Cleaning a used oak barrel (How to?)

[BeerGuy]

Got a couple of oak barrels that once contained spirits. Small, 2 gallons or thereabout...

Soaked 'em for a few days to seal the leaks. And started pondering how I should go about cleaning them. Would several Camden tablets (sodium metabisulfate, I think) do the job? Followed by a quick rinse?

Googled the hell out of it and could not find the answer. This site complains that "clean", "oak" and "barrel" occur too frequently to return search results...

Thanks for any input.

[trthskr4]

http://www.milehidistilling.com has some barrel cleaning kits that are pretty cheap ($3 US I think) for up to 5 gallon kegs. I've ordered from them before and like doing business with them. He is also a member of this forum and posts from time to time on the stilldrinking.com guys.

[The Chemist]

If you're putting spirits in them, why bother? Just call it "'whatever'-finished" ("whatever" being whatever was in it before). It's not like anythings gonna grow in your booze...

[punkin]

Depends how long it's been empty. I bought a barrell from fleabay and filled it full of Peach Brandy. I now have 9 litres of 65% peach brandy that tastes like old books.

If there's a way to sterilize it, and get all taste out of it, i'd use it if i was you.

[Dnderhead]

what Iv seen recommended was sodium carbonate at 1 oz per gal -mix with hot water pour into barrel leave set, then rinse several times

[DestructoMutt]

http://www.winebarrels.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

they have a page on barrel care - cleaning, storing, etc.

[EuroStiller]

Now a days; they have great products like Barrel OxyFresh, Barrel-Kleen, and Sulphites to keep your barrel like new or try to reclaim one that may be going stray on you.

Before I go on, I want to say that this was not done every year, only when the barrels needed it, as it was something you really did not want to be doing to your barrels, as it was very hard on them. Before all this fancy stuff there were 2 things that were available to my ancestors, and we still use them today: Soda ash and rock salt. The soda ash was prepared at home to save money. Yes kids, I have had the pleasure, as a child, of being able to fit through the little door on the large 500 and 1000 Liter chestnut and oak barrels in my family’s cellar, and scrubbing down the insides of the barrel in which red wine had been fermented. This was, of course, followed by copious rinsing and then filling of the barrel with water and draining it, maybe 5- 6 times, depending on the severity of the “muck” on the barrel. Then the barrels had to be tilted forward so that every drop could be flushed out. After about a week of drying, the barrel would be set back down and refilled with water. Water would be continually added until the barrel was tight. The water would be drained and tilted again, just to get the water out. Once retuned to its place, the door in the front would be secured and the barrel pronounced clean. Fresh must would immediately be put into the barrel through another door in the top of the barrel that is about 4" x 4" to let it ferment. And the process would start again.

We use a slightly different method now. My nephew gets to go in and scrub, but he also has a pressure washer to rinse everything down with. Lucky little bastard

P.S. This is a regional Italian method still practiced by some of us. I do not advocate the method to anybody. I just though I would share it with you since somebody brought up the topic.

With the advent of better products and easier methods I say use em!


EuroStiller- The Doctor

[BeerGuy]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Sorry this thanks came waaaay late, hectic as all Hell lately. Things are much better, now. Hopefully can start getting back into the fun stuff. Your advice was good. I salvaged both barrels. Yay!

I did eventually run across a really good article on barrel cleaning, I thought I'd share:

http://www.morebeer.com/public/pdf/wbarrel.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow