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I have a 5 gallon Gibbs barrel for Xmas 2019. I was told if I didn't have any product made the barrel needed water in it. I filled it with water last April and now have 15 gallons of 100% corn ready for my second run., which I plan to do this weekend. What should I do to the barrel once I dump the water out of it but before I put my final product in it? I know a lot of the oak will be washed out, but I figure that leaves it in the barrel for a significantly longer period than usual for the smaller barrel.

I’ve got a barrel i had to store during the interim so i filled it with citric acidulated water and some vodka to make it like a wine. Ph of about 3.5 or so and 10%ABV will work well against infection.

Cheers,
-j

First thing I would do is check it for mold growth and go from there.

I have no first hand experience to offer because I've only oaked in glass. But I'm interested to see what people suggest. I would think you don't need to do anything but drain the water (really well) and fill with liquor. Unless you smell or see something growing in there like acfixer said.

If that water went bad then the stink will carry to spirit. I made the mistake with a 10l i ruined 10l rum when I used it anyway. Against my better judgement..

Storing any barrel for more than a day or two full of water is far from ideal.

You got bad advice on storing with water. But now may have the opportunity to learn about disassembling a barrel, scraping, and re-charring! Camden tablets might have helped but would have been best to wrap the empty barrel in plastic wrap til ready and then rehydrate.

I have a question about barrels say I'm emptying a barrel of whiskey do I rinse with water before I refill it or just fill it

Fill it with your new make.
ss

still_stirrin wrote: ↑Sat Apr 24, 2021 6:57 am Fill it with your new make.
ss

Thanks ss

thank you for all the in[ut i will dump it out and see what it smells like and go from there.

I do not use barrels for the distillates (use them for wine) but here is my consiglio; Meanwhile, empty the water, let it drain for a few days upside down, then sniffs to understand if the bacteria of the water have proliferated, controls the inside with a torch from the cap to understand the presence of mold. If everything is ok I recommend a rinse with an economic distillate before filling with your product.