oceanic_brew
Well-Known Member
I bought a new American oak barrel a little over a month ago from a supplier in Ontario Canada. When the barrel arrived everything seemed good and tight so I stored the barrel for a week until I was ready to fill it.
A few days before filling I conditioned the barrel using the hot water method and could not get the barrel to seal. It took three more nights of hot water but did not seal, at that point I had to go on a trip for 4 days so I filled it completely full of water and left to come home to a very small leak. That night I filled it 1/3 the way full with hot water and fortunately achieved a complete seal the next day.
My plan was to fill the barrel with merlot wine for a few weeks while I was waiting for a Belgian tripple to be ready. After the wine had been sitting in the barrel leak free for nearly a month I come home to find this View attachment 420540
The supplier has been very good with me so far giving good advice along the way but I really don't have faith in this barrel holding 11 gallons of beer. This thing cost nearly $300 CAN
How would you guys deal with this situation?
A few days before filling I conditioned the barrel using the hot water method and could not get the barrel to seal. It took three more nights of hot water but did not seal, at that point I had to go on a trip for 4 days so I filled it completely full of water and left to come home to a very small leak. That night I filled it 1/3 the way full with hot water and fortunately achieved a complete seal the next day.
My plan was to fill the barrel with merlot wine for a few weeks while I was waiting for a Belgian tripple to be ready. After the wine had been sitting in the barrel leak free for nearly a month I come home to find this View attachment 420540
The supplier has been very good with me so far giving good advice along the way but I really don't have faith in this barrel holding 11 gallons of beer. This thing cost nearly $300 CAN
How would you guys deal with this situation?
