Oak Barrel Questions

I'm thinking about getting an oak barrel for aging sour beer.

Should I have the outside varnished or not? I'm not sure of the pros and cons of varnishing the outside of the barrel. Maybe less oxygen permeability? Perhaps it's just for looks? I don't know.

What do you think?

http://www.barrelsonline.com/BrowseProducts.aspx?DepID=5

 

very cool. Not sure on the varnish. On one hand, it may look nicer and create a better seal for oxygen... on the other hand, could the contaminants from the varnish leech through the wood into the beer?

 

It's like you're reading my mind. nestar:

I wondered about leaching too.

 

This is the only mention about varnish on their site.

 

I've been wondering similar in order to reduce oxygen infiltration referencing Wild Brews. My thought was to seal the sides with a thinned bees wax (because it's free for me) and just leave the heads porous to get closer to the commercial barrels O2 exposure. I feared the leaching of varnish or polyurethane, and figured the wax is more natural - not pretty though. But I'm a couple years out from my chance at barrels while overseas, so I'll sit back and watch what others figure out here.

 

Do not varnish. The permeability is kind of why the barrel is desired albeit a but much in small barrels. Dont mess with it & use only campden/metabisulfate/sulfur or vinegar for cleaning. Even hot water is no good due to nasties from our hot water heater tanks. Barrel care = very important, treat it like a living thing if you're goin sour. Enjoy the ride

 

Thanks for that.

I'm going to use it exclusively for sours. Can I just dump another batch in the barrel without cleaning the inside as long as I do it promptly?

 

I meant vinegar for exterior cleaning btw. Yep just dump & fill promptly. Do not allow to sit dry. If you need time between dump>fill then fill with cold water & campden. It must always be filled though!

 

Thanks for your help.

 

To reduce oxygen permeability you might think about coating all or a portion of the staves with wax. See this link:

http://funkfactorybrewing.blogspot.com/2012/02/paraffin-waxing-barrel.html

 

I think that end of varnish, it is not the problem. I believe that these barrels are made of secondhand staves of barrels of 225 liters.
lined with wax inside is very dangerous

 

Thanks for bumping this and reminding me. I'm still planning on getting one of these later this year.

 

I have found that Deep South Barrels makes a great barrel. They are a little more than barrels online but the quality is far superior.