What to do with my first barrel

[Millsteg]

Just a heads up, I've got only about 12 batches of extract brewing under my belt so I'm still a newbie but am getting the hang of things. Well my gf, the best damn gf around, bought me a 5 gallon barrel from barrelsonline.com and I need some advice on what to do with it first. I was thinking about using it as a long term secondary but I'm not sure what type of beer would be best in it. Honestly I'm sort of lost as to where to start with it but I want to put it to good use. It's medium charred on the inside and nothing has ever been in it yet so no set in favors from previous liquids of any sort. Any ideas?

 

[pompeiisneaks]

British bitters, best bitters or extra special bitters are great for cask conditioning. I'd love to have one myself! Congrats!

 

[JasonToews]

Imperial stout? scotch ale?

 

[Sippin37]

Imperial stout? scotch ale?

I have to agree with these two, first that came to my mind atleast.

 

[pompeiisneaks]

Although both imperial stout, and scotch ales are great cask conditioned, don't you usually want a touch of alcohol previously in it for those? Maybe not, I'm far from a wood conditioning expert . I mean like whiskey or rum, etc?

 

[NorthRiverS]

Is sanitation an issue when using barrels? Just curious . . Thanks

NRS

 

[Millsteg]

British bitters, best bitters or extra special bitters are great for cask conditioning. I'd love to have one myself! Congrats!

How does that work?

 

[Sebas83]

British bitters, best bitters or extra special bitters are great for cask conditioning. I'd love to have one myself! Congrats!

One up for these. 5gal batches in casks have MUCH greater contact with O2 than, say, 55gal batches so you're gonna want to pay attention to oxidation. It'll happen faster than you think. But, you get to do open fermentations! Just let that yeast climb out through the hole, no airlock. Just make sure you get a true top-cropping yeast. Wyeast Thames Valley works well.

Plus, ESB's etc, like that o2 better than stouts.

Check out northern brewer's video about open fermentation.

Good luck!
-S

 

[jusware]

So far I've only helped fill 57 gallon barrels. Not sure what I'd do with a 5 gallon barrel. Oxidation would be the big issue. Make sure you keep it away from any sour beers that may be fermenting nearby. We had one of our barrels get infected by lacto/pedio, but it ended up working out really well in the beer. The barrel already had Brett C. in it, so it wasn't that big of a deal to have some more bugs.

 

[Millsteg]

I'll check out those extra special bitters and run out to northern brewer and see if they have some advice. Thanks!

 

[Millsteg]

Would you suggest fermenting it in a primary first until most of the yeast activity is done and then transfer to the barrel?

 

[Hugh_Jass]

Would you suggest fermenting it in a primary first until most of the yeast activity is done and then transfer to the barrel?

Yes. Primary as usual then transfer to the barrel. Better yet, ferment, cold crash, transfer....try to eliminate as much of the drop out material as possible before transferring.

 

[Millsteg]

Yes. Primary as usual then transfer to the barrel. Better yet, ferment, cold crash, transfer....try to eliminate as much of the drop out material as possible before transferring.

Ok thanks. Now because beers are more exposed to o2 in smaller barrels then larger ones, how long (typically) would an esb be left in the barrel?

 

[Hugh_Jass]

Depends. How much flavor would you like from the barrel? IMO, a week is minimum.

Do you have access to a CO2 tank? If so, flood the barrel w/CO2 before racking to minimize O2 exposure.

 

[Millsteg]

Depends. How much flavor would you like from the barrel? IMO, a week is minimum.

Do you have access to a CO2 tank? If so, flood the barrel w/CO2 before racking to minimize O2 exposure.

I do have access to a CO2 tank so I will do that for sure. But I'm still confused as to whether I should leave the airlock out of it or just do it normally with it in.

 

[I_B_Mongo]

I've used a 5 gallon barrel for a couple years now. If yours never held any spirits, I'd suggest buying a handle of your favorite bourbon (if you're looking for that type of flavor). Pour it all in the barrel, and let it sit for a few days, giving it a 1/4 turn every day to ensure the wood soaks up some liquor. After a week or so, you can drain it all back into the bottle using a funnel.

You can then secondary in the barrel. I didn't use an air lock. Just used a solid bung. I've run a barleywine, RIS, and a wee heavy through it.

At this point I'm considering spiking it with some bugs and doing a solera sour with it.

 

[ajbram]

At this point I'm considering spiking it with some bugs and doing a solera sour with it.

+1... something about a bourbon or rum oak conditioned sour seems to sound really good to me.

 

[I_B_Mongo]

+1... something about a bourbon or rum oak conditioned sour seems to sound really good to me.

I'm not really getting any oak from it anymore, but I can always add some bourbon/rye/rum/etc to "season" the wood again. I really think rye would blend well with a sour. But...I still haven't gotten into sours yet. I had planned on it, but the wife and I were planning on moving, and didn't want to disturb the barrel so I put it off. Now that we're gonna stay put a while, figured what the hell...I'll give it a shot.

 

[Millsteg]

One up for these. 5gal batches in casks have MUCH greater contact with O2 than, say, 55gal batches so you're gonna want to pay attention to oxidation. It'll happen faster than you think. But, you get to do open fermentations! Just let that yeast climb out through the hole, no airlock. Just make sure you get a true top-cropping yeast. Wyeast Thames Valley works well.

Plus, ESB's etc, like that o2 better than stouts.

Check out northern brewer's video about open fermentation.

Good luck!
-S

Ok I've been doing a little more research on open fermenting in the barrel and I have a few more questions. A lot of what I'm reading focuses on the cleanliness of the environment where the beer will be. I'm not sure I have that available. What would you guys suggest doing about that?

 

[Sebas83]

This is all about your yeast. If you have a truly top cropping yeast that is healthy and active, you'll have positive upward pressure creating a "pillow" of co2 on your beer. You'll want to cover at as soon as krausen drops, but other than typical cleanliness, you're fine.

***obviously if you have mold and other crap directly overhead or major particulates, you'll want to reconsider your space. But you should do that no matter what