Has anyone used these small barrels from Deep South Barrels, or have any input on using similar barrels like this? http://www.deepsouthbarrels.com/create/Oak-Barrels?c=234153
I wouldn't use these as they are too small. The beer would taste like oak super fast, and not have enough time to carry across all the beautiful things we are looking for from the barrel. I have a 6 gallon version of these that I am aging a sour in, it was used by a mead maker before I took possession. It is a little off at the moment, can't put my finger on it. We'll see where it ends up in another few months though.
I bought a 10 gallon barrel and am thinking about a 15 gallon next. Everything jabakajust1 says about the smaller sized, newer barrels +1. Most people really want the essence of the previous contents of a barrel when they choose to condition a beer in it, so a new oak barrel isn't the right choice for that. And the surface area of the really small barrels makes for problems with over-oaking until the barrel is pretty much spent. All that said, it could produce a faster turn-around for conditioning sours once it is well-seasoned.
