Help with new wood barrel

[Millsteg]

My girlfriend got me a 5 gallon medium charred oak wood barrel for christmas and as I sit here typing I have a Northern Brewer ESB extract sitting in the primary waiting to go into the barrel for finishing.

Well, here's my problem. I got the barrel with instructions for shrinking it to seal up any of the leaks. The sheet said to pour 1/3 the total volume of the barrel of water in and rotate it every 18 hours or so to seal up the barrel. And further instructions were to let about 1/2 the volume in water to sit in the barrel if not using so the wood wouldn't stretch and dry out. So it's been sitting for about a month with water in it.

Now, while reading yesterday for tips about barreling the beer, I read all these care instructions for wood barrels and how you're not supposed to leave water in them for more then 2 days with fear of growing mold inside and completely ruining the barrel for future use. I dumped the water out this morning and took a flashlight to the bung hole but its sort of small and I couldn't really see much inside. The water I poured out didn't seem to have any mold in it that I could see besides being slightly brown (I'm assuming due to char on the inside).

I suppose what I'm getting at is, should this be alright? If there were some mold spores inside, is there any way to kill them off before racking my beer into the barrel? I really hate to hear that the brand new barrel I got is of no use now besides a great looking home decoration.

 

[kpr121]

Im not exactly sure because I havened used one, but I believe people use whiskey or some other distilled liquid instead of water for that reason. If you dont want to gain the flavor of whiskey I would say vodka would work well maybe?

 

[Bsquared]

You should be fine, but you can get Sodium Percarbonate based cleaners, this is what I used when filling a 55 gallon barrel that sat for a couple months before i brewed enough to fill it. its been sitting for 20 months no problems.

http://www.winebarrels.com/barrelcare.as

check this out too its a good protocol for barrel care.

 

[Millsteg]

You should be fine, but you can get Sodium Percarbonate based cleaners, this is what I used when filling a 55 gallon barrel that sat for a couple months before i brewed enough to fill it. its been sitting for 20 months no problems.

http://www.winebarrels.com/barrelcare.as

check this out too its a good protocol for barrel care.

I'm assuming that's a cleaner to dilute with water? Do you fill it up all the way and let it sit till you're ready to use again? I also read something about a compound you burn to fill the barrel with solder gas?

 

[Millsteg]

Sulfur gas*

 

[Bsquared]

The stuf I used, I just followed the manufactures instructions. Sorry I can't find what I used right now, but I did buy it at my local home brew shop.

I filled the barrel half way with warm water, added the cleaner, put the bung on and shook it to dissolve the cleaner. Topped of the barrel with warm water and waited 30min. emptied and then rinsed the barrel.

I then immediately filled the barrel.

 

[Millsteg]

Hmmm, I'll have to talk to my lhbs about that stuff

 

[Lennie]

Barolkleen will work. Or you can put some kmeta (Campden tablets) in it. Or you can let it dry out and just rehydrate before using it again. Or buy sulfur strips and burn one of those at the bung of the barrel every so often (so the SO2 fumes go into the barrel).

I wouldn't worry too much, I don't think much would grow in just water. The tannins in oak are something of a preservative. I normally store mine completely full of water though with some kmeat and a little citric acid to activate the kmeta to produce SO2 (preservative).

I got a 2.5gal barrel for Christmas (requested), I too am going to use it to dispense my bitters.

 

[Millsteg]

Good to hear, this makes me feel a little bit better

 

[Lennie]

Post your thoughts on how this works when you do it. I may put some pre-carbed bitter in mine to take to a brew contest in Feb, but I don't have time to condition the traditional way. I've done that in a minikeg, it tastes great. a little oak flavor ought to really make it interesting.

 

[Ramitt]

My girlfriend got me a 5 gallon medium charred oak wood barrel for christmas.

Marry that woman right now.

 

[Millsteg]

Marry that woman right now.

Haha that's my plan

 

[Millsteg]

Post your thoughts on how this works when you do it. I may put some pre-carbed bitter in mine to take to a brew contest in Feb, but I don't have time to condition the traditional way. I've done that in a minikeg, it tastes great. a little oak flavor ought to really make it interesting.

Ok, I admit, I'm a newbie, but when you say "condition the traditional way" what do you mean?

 

[Lennie]

If you are going to carbonate in the cask, that is called "conditioning".

Also, you probably got a medium TOAST barrel. Toasting is a wine barrel thing, there is light, medium, and heavy. Charring is for whiskey barrels and I don't think there are levels of char. Char is pretty much done.

 

[Millsteg]

Ah gotcha I should have known that. And yeah you're right, my use of words was off. It is a medium toast.

 

[Lennie]

I don't read of too many people conditioning their British beers in wooden barrels so we may be starting a new trend. Certainly barrel aging is big in the beer world these days. I intend to do the usual cask conditioning protocol, that is, adding my priming sugar, some dry hops and some finings (isinglass or gelatin) and seeing if I can't get it to carbonate, dry hop and clear in the cask. What I'm not sure of, is the ability of the supplied bung and spigot to hold pressure. I'll definitely shoot for the low side which is traditional for cask conditioning anyway. And we'll have to develop an alternative for the hard bung to let pressure off as we tap a pint. That'll probably take the form of a cork bung and a soft spile stuck down through it when tapping, and a hard spile when storing.

Or we can fake it and put carbonated beer in the barrel and serve it right away. Either way its a very cool conversation piece and I think you'll enjoy the hint of wood in the beer.

 

[Millsteg]

So obviously when conditioning, the cork will be solid in the bung with no spile. When the beer is finished do you take out the old cork and put in a new one with a hole for the spiles? I'd think that would leak too much carbon dioxide out of the barrel. Or would you punch the spile through the original cork?

 

[Lennie]

I guess at first you can just dispense off the pressure from the carbonation. Then when it starts pulling a vacuum you'll need a soft spile to let air in, or be able to push sideways on the hard spile to let some air in or something. I'm kind of making this up as I go along because the cask conditioning setups are all for the steel casks.

You pretty much need to drink the beer within a couple of days anyway, so if its gone in one session then it really doesn't matter too much since the beer ought to hold it carbonation for some hours. Its why I only went iwth the 2.5gal barrel.

 

[wildwest450]

Here's some good info on barrel care.

Welcome to Okanagan Barrel Works Cooperage

 

[Millsteg]

You pretty much need to drink the beer within a couple of days anyway, so if its gone in one session then it really doesn't matter too much since the beer ought to hold it carbonation for some hours. Its why I only went iwth the 2.5gal barrel.

Well I think I'm going to get some friends together for this batch and just finish it in one night so I don't think that will be a problem. I'll keep you updated on how it works out with the barrel.

 

[kallen]

Glad I found a new thread on this topic. I have a new 10L charred white oak barrel. My local homebrew store seems to have a difficult time stocking Barrol-clean. So I am looking for substitutes after I get it sealed with water. Before I rack my beer into for aging, I am planning on keeping 3L of Irish Whiskey in the barrel for a month (rotating a 1 plank turn per day) to help impart the flavors of a whiskey barrel.

1) Will the whiskey "clean" the barrel for me, and allow me to skip the chemical cleaning process?

2) I have TSP and PBW and Sanstar Sanitizer available. Are these viable substitutes? I know that both of these chemicals need to be rinsed thoroughly and will the wood hold in these chemicals and impart off flavors potentially spoiling my beer?

3) The instructions that came with my barrel say I can use soda as a cleaning agent. Does that mean Baking soda?

Any suggestions and ideas will be very helpful, thanks!

 

[ToV]

Glad I found a new thread on this topic. I have a new 10L charred white oak barrel. My local homebrew store seems to have a difficult time stocking Barrol-clean. So I am looking for substitutes after I get it sealed with water. Before I rack my beer into for aging, I am planning on keeping 3L of Irish Whiskey in the barrel for a month (rotating a 1 plank turn per day) to help impart the flavors of a whiskey barrel.

1) Will the whiskey "clean" the barrel for me, and allow me to skip the chemical cleaning process?

2) I have TSP and PBW and Sanstar Sanitizer available. Are these viable substitutes? I know that both of these chemicals need to be rinsed thoroughly and will the wood hold in these chemicals and impart off flavors potentially spoiling my beer?

3) The instructions that came with my barrel say I can use soda as a cleaning agent. Does that mean Baking soda?

Any suggestions and ideas will be very helpful, thanks!

I am doing research on the same topic, I will share one thing I have found in regards to #2 do NOT use Sanstar, basically it is an acid acids break down cellulose, wood is made of cellulose. I saw the story of one guy who tested it on a separate piece of oak and the oak got all sticky, the going theory was resins that were freed as the cellulose was disolved.

 

[Lennie]

Honestly I don't know that you need to clean the barrel with anything. It was charred as the last step in the process after all, that is going to sterilize the surface of the wood. Just hydrate it to make sure its sound, then if you want to store it dry just empty and let it dry out. if you want to store it with the water, you might add a little potassium metabisulfite and a little citric acid. Yes the whiskey will keep it sanitized nicely. You'll find that the barrel will soak up a lot of whiskey. You might be better off just adding whiskey to the beer when you put it in the barrel.

 

[kallen]

Honestly I don't know that you need to clean the barrel with anything. It was charred as the last step in the process after all, that is going to sterilize the surface of the wood. Just hydrate it to make sure its sound, then if you want to store it dry just empty and let it dry out. if you want to store it with the water, you might add a little potassium metabisulfite and a little citric acid. Yes the whiskey will keep it sanitized nicely. You'll find that the barrel will soak up a lot of whiskey. You might be better off just adding whiskey to the beer when you put it in the barrel.

Thanks! I have kept the bung on it since it has arrived, and I have read that some barrel companies suggest filling the barrel with +80C water for 30 minutes after it is sealed. So, I think between the charring, 80 degree water, and whiskey; it will be all good by the time my beer goes in to age.

I actually want the whiskey to soak into the wood. Ever since my companies pilot brewery did a Russian Imperial Stout aged in a local whiskey distilleries used barrels, I have been inspired to do the same. But I don't have a full US barrel brewing capacity to buy a used whiskey barrel, so I am making my own.

 

[noodle23]

I have a 15gallon barrel and when I am not using it I keep it filled with a potassium metabisulfite and citric acid solution. This keeps it clean and sanitized until I am ready to fill it. The best advise I have is to be very careful with what chemicals or really anything you put in the barrels. I have worked at a winery for a long time now and I have learned that barrels really soak up things. If I could afford it I would use only SO2 gas. just my 2cents

 

[Lennie]

There are more and more boutique whiskey distilleries now so its possible to find small barrels.

I don't think whiskey soaking into the wood first is going to change too much. If it were full then it would have leached a fair amount of the char characteristics. I'd consider first hydrating and letting it sit with water for a week. Then you can drain and put your whiskey in if you want.