Barrel acquired, now what?

[savestheclash]

Hey gang,

Just got my hands on an adorable little 5 gallon whiskey barrel from a local distillery. Definitely excited to put it to good use, but figured I'd stop by here first for any advice on how to prep it for beer - and most importantly, any recipes and tips for a great beer to age in there.

Cheers!

 

[rvklein]

No prep needed if it's wet and fresh. just don't leave any head space when filling it with a beer. As for the style I found a belgian tripel works great. Just know that a barrel that small won't take long to impart a lot of flavor.

 

[Xpertskir]

Make a decoration out of it and get a bigger barrel, small barrels are way less than ideal for aging beer.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Hire a midget and head to Niagara Falls. Don't forget your camera...I wanna see this!

 

[Zeppman]

I've had decent success with a 6gal barrel. First beer was a yeti clone, second was a stronger/hoppy porter. Both turned out great. 1st beer was only in the barrel for about 10 days, second one maybe 14 days. In between beers I dumped a bottle of bourbon in the barrel to try and keep the bugs away. When it's time for the next beer, I dump the bourbon (back into bottle) and give the barrel a good rinse or two with boiling (or near boiling) water.

Smaller barrels are harder to age in because they lose beer very fast (I think they call this angel's share) compared to a larger barrel. I got mine knowing that I would not be able to age beers in there, but use it more as a short term secondary. I know some people work around this by brewing a 10gal batch, putting half in the barrel and half in a normal carboy, and then top the barrel off from the reserve carboy from time to time. I have not tried this.

It does impart a nice bourbon/oak flavor.