[suziequeue]

OH wants to brew his cider in oak barrels this year. He has ben told that ex-whiskey oak barrels are best for cider.

I have committed the henious crime of accidentally purchasing some ex-wine oak barrels.

OH not happy. Has to be ex-whiskey..........

My attitude? - It's an oak barrel - what used to be in it is somewhat irrelevant.

Is there really such a huge difference between ex-wine and ex-whiskey oak barrels?

Advice welcome. Thanks

[ellisr]

As far as I can tell the oak has been fed by the whiskey and in turn feeds the cider back. I suppose wine barrels may make the cider a bit bitter but TBH I would still try it

[robert waddell]

brewing is not my forte    but drinking is      some whiskey co like Bourbon barrels (oak) to give the flavour i would suspect the cider will draw the flavour from the oak while not having to bitter a taste
if it had been some of these dry red wines that had been in the barrel before i can see where oh is coming from the wine alone draws your checks together never mind the cider

[suziequeue]

Mmmmmmm - so there may be something in it after all 

Oh well - just have to make things up by getting a whiskey barrel aswell and seeing if there is a difference. I'll report back next year or from the divorce court - whichever comes sooner 

(No.....only kidding - I would never leave my darling Paul  )

[Rosemary]

Samples for tasting can be sent to TAS for independent mediation 

[nicandem]

where/how much are you getting the whiskey barrel for... fancy one to make a smoker out of

[darkbrowneggs]

The old cider makers round here in Herefordshire/Worcestershire always reckoned rum barrels were best for cider.

[MikeM]

do you get to empty the barrels first?

[suziequeue]

I got them on eBay I think.


After all that - OH didn't use the barrels to ferment his cider in..... we just did it in the usual buckets and demi-johns and he had the last one (which really was a bit past it) last week

[MAK]

a bit of the thread Suzieque but can you ask the OH if yeast is a must to make cider? We have no fruit at all in our village but collected 4 sacks of apples from down the road. Must make cider mmmmmmmmmmmm ( we do have 2 oak barrels in the cellar but it is very unlikely that whiskey was in them - probabley that orrible French wine muck -eh Robert - lover all things French ) 

[suziequeue]

The yeast is in the apples. That's the beauty of cider :-)


We just add a bit of sugar to get it going.


Very simple

[MAK]

Thats what I thought. We added yeast last year and the OH is searching like mad to find yeast before the well ripe apples turn. I'mm for getting the press going first thing tomorrow.

[Donald]

Hello,


Geez it has been troublesome getting it in order, luckily the cider I had pressed a few weeks back doesn't seem to have suffered seriously from my delays, but I've gotten the old wine barrel cleaned, sterilized and sealed up and the cider is in there all corked up with an airlock bubbling away. I guess it will stay that way till summer now, we'll see.


Greetings,


Don Wagstaff