Barrel size and ageing times

[vqstatesman]

Hi Guys,

I know there is a shit load of topics about this already but I came across a nice little concise table on here a little while ago. Now I'm searching for it and can't seem to find it. From memory it seemed like it came from a legitimate source too. It went a little like this:

20L age for XX years
50L age for XX years
100L age for XX years
200L age for XX years

Don't suppose anyone knows which thread this is buried in? I have spend the last 20 mins searching but couldn't find it.

[Brendan]

Until then, I'll have a guess for you :-D

20L for 1-2 years
50L for 2-4 years
100L for 4-7 years
200L for 7-10 years

? :think:

[res]

This one maybe?

smallbarrels.jpg

:handgestures-thumbupleft:

[halfbaked]

very nice chart.

[CaptainRedBeard]

Is this chart a flavor profile? Eg: to get the flavor of a 1 year aged "spirit" in a 5L barrel would take ~3 months?

[Sam.]

Is this chart a flavor profile? Eg: to get the flavor of a 1 year aged "spirit" in a 5L barrel would take ~3 months?

In theory yes..... But it won't taste the same ;-)

There are a few ways to try and beat time but it isn't the same. Time always wins

[CaptainRedBeard]

Awesome, thanks for the clarification Sam. I was looking at grabbing a few smaller barrels (5/10/20L) and didn't realize that the ageing process was different due to surface area to volume ratio. Good piece of info this is though :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Sam.]

Yeah mate I wouldn't go anything smaller than 20L :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Brendan]

Yeah mate I wouldn't go anything smaller than 20L :handgestures-thumbupleft:

:text-+1: It's been said by many before that smaller than 20L is not worth it. I guess I'm sticking with that as I have 12L ageing jars, and a 25L barrel.

[vqstatesman]

This one maybe?

smallbarrels.jpg

:handgestures-thumbupleft:

Thanks for all the responses guys. This wasn't the table I had seen before but near enough. The other table has info on suggested aging time. To be honest it wasn't a full on "table" but more of a free form that covered comment sized barrels.

I'm not planning on buying anything smaller than 20L, there doesn't seem any point. I'm still a little sure how long to age a 30, 40 or 50L barrel.

Is there a calculator somewhere?

[woodduck]

Hey guys, I've got a pretty nice wine barrel here. It's the standard size 150-200 ltrs and I'd like to do something with it.

Now I'm not thinking of filling it anytime soon but is there any reason after cleaning the wine off and retoasting, that i couldn't fill it with some already partly oaked spirit to quicken up the process? Also is there any problem with having it partly filled? Could i have it half full and top it up as i take some off to drink every now and then? Use it as a sort of bulk storage, plus it would be cool to drink booze out of a keg :))

[Brendan]

From what I've heard Woody, if you're not going to have it full, you need to rotate it. I think it's something to do with the unused top half drying out and the barrel can crack...but then maybe you could overoak your spirit too :think:

[Sam.]

Hey guys, I've got a pretty nice wine barrel here. It's the standard size 150-200 ltrs and I'd like to do something with it.

Now I'm not thinking of filling it anytime soon but is there any reason after cleaning the wine off and retoasting, that i couldn't fill it with some already partly oaked spirit to quicken up the process? Also is there any problem with having it partly filled? Could i have it half full and top it up as i take some off to drink every now and then? Use it as a sort of bulk storage, plus it would be cool to drink booze out of a keg :))

Mate, a wine barrel that big is not really the way to go. Even if you think you can fill it (which will take a fucking long time) it might not be what you want after your 15 years of aging.

Better off getting a barrel from a reputable company that is more like 20 - 50 Litres.

It has been mentioned a few time before that people want to fill a 200L barrel but it never comes to fruition. I struggle to fill a 25L barrel.

Also, do you want all your eggs in one basket that you need to wait years for to fiind out it's shit?

Sorry to piss on your parade but there is a reason that people here have smaller barrels or use glass demi's :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Urrazeb]

I'd be cutting her up and using as french oak sticks :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Or, if you get a recipe that is a winner after ageing then crank it out and fill it, yeah it'll take a while but in that time you can look for an old sherry/port cask and finish the spirit there, you can always blend it if unhappy with the product.

I made some oat whiskey that I thought was shit, it's coming up at about 5-6 months now and I had a tipple last week, it's improved greatly. Still not where I want it but when blended 20-30% into a BKO or UJ it comes into it's own.

The big guys use large barrels, but as Sam said, not really practical for our use as 2.5LPH is gonna take a lot of runs to get it full of hearts.