How To BARREL AGE Your Own MOONSHINE/WHISKEY! 

Neat idea combining the 2 methods. I'll have to try that. Thanks:-)>

I do that to mine and it makes a big difference.

Very good point !!

LOL!!!

LoL!!!

Thanks!

Mike Anderson you’re way too little cowboy to get it 😂😂

@Mike Anderson a cowgirl like you would never understand.

I did use it to age a Kentucky Common Ale after the whiskey. It was amazing with that whiskey note and smoothness. Going to rechar it at some point, then I might use it for a wine I'm working on.

@@BeardedBored sounds delicious!

@@TheMullisJ I hope so. Never made wine by hand pressing grapes before. We'll see.

Thanks for the recipe!

Welcome, Bearded Brother!!

Forgot to give the weights! 6# corn, 2 1/2 # malted barley and 1 1/2# malted rye, 12-16# raw sugar, $5 for 8# at Walmart

If i did my math right 6lb corn 2.5lb of malted barley and 1.5 lbof rye malt your SG would be 1.061 With 12lb of sugar the SG would be 2.165 😳 that’ll be some sweet “beer” unless I messed up correct me if im wrong

Glad I could help! Good luck, and I'll see you in 2 years:-)>

Reunion Moonshine from Top Shelf in Perth....love the stuff. spent a small fortune on it so far!!!

So how did it turn out?

@@kustomsf also curious how it turned out

Thanks for watching:-)>

His relatives started a liquor company based on his recipe. As far as I know, this is still available at the liquor store. I would have preferred not to mix it, but the barrel leaked really badly. Had to top it up to keep the barrel full.

Im really happy that someone else knows of Popcorn Sutton, a great moonshiner- legendary!

Thanks so much!

Glad I could help! Check out the follow up video if you have to deal with any barrel leaks;-)>

What's with the bumble bee profile pic?

U sell them? (Bottled?)

Ha HA!!

Thanks!

Yeah, you want to reduce the proof to 110 or 55%ABV with Distilled water, not tap water. Look online for a "proofing calculator" to calculate the amount of water to mix in to get the proof you want.

@@BeardedBored Got it! Thanks!

Usually the order is whiskey first, then brandy or rum. No need to do anything between refills. Each new batch will get a slight character of flavor from the last spirit, but the strength of the wood diminishes, so you need to age longer for each successive batch.

Yes, I think it would be pretty tasty.

Yep. Anytime you see something like "apple whiskey" or a flavored vodka, they use a flavor extract. I just did a Hard Seltzer video with extracts and I'm going to try them out in spirits for a future project.

Yeah, I heard the same thing. Pretty sure it's gone for good, but I'm sure you can find some good white whiskies.

It can really speed up your aging, but also the angel's share losses. It got up to 120F in that shed. But you can always keep it inside during the hottest months. The commercial producers in Texas have temps up to 120-130's in their aging barns, but they're dealing with huge volumes of liquor so it's not that big of a deal to them. At the hobby level I'd rather go a little slower and keep the keg inside when it's crazy hot.

@@BeardedBored thank you

That's awesome! For one that big, hopefully you have enough liquor to fill it, otherwise it would be a waste of time. You'd need make sure it's not full of debris from the winery. If you can see inside with a flashlight through the bung, check the interior. You'll need to clean the inside with hot water to get out any bugs or gunk in there, just a few gallons to slosh around. After it's clean fill it completely with warm water and let it sit for at least 24 hours, maybe 48. After the wood has had a chance to rehydrate and swell for a day or two, check for leaks. Repair any leaks (check my other video on leak repair). Wait another day or 2 to be sure the repairs are holding, then dump out the water and let it drain for 12 hours. Then fill with 200L of liquor. Rotate the barrel every 3 months to prevent the staves on top (where the air bubble is) from drying out. Do this for at least a year before you sample. For a barrel that big It'll likely take 3-5 years of aging before it's really great. If you don't have enough liquor to fill the barrel, then you could always cut it up and use chunks of the staves in mason jars filled with liquor to age some booze. You'll still get a great flavor and it will go a lot faster:-)

Wine can go a bit quicker since you're not looking for as much oak flavor. Maybe a week, two at the most.

Well since I used store bought I didn't have to proof this batch down, but the rule of thumb is that you age at a higher proof, like 125 to 155 in the barrel or on chips. Since alcohol is a solvent, the higher the proof, the more the wood magic happens. Then proof it down to where you want it before bottling. Distill->age->proof->bottle. :-)>

Thanks! Glad you found it helpful.

Yum:-)

Nice! I'm jealous:-)

I found it at the local liquor store. Not sure if they still make it.

Also try using ground popcorn. Ground popped popcorn. From my research the corn flavor is forward heavy. The yeast has an easier time converting the starch. Then you can claim the Popcorn Whiskey label as 100% true. Now if there was a variety of corn called "Sutton" Then you could use the name "Popcorn Sutton Moonshine" 100% free and clear.

No worries:-)>The current thinking is that water is a safe liquid to store in your barrel to keep it hydrated between batches, or before the first use. It doesn't leach out the barrel like whiskey. You can leave water in there for several weeks without any noticeable effect.

Shazam! You are now very bored and you have more beard, but sadly my aim was off and your back hair is longer. Sorry.

@@BeardedBored Damn. So close but yet so far... luckily i am no longer bored, after finishing a distilation and "tasting". Love from New Zealand!

Oak has a more uniform expansion when soaked so the staves stay tighter, and if I remember correctly, the grain structure is better at holding in liquids. That said, there are a lot of folks who use other types of wood in chunks to drop in bottles to age spirits that way. Maple, cherry and apple wood are all popular for experimenting and add really unique flavors, especially when the wood is toasted at different levels, or charred. Lots of room for tinkering.

I did a follow up video 6 months later. It's not bad. If I do another barrel I'll go bigger to get more control of the flavor over a longer period. I think you get more accuracy with staves and spirals, but it's kind of nice having the barrel to use for rum after you finish the whiskey, then age a beer after that.

Here's a link to the 6 month tasting review video I did:-) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-d5x4vbJpbUw.html

Thanks I just watched it. Very nice color. I plan on picking up a barrel and trying this with my grape/raspberry brandy I make.

Sounds awesome!

If you can. There will always be a small air bubble, so rotating the barrel every month or so is a good idea to keep the top staves from drying out. Also, you'll lose some due to angel's share so get it as full as you can:-)

Honestly I think you should just add some dried apples to the barrel to get a much better apple flavor. Easier to do and the flavor will be more pronounced.

@@BeardedBored yeah that makes sense, I’m really new to this and just looking into it. My favorite stuff is apple flavored whiskey. And with these little barrel, how would I get the dried apples out? Or do I leave them in? Any help would be awesome and appreciated

@@BeardedBored and like how many apples, stuff like that

@@tunink3227 Mmm, I think maybe 3-4 slices of dried apple in a small barrel.

@@tunink3227 Oh yeah I hadn't thought of that, haha. Well, you can barrel age it first, then pour it into a big jar and let it sit with the apples for a month or so.

Yes.

I think 10 years in a small barrel might not be great. The flavor might get too oaky. These small barrels are tricky when it comes to timing. Plus, you might loose most of it to angel's share unless you wax the outside of the barrel to slow down the evaporation. Might be an interesting experiment though:-)

(I'm reposting my comment to you from another video because I think it's relevant) Yeah, that's the one thing I don't have accurate data on for this barrel is the angel's share. The leak was so bad that I had to refill it a few times to top it up. The last bit of aging after the leak was fixed was about 4 months. In that time I lost about 5% to angel's share in 120F hot shed. If you want to slow down the angel's share you can wax the entire outside of the barrel. Not a thick coating of paraffin, but a thin smear of soft wax to work some into the staves. Not sure how much it helps, but might be why mine was so low.

Here you go amzn.to/2NSJArl . Thanks for the heads up!

Bearded & Bored thank you

Maybe so. I haven't been able to find it either.

It will keep aging.

Check to see if there are any distilleries in your area. If so, I'm sure they'd sell used barrels. If not, you'll have to see what you can find on google.

I actually made a video using a BarrelCharWood kit. Here you go - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qk5Z0WZWEko.html

I've never tried infusing coffee, but I've tried cinnamon and other stuff. I'm sure it would work, but it probably won't take long. If I were you I would test out a maybe 4 ounces of liquor in a jar before risking a whole bottle. Let the coffee soak for maybe 10 minutes. Then taste it. That doesn't seem like very long, but alcohol is a solvent and coffee oils dissolve easily, so it might not take much time. If it tastes super weak, then bump it up to an hour. Then maybe overnight. Most liquor infusions only need about 48 hours. Once you dial in the time on your small sample you can upscale to doing a bottle without the risk. Give it a try and let us all know how it works out.

Alternately you can over-infuse 4 oz of liquor with coffee to make it super strong, then add small amounts to a bottle of liquor to flavor it. Basically you make a coffee tincture.

Recommendations as to what kind of whiskey?

Yes sir! Basically what to start with to make a good whiskey?

@@kennyholcomb5274 Any white unaged whiskey will work. I would go with something with corn in the mash bill. Just poke around in the liquor store to see what you can find. I ended up using a blend but a single brand is good too.

Distilled spirits like Whiskey don't spoil like wine or beer.

You can reuse it, but it'll take longer to get the same color and flavor in each successive batch. Commercial distilleries don't reuse barrels for that reason. However, Rum distilleries buy used whiskey barrels to age rum and so do breweries. I ended up aging my whiskey for 8 months, then used my barrel to age some beer. Really tasty stuff. Note: If you do age beer, then you have to clean and sterilize the barrel before using it again.

@Kurt Lamprecht Yep. Rum distilleries also reuse bourbon barrels.

Aside from looking cool? Yes, the barrels allow the oxygen to transfer into the spirit which helps with mellowing out harsher flavors. There has been a lot of experimentation on various forums doing this with jars too. The biggest advantage of the barrel is that it's hands free. You just leave it to do it's magic as opposed to opening and closing your jars for different intervals. Jars are definitely cheaper though. r/firewater on Reddit has a lot of info on both barrels and jars:-)

Well, I'm not a math wizard, but I was able to get an answer that I think is reasonable. Since I couldn't find a formula for calculating the surface area to volume ratio of a barrel with its irregular shape I worked with a 30L straight sided cylinder. So keep in mind this won't be exact. Using typical 30L water barrel dimensions of 19inches in height, radius of 5.75 inches I was able to get that the surface to volume ratio is about .45, or 45 for the purpose of the chart. That ratio to a 53 gallon barrel is 1.36. Divide 365 days by 1.36 and you get 268 days in the 30L barrel to be equivalent to 365 days in a 53 gallon barrel. So, the short answer is almost 9 months in the 30L to be roughly equivalent to 1 year in a full sized barrel. I have no idea if that's accurate, but it seems reasonable when you think about a 20L barrel needing almost 6 months, according to the chart. The 30L barrel you bought is 50% larger, so a few more months seems right. Again, not a math wizard, so I might be screwing that up, LoL:-)>

Awesome, thank you so much for the time you put into this..

No problem. Happy to help. Hope your hooch turns out amazing:-)>

Hey, thanks! Sometimes my weird sense of humor can frighten the villagers.

I've got a link to a better barrel (no leaks) in the video description. 2 Liter Oak Barrel: amzn.to/2jIpNA5 Thanks for watching:-)>

Bearded & Bored .I'm looking for a 2 litter barell that is charred on the inside

The barrel company is golden oak. the inside has a number 3 char (medium) - the link is to the Golden Oak 2 liter Barrel.

Keep looking around and see if you can find a barrel maker that supplies small distilleries. The quality will be what you're looking for. The link I have on amazon keeps changing the barrels they offer unfortunately, so it's hard to stay on top of it. I've ordered on form another seller that came varnished when I asked for non-varnished, so I just sanded it off. The char level should be at least a number 3 char, so it should look like alligator skin on the inside. Light char is mainly for a little color, but not much flavor or wood sugars, but heavy char will give you wood sugars and some filtering of the spirit through the charcoal.

@@BeardedBored I've found where I can get once used Balcones barrels for a bit over $100, but the shipping is around 45! And they're 5 gallon barrels, so I don't think I want quite that big. Though it would still have accelerated aging here in Texas.

@@ThinkFreely2012 Yeah, I almost got one of theirs, but have never had 5 gallons of spirit to fill one.

Correct. You can brew beer and wine, but you can't extract the alcohol out of it for personal consumption because of an antique and pointless law from the prohibition era. If you think that is as stupid as I do, write your congressional representative and senators to let them know you want hobby distilling legalized at the federal level:-)>

I'd like to offer a different perspective. Towards the end of his life he had several big stills running hundreds of gallon of mash at a time and was running a fairly significant operation. The biggest difference between him and a commercial small craft distillery was the outlaw factor of being unlicensed and not paying taxes. Now they do the paperwork and pay the taxes. As long as the recipe is the same, his legacy goes on. Plus, we get the chance to try it rather than just hear about it.

The barrel is charred on the inside so it get's a smokey flavor naturally.

For my rum I did a scraping of half a vanilla bean, 1 cardamom pod, a little orange peel and a very small cinnamon stick, but only left the cinnamon, orange and cardamom in for 24 hours. It came out really tasty and lightly spiced:-)

I left mine to swell with water for 24 hours. Initially it looked fine and didn't leak. A week or so later I found a really bad stave leak that actually required a repair. Made a video detailing the fix here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-X5wuzI3dqJM.html

Bearded & Bored yeah I watched that video where you used tooth picks pretty good job..

Not that I know of, but since a liter is pretty close to a quart, just divide the number of liters of volume by 4 and you'll have a good idea of the gallons.

Thanks for the reply I know how to convert it I just hate having to do it; your bearded and bored I guess I'm just old and set in my ways and prefer American measurements

Ha ha, I hear ya man:-)> I think it must be an industry standard since it's so common. All the barrel makers I've looked at have it in liters. Liquor used to come by the quart or the fifth, but now it's all 750ml or 1.75 liter bottles, even from old US distilleries. No idea when that changed, but I'd guess that there is a direct correlation to the barrel sizes.

You could, but it wouldn't taste good. It's already been aged on oak, so giving it more time in a barrel would make it too oakey. Better to use clear spirits to start with.

Bearded & Bored thanks man. Like a vodka ?

Vodka will work, but it's usually stripped of all flavor during the distilling process so there may not be much flavor to develop during barrel aging. I'd try some white rum or white whiskey to get the most out of the process in terms of flavor development.

Cost of barrel and liquor. I already had a small video camera.