Oak is expensive and there is a limited amount available, so why are the vast majority of barrels made from oak rather than some other kind of wood? Here in this post we will not consider the different kinds of oak (you can read about the benefits of American oak vs French/ European oak for…
Read MoreFor two or three years now the premium alcoholics drinks sector has been struggling with a shortage of both new and used barrels. Initially it looked like a Covid problem, compounded by the war in Ukraine, but it is becoming clear that there are more deep-rooted issues that are causing these supply issues. At its…
Read MoreHere at LusoBarrel we specialize in supplying used Madeira and Port barrels, which makes sense as these are the two most famous kinds of fortified wine from Portugal, where we are based near the Port wine growing region. We also make new barrels and supply used sherry barrels (as well as some other more unusual…
Read MoreAll the barrels that leave our cooperage have been tested for leaks, which means we fill them and leave them to sit for a few hours. However after transport there can be some problems with leaks when they arrive at our clients’ facilities – this is typically either a stave has broken in transport; the…
Read MoreThe first thing to say is that all the barrels that leave our cooperage (new or used) are pressure tested before they leave the premises. This means that we put water in them and let them sit for a while (and turn them) and check to see if there are any leaks. So when they…
Read MoreOak barrels are a key component in the production of many types of alcoholic beverages and here we are going to look at how this process works. One of the reasons oak barrels are so important in the production process is because they add unique flavors to the beverage being aged within them. We will…
Read MoreHere we will look at the different ways that barrels are produced in the US and Europe as well as looking at the different properties that American and French/European oak have. When comparing a US cooperage with a typical European one, the most obvious difference is scale – as with so many things, Americans just…
Read MoreThere is no getting away from it – used port barrels are not cheap! There is a good reason for this – there is a limited supply because only so many barrels get released on to the market each year and there is a growing demand as distillers become more experimental with the ageing techniques.…
Read MoreWe have an extraordinary variety of clients buying our used barrels – from experimenting distillers who want a couple of 40 litre barrels to world renown brands who regularly buy containers of 150 barrels at a time. As a used barrel supplier the trick for us is to balance having just enough stock of barrels…
Read MoreOur cooperage is still very much run along traditional lines, so whilst we have invested in machinery such as laser guided machining to produce are staves and a semi-automatic press to fit the staves, most of what we do as a barrels supplier in Portugal involves a hammer and a lot of skill from one…
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