# When do wine and spirit barrels actually get thrown away? + Other barrel questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** wine\ **Created:** [March 8, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-wine-and-spirit-barrels-actually-get-thrown-away-other-barrel-questions/714539 "2015-03-08T17:24:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-wine-and-spirit-barrels-actually-get-thrown-away-other-barrel-questions/714539/21 "2015-03-09T00:25:58Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > I think it’s very unlikely that current barrel production is even a fraction of a percent of what it was at its peak. Barrels were ubiquitous for centuries, not just for alcohol, but for practically anything that had to be stored for any time, or transported any distance. It’s an interesting question. Ubiquitous in 1800, when the world population hit 1 billion (a good mnemonic, by the way). Or used widely for alcoholic beverages in 2015, when the world population is 7+ billion. This reminds me… we used to have a small barrel in our house as kind of piece of furniture. I wonder now what it was originally used for and how old it was… ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-wine-and-spirit-barrels-actually-get-thrown-away-other-barrel-questions/714539/22 "2015-03-09T01:34:44Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > But per the restaurant name, were there “cracker barrels”? That seems like a pretty bad way to transport and crackers (though I can see maybe hardtack and stuff like that). We used to get crackers in square tins, either about 1’ x 1’ x 1’, or 2’ x 1’ x 1’, so I’ve wondered if cracker barrels were actually firkins or pins rather than the Hogshead depicted in the “Cracker Barrel” logo. Does anyone know the size of the "Eisenhower Cracker Barrel " presented to the Augusta Golf Club? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-wine-and-spirit-barrels-actually-get-thrown-away-other-barrel-questions/714539/23 "2015-03-09T20:56:14Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > I think it’s very unlikely that current barrel production is even a fraction of a percent of what it was at its peak. Barrels were ubiquitous for centuries, not just for alcohol, but for practically anything that had to be stored for any time, or transported any distance. Any liquid, obviously, but also dry goods, like flour or gunpowder; fruit and vegetables were often carried in barrels as well, fresh, dried and pickled; also nails and other hardware. > > You’ve heard the expression “like shooting fish in a barrel”? Herring used to be shipped around the world, packed with salt into barrels as tightly as sardines are packed in a can. Nowadays, those items would probably be packaged in food grade plastic, which didn’t exist back then. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-wine-and-spirit-barrels-actually-get-thrown-away-other-barrel-questions/714539/24 "2015-03-09T21:38:52Z")
Don’t ask for a cite, but I remember reading about cracker barrels in some journal, which also offered the fact that when you bought crackers at the General Store, they would weigh out the amount you desire and give you instructions to “rebake” the crackers because they would be rather stale from non-airtight transport. I imagine that most of the crackers would survive transport in a barrel quite well, _especially_ if they were stale-ish. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-wine-and-spirit-barrels-actually-get-thrown-away-other-barrel-questions/714539/25 "2015-03-09T23:35:31Z")
I toured a stave company near me - pretty interesting. > **[Rolling out the barrel parts in Caledonia](https://www.startribune.com/rolling-out-the-barrel-parts-in-caledonia/40712997/)** > > A southeastern Minnesota mill turns white oak trunks into a container -- and flavoring component -- for some of the world's top wines and spirits. I remember the manager saying wine people wanted prettier staves, but other uses they just needed it to not leak. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-wine-and-spirit-barrels-actually-get-thrown-away-other-barrel-questions/714539/26 "2015-03-10T00:05:13Z")
I toured the Guinness brewery a few years ago. The briefly mentioned the army of coopers that worked there and had a photo of a pyramid of barrels. It was thousands of thousands of barrels. Dwarfed the trucks parked nearby. Later at the Jamison’s distillery ( I loved Dublin, and yes I was shot by 4pm) they too talked about the barrels. The slight bit that evaporates during the 12 or 30 year aging is called the Angels share. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-wine-and-spirit-barrels-actually-get-thrown-away-other-barrel-questions/714539/27 "2015-03-10T00:20:18Z")
> [@Mr.Goob](#): > > … I loved Dublin, and yes I was shot by 4pm … There during “the troubles” eh? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-wine-and-spirit-barrels-actually-get-thrown-away-other-barrel-questions/714539/28 "2015-03-10T00:22:05Z")
4pm? Noob! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-wine-and-spirit-barrels-actually-get-thrown-away-other-barrel-questions/714539/29 "2015-03-10T13:56:45Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > 4pm? > Noob! Ummmm jet lag. That’s it. My body thought it was 10 am. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-wine-and-spirit-barrels-actually-get-thrown-away-other-barrel-questions/714539.md?page=1)