Small Barrels - Personal Experiences Wanted

Hey,

I'm looking into investing in a small 10 gallon barrel from a nearby cooperage. Does anybody have any personal experience with small barrels that they'd like to share? There doesn't seem to be any articles about long term results from small barrels anywhere.

There is a BYO article that surveys commercial barrel users, and they all seem to caution against small barrels because of increaced oxegen diffusion, but, is this actually an issue? If you own & use a small barrel, speak up!

You could probably find some testimonials here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f41/used-liquor-barrels-230606/

Thanks, lots of good info there, mikeysab.

Anyone else have any experiences they'd like to share? Any retrospectives?

I basically agree with king wood kid in this thread https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/life-barrel-brand-new-405608/

They seem like more trouble than they are worth IMHO.

Thanks for the link.

Yeah, interesting. I'm definitely not convinced, considering the price. What I'm really looking for is someone who is like "Wow! My barrel is awesome and consistently contributes excellent character to my beers!". Not that I'm expecting small barrels to be miraculous, but nobody is exactly raving about them. I'm starting to think the money would be better spent elsewhere in the brewhouse.

Yep. I got a group buy so the price was ~$55, but I know my LHBS sold the same ones for $90 I believe and I know they are around that price online. It seems like the thinking is you'll only get 2-4 beers before you may get a sour bug so if you don't plan on using it for that (like I don't), that's a pretty hefty cost per batch when you can replicate the results using other methods. Of course I might have a new lookout after secondarying my porter in it in a few weeks.

My finger was on the trigger to buy a new charred one gallon barrel with a spigot, stand, and engraved with something cool. The thought (stolen from another member here) was to low prime the barrel and rack a gallon to it on bottling day. In a couple weeks, it would all be consumed over a weekend.

But after reading about how barrels only impart flavor five or so times, then become neutral and eventually sour, I decided it just wasn't worth the money. Plus they need to always be full of sanitary or sanitizing liquid (not straight tap water). I came up with another plan that involves adding oak chips to a couple 2l bottles and serving through my BYO DIY beer engine instead.

Of course my goal is to just oak a portion of a batch and not the whole thing. I can always add oak to the keg if I want obviously.

I hadn't heard about anyone storing them with sanitary solution. Mine came from the factory with residual alcohol and it sat for a month or so before using it. Then I put beer in it for a few days (it sucked up the bourbon flavor fast), removed the beer and cleaned it. Added more bourbon, sloshed it around and it sat for several months before I'm planning on using it again. The plan is to drain any liquid (doubtful there is any left), then do some combination of filling with hot water and draining and Star San solution before secondarying my porter in it (this time I'm hoping I had removed most of the bourbon flavor to get more of the oak flavor). Hopefully that has been sanitary enough that I don't waste a whole 5 gal batch in it. Now I'm worried a bit.

I think you're fine mtnagel. What I meant by sanitary or sanitizing liquid is beer, spirits, treated water, etc. Meaning you can't let it sit around with straight tap water or other potentially bacteria harboring liquid.

As an aside, I've read never to put star san in a barrel. It works into the wood and dries. Apparently you're never supposed to let it dry. Just repeating what I recently read.

Gotcha. Thanks

Gotcha. Thanks.