It's not as bad as you think. Promise. Just read the directions for whatever you're going to do, then imagine all the steps in your head. And have your HLT full.
Those 1-2 gallon pulls are going to take a while as well. I'd sour the whole batch with whatever you plan on using, then rack to fruit as that tends to take less time.
For what its worth, I've been pitching a single smack pack of yeast into a 50Gallon barrel and have been having great results. I've also washed and reused yeast from the bottom of a fermenter or "racked to the cake" as you mentioned.
My two cents is to either wash the cake first (After...
I got some ECY 20 in a trade and just ramped it up before pitching it into a 50G barrel where I used a modified turbid mash. ECY20 came out much more sour (but not too sour by any means, just more) than the more traditional Lambic Blend from WYeast.
Along similar lines, someone gave me a 50lb bucket of sorghum syrup. Morbidly, I'm thinking of making a 50G batch of it and tossing it in a barrel (barrel is recently empty and this is cheaper than holding solution). Nothing to do with gluten, the bucket was free and I said sure.
Depends on what final product you want. I've reused roselare up to 10 generations. it doesn't get any better after 4 or 5. If I were you, and you're going to let a beer sit for a year or so, toss in a new package to be safe. It's only $7.
I've got a "bom" going in a hopppier beer (35IBU). A local brewpub pulled off 10G of their brewday's wort and let me ferment it with de bom for a Pro-Am in a month. I know, I know, the hops won't help anything at all. It's just an experiment (we have a backup beer if this one sucks). Been...