A wooden oak barrel mashtun?

[squiggy]

A wooden mash tun? Sure, wood was used historically. It insulates well. I am thinking a used 30 gallon whiskey barrel from a local distillery. (no charring)After a few uses the oak flavors and tannins are leached out. If I store it upside down I can fill the rim with star-san to keep the bands tight. I can make a lid out of wood.
I have used a keg with a false bottom, but did not like all the heat loss and never could insulate it sufficiently. Every time I tried putting heat on the bottom I had issues with scorching.
I switched to a 60 qt Igloo Ice Cube because it fit on my where the keg used to go. Because of the silly wheels it does not have a flat bottom. I fly sparge. I tried making a manifold out of hose braid but my lauters and slow and sticky. I would like to switch back to a false bottom, but because of the lack of a flat bottom I cant.
I was thinking of a 58 qt Colman Xtreme, or one of the 54 sq coolers with the stainless steel outside, but I don’t like how they would fit on my stand.
Then I started thinking a wood barrel might be the way to go. I know Jamil Zainasheff has talked about his friend Dave Sapsis making great beer using a clapped out old wooden barrel as the mash tun, so why not? Anyone out there have any experience using wood as a mash tun/lauter tun?

 

[crazyworld]

I have no experience doing so but I really can't see why this wouldn't be an awesome idea!

It doesn't need to be sanitized (everything is going to be boiled), the taper of the barrel should perfectly accommodate a false bottom, and wood is a good insulator. Seems like a great idea to me.

The only problems I see are size, flavor, and how you plan on constructing your bulkhead. Are you going to have a deep enough grain bed? What are your typical batch sizes going to be? Are you sure the flavor will dissipate after a couple of soaks with boiling water? If not, will you be okay with the flavor they impart and for how many batches would that be. Also, how much water is lost to absorption or is it negligible? Are you okay with the flavor of darker malts potentially tainting your lighter beers (if you're even making any/concerned). What type of bulkhead did you plan on using/making? A typical stainless/brass nipple and o-rings with locknuts and a ball valve?

It would make a good experiment regardless. Do you know how much a 30 gal barrel will cost you?

 

[squiggy]

well, I am pretty sure the oak flavor would go away with use. I could get some of this:
http://www.soundspecialtycoatings.com/brewcoat-info.htm
I am not ok with dark malt flavor carry over- the above coating is starting to seem like a good idea, though I know it was a CAP that Jamil was talking about when he talked about Dave's homebrewery.
I was thinking typical stainless bulkhead fittings with food graid high temp kawk.
I have 11.5 gallons in the kettle at end of boil. my typical mash volume is about 15 gallons- I find I have more stable mash temps if I fill my cooler.
the bbl will be about $100 from the local distiller....

 

[crazyworld]

I'm not absolutely sure you'd get a dark malt flavor/color carryover but I'd have to think you'd get something. I would suspect it has more effect on color than flavor. If you were still concerned and on the fence with whether or not you want to pay for the BrewCoat, run a trial with some oak pieces (see if the distillery has some cutoffs if they make their own barrels for an even more authentic test). Keep in mind, the results would be amplified with the more pieces the wood is cut into due to more surface area). Simulate a mash with some dark grains and warm water for an hour and then simulate another with lighter grains after you've rinsed the wood and let it thoroughly dry.

I would also suspect your grain bed would in fact be deep enough but that does depend on the diameter of the barrel. Probably not a concern with 10+ gallon batches.

And using a "food grade" silicone caulk on the inside of the bulkhead might not even be necessary but is an option if you needed it. I would have to think it would crack fairly quickly over time due to the expansion and contraction of the wood.

 

[Beerfly]

I would be concerned with heat loss, how good of an insulator is wood vs. a cooler? You wouldn't want to see 10 degree drops in your mash over an hour.

 

[helibrewer]

You can neutralize the barrel with a good soaking of Sodium Percarbonate, just re-acidify the barrel with a citric acid solution afterward.

 

[crazyworld]

Hmmm. Wonder what the estimated r-value is of something like a rubbermaid cooler? This chart has to do with log homes but could be applied here.

R Factors for woods used in log home construction
Northern white cedar log home
1.66 per inch

Western red cedar log home
1.56 per inch

Eastern white pine log home
1.48 per inch

Ponderosa pine log home
1.34 per inch

Red pine log home
1.22 per inch

Bald cypress log home
1.20 per inch

Cherry log home
1.10 per inch

Southern yellow pine log home
.91 per inch

Red oak log home
.90 per inch

White oak log home
.86 per inch

And helibrewer, what are you suggesting the sodium percarbonate is neutralizing?

 

[Beerfly]

Hmmm. Wonder what the estimated r-value is of something like a rubbermaid cooler?

I would think the coolers use a spray in Urethane foam at about an inch.
Plywood is about R-1.25 an inch and Urethane I think is R-6.25 an inch. I am sure hardwood is slightly higher than plywood but how thick is a barrel? 1/2" maybe?

 

[Junkster]

FWIW, the Coleman Xtreme coolers appear to have walls / insulation that's about twice as thick as most coolers. I'm going to try one for an electric HLT to see if it holds heat well.

 

[Beerfly]

FWIW, the Coleman Xtreme coolers appear to have walls / insulation that's about twice as thick as most coolers. I'm going to try one for an electric HLT to see if it holds heat well.[/QUOTE


I currently use that cooler and it is impressive.

 

[Irrenarzt]

We have a cut in half oak barrel at the brewery with a wooden false bottom that has been used from time to time. It's heavy and it's difficult to clean. I wouldn't waste your time on this idea to be honest with you. It leaks and doesn't seem to be worth the time unless you were just trying to be different than everyone else at a Big Brew day...

 

[petemooney69]

I use a charred whiskey 1/2 barrel for mashing. It's the perfect size for 10 gal+ batches. I installed a false bottom that I cut from a sheet of stainless perforated steel 3/32in holes. Also put a ball valve in the bottom for draining. The barrel sits atop a stool with a hole cut in the seat to allow for the drain valve to be accessible. I lose very little heat during an hour mash. It requires tone of water to hydrate before use. I soak it in a HUGE trash can for 48 hours, then drain and fill with hot water to pre-heat it before mashing. Total cost, about 100 bucks. Very slight flavor from charred oak in first batch only. No discernible color difference.