Page 40 - Beverage Master December January 2020

Craft Beverage

Finishing and Aging Options Evolve with

Booming Secondary Barrel Market

By: Gerald Dlubala

T hose barrels hanging out in the distilleries, Following The Seasons
Impacting Flavors By
whether new, used or refurbished, are
just getting started. Oak barrels have a full
and varied life, complete with occasional One company helping those previously used bar-
travel between distilleries, breweries, wineries and rels live their best life is Moe’s Barrels, with loca-
back again, sometimes internationally. tions in Galt, Lodi and Fairfield, California. COO
Dean “Deano” Wilson is a winemaker and self-pro-
Just within the Kentucky commonwealth, there claimed foodie, so he found it natural to follow his
is an inventory of over eight million barrels of passion by selling previously used wine and whiskey
Bourbon and other spirits in various stages of the barrels for secondary, flavor impacting purposes.
aging process. It’s the highest inventory in 40 years
and represents almost a two-barrel per person “We source our barrels from both the big and
ratio. That’s a lot of barrels coming onto the mar- small producers,” said Wilson. “The boutique pro-
ket, which coincides with a booming secondary bar- ducers are our preferred source for quality used
rel market. barrels simply because they tend to take care of
them a little better. We buy our barrels in lots, with

38 December - January 2020 BEVERAGE MASTER

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