Oak Wine Barrel – 55 Gallon (225 Litres)

4 Uses for Used Oak Wine Barrels

Our solid oak ex-wine barrels will often still have stamps and markers from their previous vineyards which helps maintain their character and charm. These are sourced directly from wineries/vineyards around the world and delivered to Celtic Timber normally within a week of being freshly emptied. The majority of the used oak wine barrels have contained red wine but occasionally used white wine oak barrels are available which are very popular for reuse with cider makers (more on this later).

The wine barrels are generally 225 litres in capacity between 2 and 6 years old and watertight. Because of their relative youth compared to other used barrels they are generally clean in appearance and have galvanised steel bands which do not rust.

1.Water Butts and Water Features

As our wine barrels are freshly emptied and newer than whiskey barrels, they are guaranteed to be watertight and therefore make excellent water butts. Our wine barrels have more character than the average plastic water butt.

2.Oak Wine Barrel Planters

The strength and durability of wine barrels make them perfect for shaping into planters of all shapes and sizes for plants, trees and vegetables.

3.Oak Wine Barrel Furniture

Wine barrels themselves and also their individual parts are extremely versatile. Their strong, thick bands and galvanised steel rings allow us to create a range of furniture.

We also offer a refurbishment service where our wine barrels can be sanded back to look like new and can be laser engraved with any company logo or wording on to the barrels. This makes them popular in retail and in bars with shops using them for a variety of displays and restaurants, pubs, deli’s etc using them as tables, props, marketing and displays with company logos engraved on to them.

4.Brewing

Our wine barrels and excellent for brewing, ageing and souring craft beers and will add to the character and taste.

Per James Godman, Head Brewer of Wilderness Brewery in Powys, North Wales (https://www.wildernessbrew.co.uk/):

“We’ve bought a selection of wine barrels from Celtic Timber over the last few months as we’re setting up a barrel ageing and souring programme at our brewery in Newtown, Powys.

Celtic Timber sells wine barrels and whiskey barrels for various uses with the barrels in a range of conditions. It’s important to me that they are watertight, so I also look for uniform and tight fitting staves. I generally soak the barrels in water when they arrive at the brewery, this helps the wood swell and prevent leaks.

We’ve been very happy with the barrels we’ve picked up so far.

Currently, we are using a bank of Bordeaux Red Wine barrels to sour some Belgian farmhouse style beers that we have inoculated with a range of microorganisms including Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus. Our next plan is to produce some ‘native’ sour beers by fermenting in barrels using wild yeast and bacteria collected in the local hills. We are also planning some ‘clean’ aged beers using whisky barrels, as spirit barrels are much less likely to come with their own resident microbes.”.