Where To Find Your “Wine Wand”

The Bulldog Pup is available from the manufacturer (bulldogmfg.com), and the setup starts at about $700 with various options and add-ons available. It’s made in the United States and still assembled in Othman’s shop. Demand for the device is still rising as more craft brewers and craft distillers refine their cellar techniques.

Several competitors and imitators are also available—othman was denied a patent in the eighties because the design was too simple, but it’s the simplicity as well as the ease of sanitizing and repairing that have added to the Pup’s popularity.

Michigan brewery equipment retailer GW Kent offers an imitation product that they call the Bulldog Barrel Transfer Tube (gwkent.com/bulldogbarrel-transfer-tube.html), and while this version works the same as the original, a quick search on Probrewer and other professional brewery forums reveals complaints about durability and partial aluminum construction.

The most serious competitor to the Bulldog Pup is the Rack-it-teer built by Tony Pratt in Wyoming (rackitteer .com). Also using all stainless-steel construction, the Rack-it-teer uses a slightly different method for sealing the barrel and includes a few ease-of-use improvements. It’s the tool now used by Firestone Walker in both their spirit barrel–aging program and at their Barrelworks wild-ale facility.