Page 1 of 2

Aging vessels

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 7:20 pm
by Clickeral
Hey all

Any body got any links to places that sell stainless or glass containers that can be used to age spirits?

Whats everyone using?

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 7:25 pm
by ekul
I use stainless kegs with the spear removed. I just put a big cork in the hole

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 7:37 pm
by OzKev
Kegs are great. I'm also using some pickling jars I got from the local discount store. 8L jars were $9.99.

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 8:01 pm
by BIG D
I scored this today at our local op shop 8 bucks haven't checked the size yet but guessing 20l :handgestures-thumbupleft:
IMG_201404025455.jpg

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 8:13 pm
by Clickeral
yeah Ive been looking at kegs but not sure if ill be making enough to age 19L at a time (plus the kegs I am buying are for beer and cider)

Going to hit the opshops, reject shop etc on the weekend to try find something around the 5-10L mark :)

comments are helpful :)

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 8:19 pm
by Zak Griffin
I've got a couple of 4L and a few 2L jars I found at the farm, and now a handful of 2L jars from woollies ($4 each...)

As a relative newbie to the sport, I like to age in smaller batches so if I mess up the cuts or overoak a jar, it doesn't ruin the whole batch. Also means I can split a batch with some charred and toasted, and some just toasted oak...

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 8:24 pm
by ekul
the more you make the older it gets though. :) I;ve found if you hit up garage sales you can get 50L kegs for $20-$50. I scored an 80L keg for $5!! Its now my boiler.

Cornelius kegs are usually around $50-$65. If you buy 5L glass jugs from homebrew stores these will set you back $10, four of these will cost less than a 20L corny.

I was aging in 5L jugs and i found that the product got drank before it got some good age on it. Whereas when i age in a 50L keg and top up occaisonly the older liqour smooths out the younger stuff, good cuts helps this.

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 8:37 pm
by Zak Griffin
I do a lot more making than drinking, so aging for prolonged time isn't really an issue.

Once Agrajag gets up and running I'll be aging my whiskey in a 50L keg though :)

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 8:41 pm
by MacStill
Zak Griffin wrote:
Once Agrajag gets up and running I'll be aging my whiskey in a 50L keg though :)


Yeah but ya cant just pop down the $2 shop and pick up a dozen empty kegs :laughing-rolling:

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 8:53 pm
by Zak Griffin
I've got 2 now, not including my current boiler or the 80L boiler for the big rig... 100L on oak should keep me out of trouble!

Just a warning on cheap jars... I bought a couple of ~3L jars from the $2 shop, and one of them cracked... The glass was less than a mm thick most of the way around.

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 9:37 pm
by Yummyrum
With you there Zac ......some ...but not all of that cheap shop glass is thin as buggery ...something I don't want my precious in .

Its 5 Liter Demi's or 2 Liter flagons for me...one day kegs :violin:

And when it comes to Demi's ,these things are really robust ..I've used them for years and had many a situation where I thought they would crack but they didn't .

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 6:47 am
by Sam.
Yep I have only smashed one 5L Demi by clunking two together really hard, the other one survived tho :laughing-rolling:

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 8:23 am
by TheMechwarrior
I got a dozen 5L Demijohns nicely packaged and sent down to me here in Tasmania from ==>https://nationalhomebrew.com.au/multi-purpose-parts-and-accessories/glass-jars-demijohns-carboys-and-parts/demijohn-5l
I looked at the cheap glass options at Shiploads and I wasn't happy with the quality of the glass, the "Mason" jars are nice and cheap and perfect for doing cuts though ;-)

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 9:43 pm
by Clickeral
http://www.kmart.com.au/product/2.2-lit ... jar/124232 any one see any issue with using some of these to store and age high proof spirits ???

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 9:46 pm
by Sam.
Clickeral wrote:http://www.kmart.com.au/product/2.2-litre-glass-jar/124232 any one see any issue with using some of these to store and age high proof spirits ???


Depends what the seal inside the lid is made of, might be easy to make your own seal out of a silicon part tho :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 9:59 pm
by Scales82
50L keg with a 2" blank cap and PTFE seal from MAC is what I plan to use for my main storage,

If I only need a little bit I'm using a 20L corny with ptfe tape wrapped around the seal.

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 10:14 pm
by Sam.
The best aging vessel I have is a 25L oak barrel ;-)

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 1:28 pm
by Andy
always keep an eye on gumtree. i picked up a whole heap of demijohns for very cheap.

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 9:24 am
by woodduck
Just saw these in Kmart. Big ones are 3.8ltrs and smaller ones are 2.8ltrs. Nice big opening and cork lids. Not sure what sort of cork though. Might be ok for aging in :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Re: Aging vessels

PostPosted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 5:37 pm
by db1979
Probably a composite cork at that price and size of cork.