-
How high can you stack barrels?
We are just now getting barrels that we have to start stacking.
Any tips for efficiently raising barrels up to the second, third and fourth level?
These barrels are heavy !!!
We have forklifts, but there has to be a better way of doing this.
-
11 Replies
-
For instance.
-
Any issues with leaking when they are stacked like that?
Most people seem to prefer to stack them on the sides.
-
Dave Pickerall talked about stacking barrels like this at a class I attended this summer. It can cause the barrels to leak, and also will affect aging. He doesn’t prefer it, but apparently it’s becoming more common in the whiskey industry due to the ease of moving the barrels.
either way, I think forklifts are the general tool for the job.
Any issues with leaking when they are stacked like that?
Most people seem to prefer to stack them on the sides.
-
I wonder if that is more or less stable in an earthquake.
-
Our barrel rack manufacturer (Western Square) recommends no higher than 6 high for our particular style of rack. I guess it depends on barrel size, weight, making sure your floor will hold that weight, and what your using to stack these barrels with, etc…
-
If you have earth quakes, they have clips for the barrels to keep them from making a terrible mess. I have seen 6 high be the norm because of forklift reach.
-
It can cause the barrels to leak
Through the bung?
and also will affect aging
How?
-
Through the bung?
How?
I’ve seen vertical stack barrels leaking…it was at a winery, and with 4 layers up, a few bottom layer barrels had sprung leaks…looked like they were mostly around the bottom head, but at least one was leaking at the stave seam next to the bung.
As for aging, remember that many people char the head differently, or don’t char it at all. I’ve also seen many barrels that use a different mill of wood for the heads. I’m not sure if it makes that much of a difference, but it could.
Having said all that, I’m sure the taste of a vertical barrel is just as good as a horizontal! It just might be different…does anyone have time to do the math to figure out what the possible difference in headspace surface area might be? I’m just thinking that I’ve always had more trouble carbonating beer in a horizontal tank than in a vertical. Might be the same issue?
-
At Siebel earlier this summer, both Dave Pickerall and Steve Wright felt that horizontal was the best position for barrels, both because of the possibility of leaking and a slight difference in aging. However, they did say that some of the big whiskey houses were moving to palletized vertical barrels for space considerations, as well as ease of moving the barrels.
My understanding is that the vertical position puts more pressure on the heads of the barrel, which are not designed to be stored that way, this is probably only a slight difference. The other thought is that in the horizontal position there is greater surface area of the head space, so greater contact with air for aging purposes?
seemed like a slight difference, not a major issue.
-
i have seen barrels dropped funny on lip and leak until they seal themselves by evaporative crust forming, but if it had the gravity right on top and not displacement by a side leak, id say it would probably never stop
-
4-6 high with full Barrels is what I’m use to seeing in wineries. That is with correct barrel racks. I have also seen what they call “stillage” where the barrels are stacked upon themselves horizontally and chocked with wood in place
Log in to reply.
English 
Spanish 
German 
French 
Russian