Getting beer out of a 60gal wine barrel

[pkpdogg]

Soooo, my brew buddy and I got the bright idea of filling up a couple of 60gal wine barrels with beer. It tastes fantastic, but it's now at the point where we need to get them off the oak and we didn't think through the mechanics of how the hell to get beer out of a 580lb (filled) barrel that is on a cradle we built with 2x4's and 4" casters (sitting low). I'm hoping we can find a bung that has holes we can use for pushing in CO2, and out beer, but I may find my prayers unanswered.

Anyone have experience with this or have other methods to pull the beer out?

I know my autosiphon will only reach so far, and the height of the kegs or buckets will only allow us to get so far down the barrel before we'd have to lift it ... and even at that point, it just ain't happenin'. Any feedback is much appreciated, and thanks in advance!

 

[buzzkill]

rack it until its at least 3/4 empty and then break out the floor jack and blocks. just a shot in the dark

 

[CaptnCully]

Find a friend with an engine hoist, put a couple of straps under it and lift er up

 

[CaptnCully]

Attach a blow off tube to your auto-siphon

 

[pkpdogg]

Seriously thinking I might need to rent a cherry picker. Better yet, perhaps I find some hipster mechanic who will trade me his cherry picker for a few cases of PBR?

 

[FATC1TY]

Contact some local micro breweries. Tell them about your issue. Some might be willing to loan you something to help get it out.

They have a co2 system that can push out beer out of barrels with co2, and empty them in short work.

Worth a shot.. Even if they ask for some massive "deposit", in good faith, it's worth it!

 

[amandabab]

assuming you didn't drill the end and hammer in a wood spigot before filling, a 60 gallon barrel is only 28" at the bulge, just use a 30" racking cane through the top bung.

worst case when its 3/4 empty have one person drill and a another person ready with a hammer and spigot.
Then its set up right for the next time.

 

[pkpdogg]

Not a bad idea with the micro brewery hookup. There's a place within 10 minutes from my house that should have a barrel-aging program. Will give them a call today.

I guess even if a racking cane only got so far down, we could continue to fill partial buckets and consolidate later. And then hopefully empty enough to the point where we can lift it onto a higher surface. I'm hoping I don't have to resort to drilling. I scored a 39 at NHC (worth being proud of?) on this one and don't want to drop splinters into it for consumption sake if at all possible. I guess I could always run it through another filter afterward.

Sorry y'all ... just thinking out loud.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

2 holed-bung, one for CO2 in, and the other for a racking cane. Racking cane not long enough? Get some 3/8" copper tubing and make one.

MC

 

[pkpdogg]

Just following up in case anyone else decides to do this, as I cleared the barrel out yesterday. I basically did what a few of you suggested and used a bung with 2 holes and pressurised the barrel, turning it into a 60gal keg. I cut up some 1/4" flexible copper pipe, drilled into a silicone bung (put in freezer first), and forced the pipe through the bung. I went with silicone because it was what I had on hand, and I figured it'd help keep a tighter seal. One pipe was short for air, the other went to the bottom of the barrel, just like a corny's dip tubes. I clamped on some 1/4" tubing to each end with one going to the CO2 tank and the other to the keg.

When my buddy was holding the bung in place, he noticed a sweet spot where the vibration from the gas line was good without blasting the bung off. ~4psi did the trick. It took ~10min per keg, which wasn't fun, but using the smaller pipe diameter was worth the peace of mind of not destroying the bung trying to drill too big of holes.

Overall, I was pleased with the experience and now have this thing rigged for the second barrel that needs to be emptied before winter. The cost of materials was < $25 (not including pipe cutter), so I really can't complain.

Thanks again to all of you for your suggestions!

 

[Spartan1979]

We use a pump when we empty barrels.