The Badmotivator Bain-Marie and Oak Barrel

[PeoplesPastor]

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. How sad and tragic to hear the news. RIP Ben

[Tater]

Sorry to hear this . Ive placed him in angles share group . may he rest in peace

[ecir54]

right on Tater

RIP Ben

[Clearmoon247]

He will be missed greatly, but his legacy will live on forever

[JHeron]

oh no!
RIP, Ben

[Ovrcome]

I know Ben will not be able to answer, but may I ask a question of this thread/community. I have found a 3.5qt Bain-Marie that only has a 7in opening? Do I "HAVE" to produce a top with Slats and marry them, or if I found a board thats 9in wide can I simply cut that down. Or are the joints 100% necessary? I would appreciate any feedback! Missing you Ben!

[TwoSheds]

I know Ben will not be able to answer, but may I ask a question of this thread/community. I have found a 3.5qt Bain-Marie that only has a 7in opening? Do I "HAVE" to produce a top with Slats and marry them, or if I found a board thats 9in wide can I simply cut that down. Or are the joints 100% necessary? I would appreciate any feedback! Missing you Ben!

Speaking as a woodworker not a cooper here. When one side of a board is exposed to more water than the other you will get warping. The wider the opening and therefore the board the more it will warp. Thinner wood will also be more problematic.

So using slats is a way to reduce that overall tendency. 9" is right on the border of what I personally would do with one board, so if everything else were right I'd go for it, but if you can't say 'yes' to all of these you might be better with slats: The board is a full 1" thick or even a little more, quarter sawn, well seasoned, pretty flat and straight already.

Beware all the swelling/warping issues mentioned already. Also, be thinking about where you're going to put your tap and bung. Ben had a preference, I just can't remember what it was.

RIP Ben, your contributions and work will live on like so much agign sprits!

[Ovrcome]

Thank you so much TwoSheds. I think I have found some 9 in wide quartersawn stock. With only a 7in opening I’m wondering even how many “slats” I can do. I think Ben’s had 3 and his openings are more like 11-14in.

[OtisT]

Ovrcome, you will want to find the “right” board for this. The grain of the board matters. Also, you don’t want any sap wood in your board and that becomes more difficult to find as QS boards get wider. See my post on April 16th to see how grain impacts how wide of a board you could use.

[Ovrcome]

Hey Otis! Absolutely I will check that out. Thank you so much!!!

[Saltbush Bill]

Ovrcome have you read the information on this page?.............. https://badmotivatorbarrels.com/build
Ben went to great lengths to shared an amazing amount of information on how to build these things.

[higgins]

I have BadMo barrel #484, M3, received in early July last year. I filled it with Bourbon #8 (69% corn, 15% rye, 7% oats, 9% barley malt) on July 15 and have not touched it since. I have 3 earlier Bourbons aging in glass with some well-seasoned, toasted, charred white oak sticks that are over 2 years old.

I have made and filled 5 more barrels in the past year - 3 bourbons, 1 apple brandy (M toast, no char), and a single malt (barrel head made from once-used bourbon barrel staves).

Yesterday I took about 250 ml of 62% from #484 to my bi-weekly brown liquor club meeting to share with 7 friends (who have sampled my other ones too). Before the sampling I related the story of the barrels, and the tragic passing of Ben. We all raised our glasses in a salute to Ben - may he rest in peace knowing how he positively influenced the home distilling community. They all agreed that this one is considerably better at (4 days short of) 1 year in a BadMo than the others are at 2+ years in glass, which supports the reasons that Ben developed the BMOB to begin with.

Thank you, Ben. You will be missed.

[Ovrcome]

Ovrcome have you read the information on this page?.............. https://badmotivatorbarrels.com/build
Ben went to great lengths to shared an amazing amount of information on how to build these things.

Hey! I have however he does not specifically reference the "using 1 board". Maybe because its a bad idea? Hahah

[utvol]

I bought a badmotivator back at the end of April. I filled it with water when i got it. It took me longer to fill it than I thought it would. I just filled it last night. i read about possible mold growing in a barrel. I looked at the water i poured out last night. There were a few things floating around in the water that could have been possible alive. they were clear. I went ahead and filled it up with HBB. The spirit should be fine? thanks in advance and i hope this is the correct thread for this question.

[acfixer69]

I bought a badmotivator back at the end of April. I filled it with water when i got it. It took me longer to fill it than I thought it would. I just filled it last night. i read about possible mold growing in a barrel. I looked at the water i poured out last night. There were a few things floating around in the water that could have been possible alive. they were clear. I went ahead and filled it up with HBB. The spirit should be fine? thanks in advance and i hope this is the correct thread for this question.

Not really a question here, more a description of what you did. Two and a half month is a long time with just water on the wood, enough time for mold to grow? Sure. Did it? You tell us. There are ways to avoid this happening. Before filling with your product is the time to ask.

[utvol]

Acfixer69.

The main question in my last post is if there was mold in the barrel would it ruin the spirit? If i knew if there was mold in it, i would not have asked. How would i know if it had mold? I wrote Ben to ask him his thoughts on the subject and that is when I learned about his accident. His assistant thought it would be fine to go ahead and fill the barrel and this is why I did.

[acfixer69]

I'm not going to get in a debate over this. In a wood barrel I have looked inside an could see the discoloration. The bad mo maybe a mirror and light I don't know. I would have searched for a treatment before filling at a minimum. I wish you the best and am not saying it is dangerous to drink. I would think you will find out in time. Either way you are learning barrel prep and treatment.

[ChristopherC]

My experience with BadMo barrels is that they've been okay for several months. I've had some filled with water for around 6 months with no Ill effect. Your experience may be different and I suggest using potassium metabisulfite and citric acid if you're expecting it to sit for a long time.

For the conversation about heads and using multiple staves, the fewest I've built is with two staves. The most I've used is 6. Anything more than 6 staves and it's hard to have enough meat for the bung and spigot. I don't like to see them on a joint. I wouldn't be against having a single stave, but that would require a really large tree to have it properly quarter sawn.

I sometimes get flat sawn lumber from the mills. I'll rip the piece down the center and join the edges together. This creates a significantly more stable head that is less likely to cup over time.

I've spent a fair amount of time working with Ben over the last couple years and am honored to carry on his vision. He was the kind, generous, and genuine person that always had a smile on his face. I would sometimes sneak into the shop and see him grinning ear to ear for no reason other than enjoying life. I want to be more like Ben.

[ChristopherC]

Recipe for barrel preservation mix:

Contents:
16g potassium metabisulfite
8g citric acid

Work in a well-ventilated area. Do not inhale powder. Combining this mix with water produces irritating sulphur gasses.

Cut open this package and empty it into a barrel. Fill the barrel completely with water. Insert a bung and close the spigot. Barrel can be stored for up to six months.

When the barrel is needed, drain the solution, and rinse the barrel very thoroughly.

[jonnys_spirit]

I wouldn’t use KMETA. I would use citric acid down to about pH 3.2- 3.8 range which is typical for wine and proof that to 12-14%abv with neutral. So it’s like a neutral wine.

You could also use wine if you want to influence the barrel flavoring.

It’s going to extract oak flavors but there ya go

Cheers!
-j

[6 Row Joe]

Or you could just pour in some alcohol of some sort and tip it so the wood is covered. Cheaper vodka would work.

[Deplorable]

I wouldn’t use KMETA. I would use citric acid down to about pH 3.2- 3.8 range which is typical for wine and proof that to 12-14%abv with neutral. So it’s like a neutral wine.

You could also use wine if you want to influence the barrel flavoring.

It’s going to extract oak flavors but there ya go

Cheers!
-j

Lower ABV like wine will extract different Flavanoids, and at a slower rate though. But its still better that letting it dry up and shrink.

[ChristopherC]

Ben always said it was best to make the spirit first, then make the barrel so you're ready to fill it right away. I know that isn't always possible, but that was his ideal plan.

[Beefer]

Sorry for the sideways pic - couldn't see how to fix it? I emailed Ben quite a few months ago with questions about making my own Badmos. He got straight back to me with great advice and support, but I just never got the time to get started. After hearing about his passing, I figured I would honor his memory and the time he had spent answering my questions by pulling my finger out and getting one made. One somehow became six - I got enthused. Leak test tonight and fingers crossed I have a home for some HBB, some SBB rum and some HBB sugarheads tomorrow......and yes they are 7.6 litre stockpots from Kmart - couldnt say no for $10 each. Now I have 6 spare lids to repurpose.

[higgins]

Beefer, I hate to be the bearer of potentially bad news.

You might want to check the rivets holding the handles on ... they are often made of aluminum on cheaper SS pots, and I don't think you want your likker contacting that.

[Beefer]

Thanks for the heads up Higgins, checked these ones going into it and they are actually tiny spot welds. I thought about cutting the handles off first but decided I didn't mind the diagonal look.

[Moonshine-Still_2023]

Nice work Beefer, I had the same idea to use the Kmart Stock Pots. Can you tell me where you purchased the taps from?

Thanks,

[Beefer]

Cheers MS - ordered from Kegland, arrived in the mail a couple of days later. 12mm taps but I drilled 11mm holes and they cut their own way in pretty easily. 2 of the cans sealed up without a drip, a couple leaked in spots and around the tap, nothing a bit of beeswax and a hairdrier couldn't fix. All are full and happy now.

[ChristopherC]

Great work Beef! It's always fun to see other folks interpretations of Ben's ideas. The taps we use are a 16mm x 35mm threaded sections. I use a 15mm drill bit and that usually gives a perfect seal. We don't use wax on the tap anymore.

[The Baker]

Could you tell me how much the taps were? I can't find them on the Kegland site at the moment...

Thanks,

Geoff