New barrel owner, not sure what was is in it before

[Fresh95]

I recently got a 10g barrel and had a couple questions before its first use. It was originally a whiskey barrel but I'm not sure if it was used again after that or not. When I opened and smelled it I thought it was kind of funky smelling, but when I rehydrated all I could smell was whiskey. I was thinking I could make a red ale to start with. If the barrel had something wild in it then I'd end up with something like a flanders red, but if it's just whiskey that would work with aging a red ale as well. Does that make sense? Is there some other recommendation to do while still trying to determine if I have a funky barrel or not?

How much beer should I be keeping in a 10 gallon barrel? Are 5 gallon batches too small for some reason? I plan on fermenting my beer first regularly then transferring to the barrel for aging. I assume I should account for some angel's share loss, but not sure if I need to keep the thing nearly full or not.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Brett would take time to add flavor, a couple months. Depending on how much character is left in the barrel, the beer might get too much oak/whiskey before it starts to show any Brett flavor or sourness. It's likely that if you use a "normal" amount of hops that it wouldn't sour even if there were bacteria in the barrel before.

I would just treat it like it's clean, but if you bottle then definitely monitor the carbonation level after bottling.

You should definitely keep the barrel topped up full of beer. Otherwise there will be too much oxygen exposure.

Cheers

 

[Fresh95]

Ah, I wasn't aware how long these processes take. In that case maybe I'll go with a different recipe just expecting barrel characteristics. I've read suggestions to pour some cheap whiskey and swirl it around the barrel to give back a bit of what might have stripped away. Any reason not to do that?

I'll also aim for 10g batches for this, thanks. I keg so I won't worry about co2 levels in bottling.

 

[RPh_Guy]

If you want to "artificially" add whiskey, just add it to the batch rather than swirling it around in the barrel. That way you can decide right before packaging and add it to taste.

Good luck!

 

[cactusgarrett]

Ah, I wasn't aware how long these processes take. In that case maybe I'll go with a different recipe just expecting barrel characteristics. I've read suggestions to pour some cheap whiskey and swirl it around the barrel to give back a bit of what might have stripped away. Any reason not to do that?

I'll also aim for 10g batches for this, thanks. I keg so I won't worry about co2 levels in bottling.

Without knowing what was in it after the whiskey, it's hard to say what kind of characteristics you'll get out of it with your first beer. Whenever you do that first one, use that as a gauge as how to proceed with subsequent ones. If it's a relatively "new" barrel that has seen minimal activity beyond the whiskey, you could get a lot of oak characteristic very fast. Also, if that first batch turns funky/sour, then you know what was in it before was the same, and you can progress accordingly (ie. not expect "clean" beers from it).

Adding whiskey to the barrel (a cheap 1.75L) is good for keeping it hydrated and (relatively) sanitized during periods of emptiness, as well as "charging" it with whiskey flavor. I do this more for the clean storage aspect.

You should really plan to store 10gal in it, especially if you're doing sours. My 10gal barrels actually hold 11+ gallons. Find out exactly how much it holds, then when you brew up what you're going to age in it, add about 1 gallon. This can then be added back to the barrel to keep it absolutely topped up after any further fermentation kicks up or evaporation occurs. One thing you can do to keep evaporation in check, though, is to wax the barrel. This is probably more important, though, if you intend on using your barrel to age sour beers and/or if you plan on aging contents for extended periods of time. Waxing will help prevent evaporation as well as too much oxygen ingress.