My first oak barrel

[ChrystieBrewing]

I just picked up my first oak bourbon barrel from a local distillery. Its 5 gallons and was emptied a couple weeks ago. Here are some questions....

I'm brewing a Russian imperial stout tomorrow that I would like to age in it. It will be ready in 3 weeks or so for the barrel. Will I need to clean the barrel? If so what are some methods?

Next, how long should I age before bottling? Ive read a few different ideas on this but looking for some peoples experiences.

Next, can I put in 3 gallons? Will this cause any issues because its not full? I wanted to bottle some without the oak for comparison reasons.

Lastly any advice for care and maintaince of my new barrel and how long it should last?

 

[parrothead64]

I never did this, but I believe you want the barrel to be full to avoid oxidation. I would do 2 three gallon batches. Put 5 gallons in the barrel and bottle the last gallon without the oak.you might want to set aside a bottle to top off the barrel as some of the beer evaporates.

 

[MirImage]

I highly suggest a listen into a Basic Brewing radio episode on 9-17-15 about Small Barrel brewing. It is about sour barrels but the guest speaking about taking care of barrels and using them for things like RIS and such before souring.

Since you are not going to have anything in the barrel for 3 weeks I highly suggest a holding solution. You don't want the barrel to dry out or get any bugs in it for an RIS. I've only two two barrels so far but seriously they can dry out faster than you think. I don't have experience but will have to make one myself shortly.

Best of luck. I need to get another barrel myself!

 

[Amadeo38]

Agree with previous comments - fill with holding solution of 0.017oz/gal potassium metabisulfate and 0.13oz/gal of citric acid. This is the ratio that breweries like new Belgium and the rare barrel use. Once you’re ready to fill, dump, rinse with fresh, boiling water a couple times.

Definitely brew more than 5 gallons. After trub loss you’ll undershoot too far and end up with dead space in the barrel that may contribute to oxidation. That said, you won’t need to leave your beer in there too long on the first pass. When I put my imperial stout through a freshly decanted 15 gallon whisky barrel (I similarly had a holding solution in for a few weeks before transferring), it only took about 5 weeks to get the whisky character I wanted. Unfortunately, that didn’t allow for enough time to provide an abundance of wood character, which was the only reason I lost points in competition when submitting in the Wood Aged category.

Your 5 gal will surely take on more whisky and wood character faster than my 15gal given that it has more surface area contact, so YMMV. Best to taste it after a few weeks of aging and see.

 

[AJinJacksonville]

If you don't mind me asking...how did you approach/source the barrel from your local distiller. I have a couple local to me, and emailed them and never heard back. I went into a tasting room for one of them and purchased two bottles of their whiskey, and asked...and they told me to email the company. So no luck. Their website suggests that they do use small 5 gallon barrels on some of their runs.

Also, if you don't mind me asking...did you pay for it, and if so, how much?

Thanks!

 

[ChrystieBrewing]

@AJinJacksonville The head distiller is part of our brewers guild. Not sure why they wouldn't get back to you. I paid 110 bucks for it. Seemed reasonable I see them online for 140, sometime on sale for 100 but that does not include shipping

@Amadeo38
I will have to keep an eye on my first batch in there. I like the bourbon flavor but I do want some oak flavor! Has you barrel mellowed out since?

@MirImage I will check out that episode thanks!

 

[radwizard]

Since you are brewing a big stout, and have a small barrel, I would just make sure that that the barrel stays wet from the spirit. Consider adding a cheap bourbon to the barrel and roll it around until your beer is ready to rack. I don't think your stout will need long term aging in this barrel. You will probably get great character much sooner, and can continue to age in a bottle/keg. Try and plan future brews to refill your barrel quickly too avoid using a storage solution, or adding more spirits.

Try and fill that puppy up. A full barrel is a happy barrel!

 

[Amadeo38]

@AJinJacksonville I sourced mine from a distillery in Tennessee when I was there for a bachelor party. They let me pick the freshest one and it was $120 out the door. Didn’t even buy a souvenir.

@ChrystieBrewing after the imperial stout, I rinsed and filled with an imperial brown ale. This aged for several months. It has a slight acidity and thus, I assume the barrel is for sours only going forward. I’m planning a Flanders Red with two brew club members right now, actually.

 

[MirImage]

@AJinJacksonville I sourced mine from a distillery in Tennessee when I was there for a bachelor party. They let me pick the freshest one and it was $120 out the door. Didn’t even buy a souvenir.

@ChrystieBrewing after the imperial stout, I rinsed and filled with an imperial brown ale. This aged for several months. It has a slight acidity and thus, I assume the barrel is for sours only going forward. I’m planning a Flanders Red with two brew club members right now, actually.

Some unsolicited pointers. I suggest brewing up a "nonsour?" Belgian that you are turning I to a Flanders. Let it ferment out then toss that into the barrel with wild yeast/bacteria you want. If you ferment primary in the barrel you lose a lot because the barrel has to be so full and the Belgian yeast gives some nice complexity to the beer before souring. If possible make up 10g and then sour half to try the difference. I always like those types of "experiments".

My barrel has lacto and Brett. Enjoying the samples it provides. Also nail in a hole so you don't break the pellicle. I'm finding that ~1month/gal size (5g =~5months) is good for the sour note. But it is ready when you say it's ready.

Enjoy

 

[Amadeo38]

Yeah - we’re doing primary in carboys with Jamil’s Flanders recipe and a clean yeast like s-05. Belgian yeast would not be to style for a Flanders. Then transferring to barrel at 1.020 and pitching in roeselare bugs blend