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I called and they are 100% legit. I might go for a 55L French oak barrel.

I already have 1 55L French from Allary and it's really nice. Would like to try something different.

I know for a fact they are legit. I think AJ was referring to some of the other online barrel companies and there are a lot of scammers out there.
 
I called and they are 100% legit. I might go for a 55L French oak barrel.

I already have 1 55L French from Allary and it's really nice. Would like to try something different.

Nice. I’ll have to look up Allary and check them out. Venturing into the barrel world gotta plan years in advance!
I’m filling my 1st and only barrel back up tonight which I think may now be neutral. A 30L I got from Fred. Been filled about a year now. And also have a 50L from Fred on deck. Trying to plan it so the 1st run is done just as ‘20 spring wine can go in for long 8month+ stretch.
Utilizing barrels just adds a whole new fun element to the mix. I love it.
 
I know for a fact they are legit. I think AJ was referring to some of the other online barrel companies and there are a lot of scammers out there.

Oh. Yeah. My bad. Thanks Fred. I didn’t mean to insinuate this company was like that. Was 2 separate thoughts.
But it definitely is crazy out there. For whatever reason scammers gravitate to the wine barrel market. So if ya find high quality oak in hard to find sizes at unbeatable prices- chances are they don’t exist or as @ibglowin put it before- could be coming from the glowing hills of the Chernobyl forest. [emoji16]
 
Nice. I’ll have to look up Allary and check them out. Venturing into the barrel world gotta plan years in advance!
I’m filling my 1st and only barrel back up tonight which I think may now be neutral. A 30L I got from Fred. Been filled about a year now. And also have a 50L from Fred on deck. Trying to plan it so the 1st run is done just as ‘20 spring wine can go in for long 8month+ stretch.
Utilizing barrels just adds a whole new fun element to the mix. I love it.

Just placed an order for a 55L French Oak Tonnellarie Berthomieu barrel. I should have it on Monday. Hope it will be nice, I'll post some pics :)
 
So I did a hot soak on my barrel about 3 days ago and it seemed to hold overnight. Then I noticed that it was seeping from the edge of the head a bit, then it stopped for about 24 hours. Then I moved it, still full, to a stand and it’s seeping again.

It it common to leak after moving and then reseal after another day or so or does this indicate a problem? It’s now been 3 days so was hoping to get some wine in there soon but the off and on seeping makes me nervous to do so.

When I say seeping, I’m talking about maybe 1/4tsp accumulating near the seam at the bottom of the head over 12hrs.
 
It seems to have stopped seeping again this morning. Should I still do the hot soak method over again? It’s now been 3 days so I think that I need to replace the sulfates water anyways or maybe I can just mix in some more kmeta.
 
It seems to have stopped seeping again this morning. Should I still do the hot soak method over again? It’s now been 3 days so I think that I need to replace the sulfates water anyways or maybe I can just mix in some more kmeta.

Did you hot soak the heads? Its important to prep the barrel exterior as well, this adds moisture back to the wood and helps with the seal. You should put near boiling water on the each barrel head while it’s standing, allow it to cool, and repeat.
 
It seems to have stopped seeping again this morning. Should I still do the hot soak method over again? It’s now been 3 days so I think that I need to replace the sulfates water anyways or maybe I can just mix in some more kmeta.

I would recommend emptying it and tighten the outer 2 hoops really good then soak the outside of the heads. That should immediately take care of it.
When you refill to test you can just use plain water, no need for sulfites since it's a new barrel.
 
I poured near boiling water on each head and let it sit upright for 45m, flipped and did other side. Then I filled about half way with near boiling water and stood upright and added hot water again to head that was on top (so each exterior head 2x). Flipped after about an hour and repeated on other side. Then I let it sit sideways still with hot water for about another 4-5 hours and occasionally sloshed it around to ensure all inside surfaces were coated.

Guess I should just drain and repeat that process? Also; though I read of people adding kmeta and citric acid to the cold soak but maybe that isn’t necessary?
 
As mentioned above it may take a tap or two on the outer hoop to stop the leak. If all else fails a little dab of barrel wax, bees wax or even paraffin wax at the site of the leak should stop it cold.
 
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