Reusing a bourbon barrel

I wouldn't rinse it out at all. Unless you can't refill the barrel almost immediately. If it's gonna be a while until you refill the barrel you can do a storage solution of potassium metabisulfite and citric acid. I've heard of 1lb of kmeta and 8 oz of citric acid for a 59 gallon barrel so you can figure out the math for a 5 gallon barrel. This storage solution can be good for 3-6 months and needs to be rinsed out thoroughly with cold water.

 

If you don't plan to re-fill it on the same day, I would recommend the following: The storage solution should be 2 grams of Potassium metabisulfite per liter and 1 gram of citric acid per liter. Add the k-meta in a very well ventilated area because the stuff is toxic if inhaled. Strong respitory irritant akin to LA on a severe smog day. Use cold water and premix the chemicals prior to adding to be sure they dissolve. After that empty, rinse 2 x, and then rinse with 180F plus hot water prior to filling. Purge with co2 immediately before filling and think about waxing the exterior surfaces of the barrel to minimize oxidation. Levi Funk has a useful blog post about it. This method saved my 16 month old sour stout from becoming vinegar.

 

@dbrese mind posting a link to that blog??

 

I've used a 5 gallons bourbon barrel for about 5 batches now. The first two batches were clean beers and the next 3 have been sour batches. I'm actually planning on reusing it again this Sat. My procedure has been the same the whole time and my first two batches where clean with no signs of infection (I still have bottles from those beers that are about 2 years old now and I had one from the second batch about 2 weeks ago). What I plan to do is bottle the beer that's in there today and then refill it tomorrow. When I brew I cool my wort and it goes straight into the barrel to ferment in the barrel. That way my barrel is empty for less then 24 hours. After bottling I generally rinse with near boiling water just to remove any built up on the bottom. For my two clean beers I fermented in a carboy first. I had a beer ready to go so that when I bottled I could rack straight into the barrel with a pre-fermented beer. Leaving it empty for an extended period of time requires much more maintenance and care.

 

That's an interesting history of your barrel; however, I have a couple of questions just to clarify and understand.

Were these three batches intentionally soured, or has your barrel picked up an accidental friendly bug?

By the 'first two batches' do you mean the two non-soured batches? If so, then your use of the word 'infection' seems to say that you consider subsequent batches infected. And by that, do you mean the sour bugs, which must be friendly if you are drinking these beers.

I'm just curious to know the nitty gritty details. Thanks.

 

It was intentionally soured, I think it was ECY that I used, could have been bottle dregs I don't remember. Yes by "first two batches" I mean an RIS and barleywine that were barrel aged back to back. The "third batch" was a beer that I brewed specifically to sour, knowing there was not turning back after that, but that was my plan all along. By infection I meant that there was no sign of any infection in the only clean beers that went into the barrel, more specifically the second beer (which was the barleywine). After that I don't consider the beers "infected" anymore then I consider lambic to be infected.

 

Here is the first sour beer (beer 3 over all) I added to the barrel. This was the second sour batch (beer 4 overall) that I added to the barrel.

Beer three was fermented outside of the barrel with dregs added then the barrel was used as a secondary "carboy." Beer 4 was racked straight into the barrel with more dregs added. I hope this helps clear things up.

 

For short term storage ( approx a month) I forego the typical treatment and just rinse twice with hot as hell water and then add about 2 liters of whiskey to "recharge" the barrel with flavor and keep it wet. I typically use 1 liter of cheapo swill whiskey and a liter of some good stuff.

I make sure o rotate the bArrel on the stand and swish the liquid around several times.

For long term storage (3-6 months) I rinse with hot as hell water twice and then add campden tablets and fill all the way full. When I am about a month or so out from refilling the barrel I will follow the same recharging process with whiskey; more or less time and whiskey dependent upon style and desired flavor.

NEVER ever let the barrel go dry, NEVER store any barrel for longer than a few days without liquid in it; especially so with with larger barrels. And even more especially so in dryer climates.

I do the same with my cognac, wine, tequila- etc barrels.

You really have to mess around and find what fits your palette best. I find rechRging the barrels with spirits or wine really helps to add flavor to each individual brew, wine, mead, whatever and simply cleaning leaches too
Much oak and flavor over the life cycle of the barrel.

Each barrel is so different you have to treat them differently and react to them accordingly.

Adding a humidifier or dehumidifier can drastically change your results; experiment and take notes. Same with temperature variations.

Barometric pressure has the greatest affect on barrels and the maturation process of spirits and beer/fermented beverages alike- but is not an easily controlled variable; with limited application in the homebrewing arena.



I lve also experiments with slight oxygenation of the fermenting beverages and spirits; with sometimes odd but mostly good success.

So many variables to consider...

 

http://www.funkfactorygeuzeria.com/2012/02/paraffin-waxing-barrel.html

 

Interesting. Thanks for posting!