Kambucha oak barrel

[VillaVino]

Has anyone used a kambucha oak barrel for wine aging. From what I see, they sit upright on end and have a lid you can open. I would think this would make it easier to clean. You can get a 5 gal barrel at Barrels online. I have 4 smaller barrels from them with good success. Thoughts?

 

[Johnd]

Has anyone used a kambucha oak barrel for wine aging. From what I see, they sit upright on end and have a lid you can open. I would think this would make it easier to clean. You can get a 5 gal barrel at Barrels online. I have 4 smaller barrels from them with good success. Thoughts?

It’s probably easier to clean, my big fear would be in the oxidation / contamination risks associated with that big lid if it doesn’t seal up just right. Additionally, as you lose wine (angels share) in a conventional barrel arrangement, the surface area that gets exposed to air seems to be much smaller than a barrel standing on end, that would also be a concern.

 

[BernardSmith]

Very unfamiliar with barrels but I would have thought that given its shape a barrel on its side would have only a very little of its surface touching any surface (if a great deal of the barrel would be in contact with the ground, for example, then friction would prevent it from rolling) so I wonder whether more surface would be in contact with the ground if it was standing upright...

 

[Johnd]

Very unfamiliar with barrels but I would have thought that given its shape a barrel on its side would have only a very little of its surface touching any surface (if a great deal of the barrel would be in contact with the ground, for example, then friction would prevent it from rolling) so I wonder whether more surface would be in contact with the ground if it was standing upright...

All true, a barrel on its side is unstable, as very little touches the ground, which is why folks use barrel racks/stands. An upright barrel sits well on the ground with no help. The same principle of ground contact translates to surface area exposure of the wine to air as wine evaporates / concentrates. Barrels on their sides taper down and away from the bung in every direction, standing barrels have a wine surface parallel to the underside of the head, resulting in a large surface area of exposure with just a little bit of wine loss.

 

[VillaVino]

Thanks for the replies. My main concern would be getting a good seal for the lid as stated above. Yesterday I visited a local distillery who sells his used 30 gal oak kegs. I may just go that route.

 

[Rice_Guy]

a local distillery who sells his used 30 gal oak kegs. I may just go that route.

alcohol equipment sounds good. The one kambucha maker I have come across had major volatile acidity contamination from mixing equipment.