The only other thing I do is to plane off 5-10mm from the outer surface. From what I understand wine barrels are sprayed with something on this surface to help with the seal.
You can leave the wine side on and not char it (my preference) to try and get a hint of different flavour, or sand/plane it down.

Step 1, break them up i.e. knock the hoops off with a hammer (5-10 minutes) (I keep the lids for making cheese and bread boards)

Step 2, Cut them into 1/2 or 1/3's depending on the size barrel i buy. (10-15 minutes)

Step 3, Load as many sticks as possible into a 20 ltr tin (Paint tins are now only sold in 15ltr's) and close the lid (not air tight or poke a screwdriver hole in the lid)

Step 4, Sit on a gas burner outside for 30 min to a hour to char. No more sealer and a nice layer of charcoal to filter your finest :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Step 5, Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until you have a selection of different levels of charing and Bob's your uncle (as my father would say).

* also known as the retort method

Thanks BC, thanks Mod - man I love those chopping boards! :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Very nice mod. Love the use of the boards!

A cooper told me he was giving the shavings off the inside of refurbished whisky barrels to homedistillers.
Almost instantly gives you a lot of the flavours of a malt whisky.

Now where to find a friendly whisky barrel cooper?

I just walk out into the forest , find a white ant eaten tree and gab some :handgestures-thumbupleft:
its all Quirus Robar but that's just fine with me ;-)

If you contact http://www.rolloutthebarrel.com.au , a little family run cooperage business in Brisbane, they will sell you offcuts of either American or French oak (from used wine barrels).

They also char barrels being a cooperage, so maybe they'd sell you some charred offcuts?

Top bunch of people too :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Brendan wrote:If you contact http://www.rolloutthebarrel.com.au , a little family run cooperage business in Brisbane, they will sell you offcuts of either American or French oak (from used wine barrels).

They also char barrels being a cooperage, so maybe they'd sell you some charred offcuts?

Top bunch of people too :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Awesome 8-) Cheers

I posted some pics of my barrel that I got from them which show the char, if you want to see their work.

http://aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2973

I have thought about doing that mod, what do you need to do to them to keep them together?

roll out the barrel seem to have very competive prices i am purchaseing 10 sticks of white oak 1m x 25mm x 25mm and 6 bungs to fit in the top of my age kegs! $3.50 for the sticks and 2.70 for the bungs! seemed ok considerin each stick are going to oak 40-50l of rum and the oak bung should allow for some breathing as would happen in an oak barrel!

Sorry to jump all your thread Dropbear, but wanted to ask the fellas another quick question without starting a new thread on it.

Mod, BC and anyone else - Is there a timeframe to charring or toasting to using the wood? What I mean is, would it be better to use the newly cooked stuff straight away and just cook as you use it, or do you do a stack of sticks and just store unused wood away? Does it matter? has anyone tried/noticed a difference between freshly charred sticks to something charred then sat for 6 months?

cheers