Keeping a barrel full?

[sundog14]

Hello Brew Buddies,
I have a Belgian Dubbel in primary for about a week now using WLP530. Was a slow start but it looks like it's coming around. For secondary, I'm planning on racking it to a 5 gallon used whiskey barrel that I acquired recently. So yesterday, I filled the barrel to check for leaks....no problem it sealed-up in about a day. Problem is that it took ~ 6+ gallons of water to fill the barrel and I will probably only have about 5 gallons or a little under to go into the barrel. I've read that you should have the barrel full to prevent oxidation. I don't have any other wort or beer to add to the barrel (do have a 1L starter of WLP002 going). If the Dubbel will only be in the barrel 2 - 4 weeks, is this a problem?
Thanks, Tom

 

[mblanks2]

Hello Brew Buddies,
I have a Belgian Dubbel in primary for about a week now using WLP530. Was a slow start but it looks like it's coming around. For secondary, I'm planning on racking it to a 5 gallon used whiskey barrel that I acquired recently. So yesterday, I filled the barrel to check for leaks....no problem it sealed-up in about a day. Problem is that it took ~ 6+ gallons of water to fill the barrel and I will probably only have about 5 gallons or a little under to go into the barrel. I've read that you should have the barrel full to prevent oxidation. I don't have any other wort or beer to add to the barrel (do have a 1L starter of WLP002 going). If the Dubbel will only be in the barrel 2 - 4 weeks, is this a problem?
Thanks, Tom

Others will chime in I'm sure but I suppose you could do like I do with a carboy and flush the barrel with C02 then rack into the barrel.Not sure if that will cause any problems with the use of the barrel itself but should at least help prevent oxidation.

 

[sundog14]

OK, I made a compromise.
Got the idea of adding sterilized marbles to the barrel to take-up extra space, but that was too costly and I couldn't find suitable marbles.
So I made up a pint of starter with DME nad racked the Dubbel on top of that hoping that the starter will produce sufficient CO2 while the beer is conditioning to keep the O2 off of it. Only problem is to be able to sample w/o releasing the CO2....no tap on barrel.

 

[LostBoyScout]

OK, I made a compromise.
Got the idea of adding sterilized marbles to the barrel to take-up extra space, but that was too costly and I couldn't find suitable marbles.
So I made up a pint of starter with DME nad racked the Dubbel on top of that hoping that the starter will produce sufficient CO2 while the beer is conditioning to keep the O2 off of it. Only problem is to be able to sample w/o releasing the CO2....no tap on barrel.

That's a good plan. CO2 is heavier than air so if you minimize the time that the airlock is off, most of the CO2 should stay put. For that amount of time it's probably not a big issue.

 

[sundog14]

Cool. I'll be quick about it.....

 

[DurtyChemist]

I believe part of the flavor from barrels comes from their oxygen permeation. They flex/breath and allow CO2 out and O2 in. If you wanted the oak flavors I'd have personally gone with spirals/cubes but a 6 gallon barrel could be fun with a beer to leave for a year or even six months.

 

[Stillraining]

There is a trick of drilling a small hole 1/8" ? or so in the end of the barrel and using a small SS nail to then plug it...its a snug fit and no fear of it popping out..To pull samples you simply pull the nail and re-insert it...The guy that came up with it says he carrys an extra nail around when sampling just in case he was to drop the original on the floor of the brewery, as then he has a clean back up to stick back in the hole if needed. I don't recall mentioning of allowing for intake air but if fitted with a air lock you would want to remove it and cover the small hole with a paper towel or something for the sample taking.

 

[sundog14]

DurtyChemist: I've used oak cubes in pyment with good results and considered it for the dubbel, but got a pretty air deal on this barrel and wanted to try it. I hope to start tasting a 2 to 3 weeks and see how it is going. I would expect it to go a month or two......

Stillraining: I actually have some SS nails so may try this. Sounds simple enough. Is that your boat?

 

[LostBoyScout]

I believe part of the flavor from barrels comes from their oxygen permeation. They flex/breath and allow CO2 out and O2 in. If you wanted the oak flavors I'd have personally gone with spirals/cubes but a 6 gallon barrel could be fun with a beer to leave for a year or even six months.

Small barrels like this would make a beer intensely astringent / oaky after that amount of time, even after a number of uses - I think anywhere from a few weeks to maybe 3 months is appropriate for a small barrel like this

You are right that the slow transfer of O2 into the barrel contributes to a true barrel character, for a beer like this it's probably great in small doses.

 

[LostBoyScout]

There is a trick of drilling a small hole 1/8" ? or so in the end of the barrel and using a small SS nail to then plug it...its a snug fit and no fear of it popping out..To pull samples you simply pull the nail and re-insert it...The guy that came up with it says he carrys an extra nail around when sampling just in case he was to drop the original on the floor of the brewery, as then he has a clean back up to stick back in the hole if needed.

The guy mentioned here is Vinnie of Russian River. I think it's a 7/64" hole if i remember correctly, I can look up the nail size(s) once home - it's covered in the American Sour Beers book.

You don't need to remove the airlock for air intake when doing this because the volume is so little being removed - though if you're looking to fill a cylinder from a 6-gal, then you might want to knock it slightly ajar until done

 

[Stillraining]

DurtyChemist: I've used oak cubes in pyment with good results and considered it for the dubbel, but got a pretty air deal on this barrel and wanted to try it. I hope to start tasting a 2 to 3 weeks and see how it is going. I would expect it to go a month or two......

Stillraining: I actually have some SS nails so may try this. Sounds simple enough. Is that your boat?

Yes but a Sister ship ...I haven't ever been able to sail in a straight line long enough to get that much sail up yet.. About 4 or 5 more years to go then we can shove off...........wish I could brew on board.... but there is just to much movement.

 

[sundog14]

Thanks again for the replies. I think that I may try the nail trick...even with the beer in the barrel and hope to report back in a few weeks......