Questions about using a bourbon barrel at home.

[theglasscarboy]

I have an eight gallon, used bourbon barrel at home. I'd really like to age my imperial stout (currently in the primary) in it for a while, but I only have six gallons of the beer. I understand that ideally the barrel would be filled nearly to capacity, but clearly I don't have the volume of beer to do so.

What are the risks that I'm taking by only adding six gallons of beer to an eight gallon barrel? Is there anything I can do to minimize those risks?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

If you have no other choice than to use 5-6 gallons in a 8-gallon barrel, I'd make sure to give the remaining headspace a good flush with CO2.

Otherwise I'd just brew another batch to get the full capacity.

MC

 

[theglasscarboy]

Thanks for the quick reply. This was quite the experimental stout so brewing another batch would be very difficult. CO2 makes sense - I'll be sure to do that.

Do I run any risk of the barrel drying out in areas where the beer is not in contact with it?

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Do I run any risk of the barrel drying out in areas where the beer is not in contact with it?

Yes, that's a possibility.

MC

 

[CUBrewing]

How long are you planning on aging in the barrel?

 

[moti_mo]

You should be fine. We just aged 45 or so gallons of stout in a 54 gallon barrel, and everything went stellar. I flushed the headspace with CO2 for a while after racking all of the beer into the barrel and plugging it. At the 2 month mark, when I tasted for the first time, I repeated the CO2 flush.

We aged for 3 months. The finished beer tastes great, with no noticeable oxidation.

Go for it!

 

[theglasscarboy]

How long are you planning on aging in the barrel?

I was thinking six months. At this point, I'll keep a close eye on the barrel and make sure it's not drying out, etc, and leave it in there as close to six months as I can.

 

[theglasscarboy]

You should be fine. We just aged 45 or so gallons of stout in a 54 gallon barrel, and everything went stellar. I flushed the headspace with CO2 for a while after racking all of the beer into the barrel and plugging it. At the 2 month mark, when I tasted for the first time, I repeated the CO2 flush.

We aged for 3 months. The finished beer tastes great, with no noticeable oxidation.

Go for it!

Thanks - that's reassuring!