Pretty sure I know the answer to both these questions. But anyway, I generally use a spare keg with a dip tube screen for doing all my beer aging for things with extra adjuncts added (dry hops, fruit, wood). Then once the flavor is where I want it, I transfer it to a fresh keg via CO2 and serve. 1.) That keg is already being used. I would think a few used whiskey barrel staves would not clog up a dip tube with no screen. Anybody try this before and have it work fine? 2.) This also got me thinking about how wood floats. I can't see what is going on inside these kegs. Anyone know if used whiskey staves float on top, or sink the the bottom? They are completely soaked in fresh whiskey. Never worried about this and the flavor has always come through, but maybe I'd get more flavor if I weighed the staves down? Could but in a hop bag with stainless steel, then use dental floss to suspend the staves in the middle of the keg.
Will probably just do the hop bag thing, which will make the question irrelevant, but kind of curious what other people do to age beer on whiskey staves. (I don't have the budget to purchase an actual barrel yet. $3 vs $150).
