In the final stages of the coopering process, the barrel is heated by fire or steam until its staves are hot enough to be bent readily.  After bending, the barrel is further heated over additional wood fires to achieve the desired toasting level.  In this study, wireless thermocouples were inserted into staves to assess the variability in the temperature profiles experienced by the staves during the bending and toasting process.  Samples of the wood around the thermocouples were taken to assess the impact of heating on the profile of volatile compounds found in the wood.  The thermocouples demonstrated that the wood received differing amounts of heat depending on proximity to the flames as well as the distance from the firepot itself.  Varying chemical profiles resulted from the differential heating; depending in part on the origin of the volatiles, different patterns of formation and/or degradation were observed.

Assessing variability in the coopering process

240th National Meeting (2010)

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