5 gallon new oak casks? How to age?

[SilentAutumn]

I'll admit it. I like the novelty of a 5 gallon oak cask. But from what I've read, new ones are too oaky and will overpower a beer.

Anyone ever try filling the cask with some rot gut to "age" the cask for a while and lessen the oak bite? I'd like to do it with whiskey for undertones but it becomes prohibitive:

1) What am I going to do with 5 gallons of rot gut whiskey after it's sat in the oak cask?
2) Even rot gut becomes expensive when you're looking at buying 5 gallons.

I've thought about maybe scorching the inside of the cask with a torch, dumping one gallon of whiskey in it, and just swirl it every day while changing the resting position of the cask it self. That way the stout/porter would pick up oak, smoke, and whiskey.

(I've thought about using Merlot and doing a barleywine, but I don't know how I could compensate for the angels share on a new 5 gallon batch.)

 

[bovineblitz]

I suppose you could just leave your beer in it for a very short time the first time?

 

[ddc]

I suppose you could just leave your beer in it for a very short time the first time?

Yep, I left a Stout in my new barrel (American Oak) for 7 days for my first use. Plan on increasing time as the character weens. I let it swell with water for 2 days prior and tasted the water as time went on to get an idea of what I was in for. It gave a good vanilla which was nice and apparent in my beer.

 

[COLObrewer]

+1, put some beer in it!!

 

[SilentAutumn]

Yep, I left a Stout in my new barrel (American Oak) for 7 days for my first use. Plan on increasing time as the character weens. I let it swell with water for 2 days prior and tasted the water as time went on to get an idea of what I was in for. It gave a good vanilla which was nice and apparent in my beer.

Did you got from primary to cask to bottle/keg? Also curious where you got your cask. I've seen a few places online, but it would be nice to have a recommendation.

 

[Navy_Chief]

Subscribed...

 

[fretsforlife]

I just got a 5 gallon barrel from oakbarrelsltd (the one with the tap).

I swelled it with water for about a day and a half, and the water taste alone reminded me of jack daniele's. I drained it and filled it with a 7.9%abv stout. Its been about a week now, and the oak is definitely there but it's still not as strong as i'd like so im going to give it a few more days.

One thing I did have to do was write them and tell them the tap was leaking. Even after swelling it would leak. Not from the actual spiggot, but the tap would stay saturated and slowly drip from time to time. They immediately responded and said they'd ship a new one.

I also took another five gallons of the same stout that I used oak chips soaked in JD and kegged it last night. It'll be great to compare the two. (One was fermented US-05 and one Nottingham) .

Anyway, I wouldn't do a thing to your barrel. Use every bit of flavor it has to offer. If you're worried, age it for less time.

Keep us updated on your experience.

 

[Homebrewtastic]

These seem to be the best prices for a new 5gal. They also have 13 gal.

 

[SilentAutumn]

I just got a 5 gallon barrel from oakbarrelsltd (the one with the tap).

I swelled it with water for about a day and a half, and the water taste alone reminded me of jack daniele's. I drained it and filled it with a 7.9%abv stout. Its been about a week now, and the oak is definitely there but it's still not as strong as i'd like so im going to give it a few more days.

One thing I did have to do was write them and tell them the tap was leaking. Even after swelling it would leak. Not from the actual spiggot, but the tap would stay saturated and slowly drip from time to time. They immediately responded and said they'd ship a new one.

I also took another five gallons of the same stout that I used oak chips soaked in JD and kegged it last night. It'll be great to compare the two. (One was fermented US-05 and one Nottingham) .

Anyway, I wouldn't do a thing to your barrel. Use every bit of flavor it has to offer. If you're worried, age it for less time.

Keep us updated on your experience.

Will do.

I'm extremely curious to hear the differences in oak chips versus the cask with the same brew. So you kegged the oak chip version last night. What stage are you at with the cask beer?

 

[fretsforlife]

These seem to be the best prices for a new 5gal. They also have 13 gal.

Wow, I paid $127.00 (shipped) for that exact barrel and thought I got a great deal. Good find!

 

[fretsforlife]

Will do.

I'm extremely curious to hear the differences in oak chips versus the cask with the same brew. So you kegged the oak chip version last night. What stage are you at with the cask beer?

I'm going to test it tonight, if its oaky enough, i'll keg it. Im excited to do the comparison too except it really isn't the same brew when it all boils down (no pun intended). It was a ten gallon batch, that I split and used different yeasts on them (us-05/nottingham) which changes everything right there, and then the fact that the chips had a few ounces of JD with them changes the chips vs. Barrel experiment too. Ill be able to a general idea though and ill let you know how it turns out.

 

[NorCalAngler]

That is a very tempting price. How many batches can you get out of a barrel before it loses its ability to impart flavor? If I can only get 5 uses out of it then it becomes an expensive addition at $20+ a batch. If it lasts for 10+ uses then it seems pretty reasonable.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Wow, I paid $127.00 (shipped) for that exact barrel and thought I got a great deal. Good find!

After shipping, the prices for both sites are identical for me.

 

[fretsforlife]

After shipping, the prices for both sites are identical for me.

Phew... the buyer's remorse was killing me