What to do with this barrel?

That is a virgin american oak barrel that is charred to #3 (Medium/Heavy) that is ready for spirit to be aged/matured in it. I wouldn't use it for beer until it has aged a fresh spirit for about at least a year preferably longer. Otherwise you risk getting a char-bomb beer. I think their have been a few members here who this happened to- can't recall who though...

I wouldn't use it for a serving cask either. You'd want virgin american oak but not charred inside for that.

If you want to age a beer in a virgin non-charred cask you can also, but it will be very oaky and one dimensional compared to a once or twice used barrel used to age spirits.

There was a recent thread asking where to get such a barrel and I believe it is still on the main page in home brewing forum here. Go check it out for a few links to barrels that have been once used by American distilleries.

 

I bought a 10 gallon charred rum barrel...loaded it with an AB clone...7 days later it tasted like charcoal...maybe I should buy 10 gals of rum to age in the barrel for a year and then try again...actually, I'm thinking of cutting in half for two planters...I'm afraid to put anything in it now...

 

Next time I want a charcoal beer, I'll just dry hop with charcoal briquettes...