Just got 15 gallon bourbon barrel for free - need suggestions

[dangerbrew]

Hi guys,

Like the thread says, I just got a "new" 15 gallon bourbon barrel for free from a distiller friend. It was sitting in a truck trailer for a month before I picked it up. I know I'm going to have to fill it with water before I use it so it expands and doesn't leak and probably won't even brew a batch to go into it for months, but I had some questions for you all.

1. For sanitizing, would you recommend just throwing some cheap vodka in there and swishing it around a bit before tossing the wort in?

2. What type of beer should I brew? I have the ability to do 15 gallons but I might just go with 12 or 13 for this batch to allow a fair amount of headspace.

3. Any other tips at all before this venture I'm planning? I'm thinking of just doing an extended primary in it for about four weeks and dry-hopping it with whatever I feel like after the first week passes and letting it sit.

It'll have to be warmer weather before I attempt this for sure, cause once I fill that thing, it's not moving. My garage doesn't stay extremely warm, but I figure late spring/early summer I'll have a pretty good shot at it.

Any comments or thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Hello]

The vodka idea sounds good, I think. I would probably also spray the crap out of it with star san.

Beers, I think at first I would try something that could be soured if it became infected but the stout/porter lover in me would love to do an oak aged vanilla bean stout.

 

[Schumed]

I would sanitize using your current process you use now with your normal fermenters

I like Barrel aged stouts, Dark Strong Ales, I actually had a barrel aged IPA the other day that was pretty interesting

I just ordered a 10 gallon barrel myself so don't have any personal experience with them yet but looking forward to using it...once the bourbon flavor is gone...I will use to do some lambics with open air fermentation

 

[Gunfighter04]

Id do an innis and gunn clone, but that's just me, I love that beer.

Personally I'd use it like a secondary. Give the beer a chance to get some alcohol into the mixture to fight off any bugs that might survive the cleaning of the barrel.

when I oak chip my beers it's always in the secondary. It would also keep down any trub/sediment in the barrel.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

fill the barrel with boiling water, this will kill all bugs and cause the keg to swell. I would do this a day or two you are ready to fill it.
Use it for long term aging and try to keep it as full as possible.
Make a "plan" for the barrel, possibly something like,
A RIS, then an old ale, followed by a Belgian Strong.

 

[Pilgarlic]

This is info I got from a winemaker's site. I adapted it for my own use:

Cleaning Barrels

A barrel should be cleaned before using. Use two ounces of soda ash, sal soda, or sodium carbonate for each three gallons of water (I used a product called “Barrel Kleen” that I got from LHBS). Now fill the barrel half full with water as hot as you can get it. Then add the soda ash that has previously been dissolved in a little hot water. Shake or roll the barrel until the solution is well mixed. Now finish filling with water as hot as you can get it.

Bung the barrel tight and roll it around to agitate it. Roll the barrel several times during a 12-hour period. Then empty it and rinse several times until all the solution has been washed out.

Always wash the outside of the barrel with a stiff brush using the soda solution. Do this before cleaning the inside and before using the barrel if it has not been used for a while.

Your barrel should now be ready to use. If you are not going to use the barrel for a few days or are storing it for a long period of time, be sure to sanitize the barrel prior to use.

Sanitizing Barrels

To sanitize your barrel, fill it half full of water. Dissolve the proper amount of sodium metabisulfite in a little water and pour it in the barrel. Then dissolve the proper amount of citric acid in a little water and pour it into the barrel. Now bung up the barrel and mix well by shaking or rolling the barrel. Finish filling the barrel with water and bung tightly. Check the water in the barrel from time to time, completely filling it each time.

When you're ready to use the barrel, rinse it out, then fill it again with fresh water and leave it overnight. Rinse out the barrel again, and it is ready to use.

Use one-half pound of citric acid and one pound (0.45 kg) of sodium bisulphite for each 50 gallons (190 L) of barrel capacity. Do not use less than the stated amounts. (Both are available at a reasonable cost at LHBS).

 

[Pilgarlic]

As to the beers, it depends upon your long term plan for the barrel. If you ultimately would like to do traditional sours in it, you want most of the wood and spirits character out. Fortunately, that can be done by aging (note: that's a misnomer, 1-2 weeks) big beers. We recently prepared an 8-gallon Rye Whiskey barrel for souring by aging three beers in it: first an RIS, then a barleywine (just took a silver) and finally a Belgian Dark Strong (curious how this corresponds with Dr. Jeff's recommended beers). After these three beers most of the barrels heavy wood and spirits character were gone so we put a Flanders Red in it with ECY-02 AND ECY-20. It'll sit in there for up to two years and then we'll blend it with a younger Flanders Red.