Buying a New Barrel

Hi,

I found an old wine barrel on craigslist. The guy said he hasn't used it in 20 years, but that he cleaned it out and sanitized with campden it when he last used it. But he admitted that it should be cleaned again and will need to be saturated with water so that it expands back.

I want to brew wild beers so I'm not super concerned with the sanitation aspect. But should I have any concerns about this?

What else should I be considering?

Thanks,

I would think if the barrel is full of mold that no sanitation would make any good beers out of that. You could always kill it with fire though! No seriously, re-char the inside to make it oak-y again(although I think you'd have to take the bottom out to do so, not an easy prospect). Also be prepared to run a crapton of water through it to get the staves swollen up enough to be watertight.

I would ask him to fill it up and see how badly it leaks. If it has been dry that long, it will definitely leak.

make him fill it to check for leaks, also if you do end up buying it I would get a sulphur stick to burn in the barrel

cool thanks guys. I think I'll just pass. I found some newer barrels for a little bit more $$.

Cheers.

Or you can get on the corn whiskey barrels that sacch found.