3rd use five gallon barrel

Any hardware used for mashing, fermenting or aging.

Moderator: Site Moderator

Post Reply
kmmuellr
Novice
Posts: 94
Joined: Sun Dec 29, 2019 10:43 am

3rd use five gallon barrel

Post by kmmuellr »

My buddy and I have been brewing for years, and he's experimented with wines, meads, and ciders. He's got a 5 gal barrel that had a mead in it for a few years, and then has been evaporating a cider in it for the last like 6 or 7 years. He literally forgot about it in his garage. He sloshed it the other day and says that there's still liquid, but its getting pretty light.

Is this barrel worthwhile to try to use? My thought is to get a new barrel, and make enough all grain bourbon to put in the new barrel, and to make sugarheads w/ the spent grain to fill my buddy's old barrel.

What do you all think? Anything we should do w/ the barrel other than dumping and rinsing? If we find mold or something slimy in the old barrel, is there any way to refresh so that its useable?

I appreciate your input!

K
User avatar
Expat
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 2245
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2012 3:58 pm

Re: 3rd use five gallon barrel

Post by Expat »

Mouldy might require more steps but if I were offered a barrel like that I'd probably still use it. The higher abv will be ably to liberate more oak sugars than mead or cider so it's probably still got lots of live left. It if you're very handy a complete refurb would make it like new.

Better there was liquid still in it, not dried out and destroyed.
_____________________
EXPAT

Current boiler and pot head
Cross flow condenser
Modular 3" Boka - pics tbd
___________________
User avatar
Deplorable
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 3984
Joined: Thu Jun 25, 2020 12:10 pm
Location: In the East, (IYKYK)

Re: 3rd use five gallon barrel

Post by Deplorable »

Hard to say what might be in it without pouring it out. Dump the contents, if it was just cider for the last several years, hell, it might have some good vinegar in there. If you get moldy floaters, you're going to have to make the call.
Im of the same mind as Expat, I'd see what it holds. If is smells good and looks good, fill that bugger up and see what it makes.
Fear and ridicule are the tactics of weak-minded cowards and tyrants who have no other leadership talent from which to draw in order to persuade.
CopperFiend
Swill Maker
Posts: 291
Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2020 8:19 am

Re: 3rd use five gallon barrel

Post by CopperFiend »

I'd say mouldy is almost a write off if that's the case. If you still wanted to try, if it was mouldy, I'd get some 'no-rinse' steriliser that we all use for sterilising beer brewing equipment and slosh that around in there for a good while (a day or so) and then thoroughly rinse it out (even though it says no rinse) because it is a sulphite based alkaline solution and I dont know how high strength alcohol would react to that.
User avatar
Deplorable
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 3984
Joined: Thu Jun 25, 2020 12:10 pm
Location: In the East, (IYKYK)

Re: 3rd use five gallon barrel

Post by Deplorable »

CopperFiend wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 1:21 am I'd say mouldy is almost a write off if that's the case. If you still wanted to try, if it was mouldy, I'd get some 'no-rinse' steriliser that we all use for sterilising beer brewing equipment and slosh that around in there for a good while (a day or so) and then thoroughly rinse it out (even though it says no rinse) because it is a sulphite based alkaline solution and I dont know how high strength alcohol would react to that.
No rinse sterilizer such as Star-San are not recommended for wood.
Fear and ridicule are the tactics of weak-minded cowards and tyrants who have no other leadership talent from which to draw in order to persuade.
User avatar
nerdybrewer
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 1642
Joined: Thu Jan 23, 2014 3:00 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: 3rd use five gallon barrel

Post by nerdybrewer »

If it's not gone bad then I'd use it to age rum.
Personally if I was making an all grain whiskey I'd want nothing but a good oak barrel so that only the flavors of the whiskey and the oak were there.
A rum might profit greatly from all that fruity goodness left in the barrel.
Cranky's spoonfeeding:
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=52975

Time and Oak will sort it out.
kmmuellr
Novice
Posts: 94
Joined: Sun Dec 29, 2019 10:43 am

Re: 3rd use five gallon barrel

Post by kmmuellr »

nerdybrewer wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 9:59 am If it's not gone bad then I'd use it to age rum.
Personally if I was making an all grain whiskey I'd want nothing but a good oak barrel so that only the flavors of the whiskey and the oak were there.
A rum might profit greatly from all that fruity goodness left in the barrel.
Great idea, but I've not made any rum yet! I'm working on bourbon first, as that's what I drink. I figured the sugarhead for the used barrel, and AG for a new barrel that I'll get from a local distillery.

K
kmmuellr
Novice
Posts: 94
Joined: Sun Dec 29, 2019 10:43 am

Re: 3rd use five gallon barrel

Post by kmmuellr »

The barrel is full. I've got it sitting at 60% bourbon sugarhead.

My buddy did a rinse and overnight soak w/ 2.5 gal of hot water in the barrel and dumped some brown liquid out. I took possession of the barrel and did a bit more of a quick, thorough rinsing to get the brown water running mostly clear, then let it sit over night soaking in a tub w/ a towel wrapped over it to swell the staves. No evidence of leakage for either of us, so I filled it on Saturday night.

It'll sit in my basement or garage until I can get to my place in Northern MI where I'll stick it in the rafters of the pole barn until deer season. After that, who knows! Solera? Empty and refill w/ something else? Who knows. The sky is the limit!

K
kmmuellr
Novice
Posts: 94
Joined: Sun Dec 29, 2019 10:43 am

Re: 3rd use five gallon barrel

Post by kmmuellr »

I put the barrel in the rafters of my in-laws barn on 5/15 full of a 60%abv, bourbon, sugarhead. In the 5 days it was in the barrel from my basement to the rafters it picked up some color and smell. I dropped off my boat at their property on 9/12, and I had my boat cover sitting on top of the barrel. When I removed the cover there was strong odor of cider and honey, and evidence that the spirit expanded and pushed out past the cork while sitting up there. Everthing seemed appropriately sealed and good to go. Sampling and drawing 1 gal out planned for 10/2 when I go to the property for whitetail archery season!! I'll post pics after I sample from the barrel.

I'll likely pick up some corn that weekend and get an AG bourbon going to refill the barrel as a solera before winter is over.

K
User avatar
8Ball
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 1401
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2018 9:12 am

Re: 3rd use five gallon barrel

Post by 8Ball »

If the cask is in good shape, I’d start making an all grain or rum right now. Dump that sugar-head into glass as soon as you have enough to fill it.
🎱 The struggle is real and this rabbit hole just got interesting.
Per a conversation I had with Mr. Jay Gibbs regarding white oak barrel staves: “…you gotta get it burning good.”
The Baker
Master of Distillation
Posts: 4659
Joined: Sun Aug 27, 2006 4:48 am
Location: Northern Victoria, Australia

Re: 3rd use five gallon barrel

Post by The Baker »

Hi, kmmuellr,

It would be helpful if you named the month in your dates.
A lot of the world, including me, use a different system, where the date comes before the (numbered) month.
So especially if the number of the month is 12 or less, we could be talking about a completely different date.

Regards,

Geoff
The Baker
kmmuellr
Novice
Posts: 94
Joined: Sun Dec 29, 2019 10:43 am

Re: 3rd use five gallon barrel

Post by kmmuellr »

The Baker wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 6:19 pm Hi, kmmuellr,

It would be helpful if you named the month in your dates.
A lot of the world, including me, use a different system, where the date comes before the (numbered) month.
So especially if the number of the month is 12 or less, we could be talking about a completely different date.

Regards,

Geoff
That's fair!! It went into the barrel in May, and I pulled about a gallon and a quarter from the barrel on October 1st.

Initial tastes at barrel strength (58%) was fairly tart, with a strong apple nose and flavor. I dropped it down to 45%, and similar character remains. Color is amazing.

Overall, I don't know what I expected, but I guess I was hoping for more oak vs. apple, but didn't really know what to expect w/ a barrel that basically had 5 gallons of hard cider evaporate from it!! The spirit is smooth, but rather one dimensional. I'm debating on what to do next.

Last night I blended some w/ two different glass aged spirits (AG bourbon and sour old beer whiskey), and wasn't able to find a balance that I liked. This might make the best Apple Pie ever, but for drinking straight I don't think its up to the challenge.

Options:
1. Refill w/ some more bourbon gumballhead and just keep a solera going.
2. Dump/bottle/glass age and refill w/ AG bourbon
3. Dump/bottle/glass age and refill w/ AG malt whiskey
4. Dump/bottle/glass age and refill w/ rum
5. Dump/bottle/glass age and rebuild/re-char barrel (no clue how feasible that is at the hobby level!)

What do you all think?

I'll get pictures posted soon!

K
kmmuellr
Novice
Posts: 94
Joined: Sun Dec 29, 2019 10:43 am

Re: 3rd use five gallon barrel

Post by kmmuellr »

Filled April 16, 2021
Filled April 16, 2021
Placed in barn rafters, May 15, 2021
Placed in barn rafters, May 15, 2021
May 15, its resting place
May 15, its resting place
October 1, summer expansion pushed spirit out past cork!
October 1, summer expansion pushed spirit out past cork!
Half gallon, October 1, 2021
Half gallon, October 1, 2021
58% post aging
58% post aging
User avatar
subbrew
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 1275
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2021 1:40 pm
Location: West of the Mississippi

Re: 3rd use five gallon barrel

Post by subbrew »

You need some apple brandy to put in that. If it is pushing that much apple flavor, it should make an incredible brandy. Making me wonder if I could soak some sticks in apple cider, dry them, soak, dry a few iterations and then add them to my brandy.
Post Reply