Barrel shortage coming soon?

Don't have detailed informtion but I would think a recharred barrel that had last held beer could be used again for whiskey. But no idea if there'd be any more residual beer than residual whiskey from prior use.

 

Always? Spirit companies were almost giving them away before used barrels found other uses.

 

I'm not up to snuff on rules for whiskey, but absolutely not for bourbon. Bourbon, by rule, has to be in a brand new charred barrel.

 

As I understand it, it is illegal to re-use barrels for whiskey in the United States [edit - not true, see following posts]. There is no such prohibition in Scotland. While there have been both whiskies aged in beer casks and beers aged in whisky casks, I am not aware of anyone (yet) using the same cask for whisky, then beer, then whisky again.

 

I know that Scotch is typically aged in former bourbon barrels, but they must be aged for much longer periods of time than bourbon for that exact reason. If bourbon is aged two to eight years (for low- to mid-range stuff) and scotch is aged from eight to fifteen years (again, low- to mid-range), its pretty safe to assume that the more liquids you age in a barrel, the longer it takes for the barrel to work its magic.

It is not illegal to reuse barrels for whiskey in the US, you just cannot age bourbon in reused barrels and still call it bourbon. That is an old law dating back a couple centuries designed to help promote the American oak industry. I don't believe there are any regulations on other American whiskeys (rye, sour mash, etc). New Holland makes a "Beer Barrel Bourbon" that was aged in barrels that previously housed Dragon's Milk and then some bourbon before that. It's not very good, though.

 

BTW, as an aside re the re-use of barrel for whisky then beer they whisky again, is there any way to easily find out what happened to the Highland Park barrels after Haviestoun used them for their Ola Dubh series?

 

I bow to superior knowledge.

 

As an FYI, the major reason Malt Whiskys made in Scotland have to be aged for longer periods of time than Bourbon Whiskeys, say, is the climate and relative speed of the effects "aging." Kentucky, with a much warmer climate, gets enough maturation effect in 4 years that the effect is basically equivalent to 12-16 years in Scotland. The Scots do occasionally use new barrels as well with comparable maturation results to what they have with Bourbon, Sherry or other kinds of pre-used barrels, so prior contents do not appear to have much effect on the "aging" process of Malt Whisky.

Similarly the storage location (micro climate) of a barrel in the "warehouse" where it is aging can have an effect even on spirits distilled in the same batch as those in the other barrels whether in Scotland or in Kentucky.

 

Right, but IIRC the Whiskey was Bourbon before it went into the beer barrels for additional aging.

 

The breweries I have talked to have had their costs double to triple for barrels in the past 3 years. Look at all of the advertisement going on for spirits right now. Mila Kunis, Keifer Sutherland, Ray Liotta (sure I butchered some spellings) dont come cheap. That probably tells you all you need to know. I suppose that escalating costs, to both the brewers and us, will take care of the ones that really shouldnt be taking part in it. (only the strong will survive kind of thing)

 

Already exists in the distilling industry, according to this Spirits Business article from last May:
Bourbon barrel shortage to last two years, distillers warn
EDIT -
Don't know why the linked article's title isn't in "blue" font to indicate a link here on the forum (it is on my Post and Edit "windows" - but the url is
http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2014/05/bourbon-barrel-shortage-to-last-two-years-distillers-warn/

 

A barrel shortage is not coming... It is here.

In 2012, my brewery bought used bourbon barrels to age a stout and a wee heavy in. We bought them direct from Buffalo Trace the day they were emptied and paid $85 a piece for 12 barrels.

In 2013, we called Buffalo Trace. They told us they had none that we could purchase and that all barrels were going back to their cooperage. We called the cooperage and they told us they had no bourbon barrels at all for sale and that they were back logged on Buffalo Trace barrels. I called every bourbon distillery and finally Wild Turkey gave me the number of a guy named Big Al who apparently buys large amounts of barrels and sells them to breweries and wineries. They were $120 a piece and they had some four roses, wild turkey, and jim beam barrels. Those barrels all ended up being dumped beer because the seller had extracted as much bourbon as possible before selling them. A few months later, we were able to buy Buffalo Trace barrels (which we have found to be the best barrels for our beers) at $115 a piece from the cooperage.

This year, I tried to get ahead and called the cooperage. I was able to get 16 Buffalo Trace barrels... $135 a piece and they informed us that would be the last time they had Buffalo Trace barrels available for at least a year. Last month, my brewery announced that we are opening a distillery next to our brewery. We are starting off small and I am trying to source 5 liter and 5 gallon charred oak barrels. I have spoken to every cooperage that I know of that makes small barrels and they have all said they will not have any available for at least a year. One of them said that if I just want 10 or so, that I can call them on December 29th and they may have a few extras, but that will definitely be all we can get for over a year. The price for a 5 gallon, unused charred oak barrel? $175 (which beats the price of their big competitor buy almost $50). The cooperages that I have spoken to all say the same thing... They are working on expanding to try to meet demand, but they need at least another year before they can take on new customers. This includes new customers for 53 gallon barrels.

As for soaking oak alternatives in bourbon, it is of questionable legality for a brewery (when you get formula approval for a beer aged in barrels, the barrel is considered an ingredient and the bourbon is not taken into account by the TTB. You can't just dump bourbon into beer though without listing it as an ingredient which I am pretty sure would be declined). Oak alternatives also give great flavors, but it is not quite the same as using a barrel. The same is true for distilleries... You can't use a small barrel or oak alternatives and expect the results to taste exactly like the 53 gallon barrels. The flavors are still great (IMO) but they are different. It takes some reactions longer to occur within the wood and some flavors will come through very early in small barrels. Eventually, those flavors can turn into too woody of a taste before the full range of flavors come through. The same holds true for oak spirals and cubes (I would never recommend using chips)

 

Bourbon has to be aged in a new charred white oak barrel. I don't know about other whiskey.

 

apparently, TN whiskey does too.

http://news.yahoo.com/rivals-gear-next-round-tenn-015455399.html;_ylt=AwrBEiTm21RUeiMAHK3QtDMD

 

Only Boubon has that law in place.

 

Interesting. Relatively new State law. Thanks for the link!

 

I don't know. If you just call yourself American Whiskey you may be able to reuse a barrel as often as you want.

 

You've got it right. For Bourbon Whisky, by law, one use of a new barrel, for other Whiskies there can be reuse. Although it does seem there's a new Tennessee law for Tennessee Whisky requiring one use.

Edit: Bourbon can be made in other states than KY, but to be called Bourbon it must use new barrels, have a minimum % of corn in the mash, and a few other things. It just can't be called Kentucky Bourbon if made in Indiana or Virginia.

 

Reinheitsgebot for certain whiskies!

 

They should save the barrels for someone who knows how to use them then.