Mold in Bourbon Barrel

[wiescins]

Not sure if this is the right forum or not, please advise if anyone thinks i'll get a better response someplace else. Included it here as barrel aging can be considered part of recipe development and type of barrel is sort of like an ingrediant.

We have a spent bourbon barrel that is ~6gals, it has been used for 2 fills (Imperial Stout, followed by Barleywine). After the barleywine was racked, we didn't have a beer ready, so we filled it with water to keep it hydrated until we had our next beer ready to age. Our plan was to keep hydrated with water then empthy and recharge with bourbon by added a fifth and rotating the barrel when we were close to filling it. This morning I was rearranging some stuff and moved the barrel, so I decided to take a peak in, there is white fluffy mold on the barrel just inside the bung hole.

Is the barrel now dead? Can I wash it out then santize it with bourbon? Please help!

 

[wiescins]

Here is a picture

 

[wiescins]

Anyone have some advice on this? We are unsure if this barrel is salvageable, or we should just move on.

 

[IslandLizard]

I'd put it under equipment/sanitation

Don't know much about barrels, but do wonder how that mold (and other bugs in there) can be removed/sanitized so your next beer will be yummy. Infections can be very persistent, even in equipment that is easy to sanitize. Barrels look a lot harder.

How do they normally store them?

 

[mtnagel]

Sorry, but I don't know if I'd trust putting 5 gallons of beer in there.

I have a barrel that I've also used twice now. I don't have another plan for my barrel so I rinsed it out really well with hot tap water and then some boiling water. I let it drain so there wasn't any residual water in there. Hopefully that was enough to kill anything and now that it's sealed, keep things out. Guess we'll see what happens.

 

[frenchie]

Scorch it with fire then apply abrasives. I would trust it then

 

[LexusChris]

Some barrel care stuff on this site.

I've never tried to take care of my own barrel...
--LexusChris

 

[podz]

Anyone have some advice on this? We are unsure if this barrel is salvageable, or we should just move on.

You have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying to salvage this barrel, so let's just take it apart and fix it.

1. take off the lid with the intent of returning it to a sealable condition.

2. take a steam cleaner to it until you don't see any more mold.

3. rub all interior surfaces and inside of lid very well with a really big piece of butter.

4. toss the lid on the ground and set the top of it on fire and let it burn uniformly for a few minutes. (have a fire extinguisher and a water hose handy). Put it out by spraying water on it, unless that doesn't work then use the extinguisher.

5. set the inside of the barrel on fire and let it burn uniformly for a few minutes then spray it dead with the hose.

6. use a strong wire brush on all charred surfaces til they're more or less fine, then hose them off again.

7. let them dry for half an hour, then pour a litre of cheap olive oil into a bowl and use a new, soft-haired, angled sash painting brush to paint the entire inside and inside of lid. Rub the oil into all surfaces with a clean rag.

8. refit the lid to it's original condition.

10. Cork the bung and wait 1 week.

11. fill it up with water, a large jar of lemon juice, and a handful of campden tablets. cork the bung and let it sit for 1 day. during this time, check the lid area for tightness and do any needed adjustments. it's normal for the barrel to leak until the wood absorbs enough water to reseal itself.

12. rinse it out a few times, then you should be good.

 

[wiescins]

I'd put it under equipment/sanitation

Don't know much about barrels, but do wonder how that mold (and other bugs in there) can be removed/sanitized so your next beer will be yummy. Infections can be very persistent, even in equipment that is easy to sanitize. Barrels look a lot harder.

How do they normally store them?

I think it is just mold, as both beers aged prior to adding the water do not show any signs of infection.

 

[wiescins]

Sorry, but I don't know if I'd trust putting 5 gallons of beer in there.

I have a barrel that I've also used twice now. I don't have another plan for my barrel so I rinsed it out really well with hot tap water and then some boiling water. I let it drain so there wasn't any residual water in there. Hopefully that was enough to kill anything and now that it's sealed, keep things out. Guess we'll see what happens.

That is basically what I did except I left the water in the barrel. With the barrel empty beware of it drying out on you, we had that happen with our other barrel. You can add bourbon and rotate the barrel to keep it hydrated and as sanitized as possible, I wish that is what I did.

 

[Poobah58]

Fill it with boiling water. When cooled, dump water and add some bourbon. Just keep rotating the barrel daily until you're ready to fill it.

 

[wiescins]

Some barrel care stuff on this site.

I've never tried to take care of my own barrel...
--LexusChris

Thank you! Very helpful tips there.

 

[wiescins]

You have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying to salvage this barrel, so let's just take it apart and fix it.

1. take off the lid with the intent of returning it to a sealable condition.

2. take a steam cleaner to it until you don't see any more mold.

3. rub all interior surfaces and inside of lid very well with a really big piece of butter.

4. toss the lid on the ground and set the top of it on fire and let it burn uniformly for a few minutes. (have a fire extinguisher and a water hose handy). Put it out by spraying water on it, unless that doesn't work then use the extinguisher.

5. set the inside of the barrel on fire and let it burn uniformly for a few minutes then spray it dead with the hose.

6. use a strong wire brush on all charred surfaces til they're more or less fine, then hose them off again.

7. let them dry for half an hour, then pour a litre of cheap olive oil into a bowl and use a new, soft-haired, angled sash painting brush to paint the entire inside and inside of lid. Rub the oil into all surfaces with a clean rag.

8. refit the lid to it's original condition.

10. Cork the bung and wait 1 week.

11. fill it up with water, a large jar of lemon juice, and a handful of campden tablets. cork the bung and let it sit for 1 day. during this time, check the lid area for tightness and do any needed adjustments. it's normal for the barrel to leak until the wood absorbs enough water to reseal itself.

12. rinse it out a few times, then you should be good.

Thanks for responding. This feels a little too intensive for me, but I appreciate the help.

 

[wiescins]

Fill it with boiling water. When cooled, dump water and add some bourbon. Just keep rotating the barrel daily until you're ready to fill it.

That was my original plan, do you think the bourbon will wipe out the mold? I may do the cleaning operation in the deep south link then follow it up with some bourbon.

 

[podz]

Thing is that mold grows relatively deep into the pores of wood. Topical solutions will not kill the roots.

Barrels should preferably be stored full of water and some citric acid so they don't mold in the first place. Or just scratch it up to experience, make a decoration out of it and buy a new one for actual usage.

 

[IslandLizard]

Fill it with boiling water. When cooled, dump water and add some bourbon. Just keep rotating the barrel daily until you're ready to fill it.

That was my original plan, do you think the bourbon will wipe out the mold? I may do the cleaning operation in the deep south link then follow it up with some bourbon.

I think Poobah is referring to taking care of a barrel after your beer has been racked out. Not to remove the mold and spores you have now. The fire method sounds like the ticket to remediate the barrel. And a freshly burned surface gives you a nice base to condition your next beer in, after a long soak and rotation with bourbon.

I wonder how many times barrels can be reused to still give off their oakey aroma. Reconditioning the surface will renew some of its life.
IIRC, Cognac barrels are only used once, but that single use could be as short as 3-4 years or long as 10-20 years or more.

 

[podz]

Jack Daniels, IIRC, only uses their barrels once, but that's because they find higher value on the resale market than they do with reusing them.

 

[BBBF]

Jack Daniels, IIRC, only uses their barrels once, but that's because they find higher value on the resale market than they do with reusing them.

No. By law, Bourbon can only be made in a new barrel.

 

[Poobah58]

I think Poobah is referring to taking care of a barrel after your beer has been racked out. Not to remove the mold and spores you have now. The fire method sounds like the ticket to remediate the barrel. And a freshly burned surface gives you a nice base to condition your next beer in, after a long soak and rotation with bourbon.

I wonder how many times barrels can be reused to still give off their oakey aroma. Reconditioning the surface will renew some of its life.
IIRC, Cognac barrels are only used once, but that single use could be as short as 3-4 years or long as 10-20 years or more.

I gotta think it would work in this case. It will pasturize anything in the barrel I would think. I hope it's OK because I just did this for mine but then again I stored mine dry.

 

[wiescins]

Thing is that mold grows relatively deep into the pores of wood. Topical solutions will not kill the roots.

Barrels should preferably be stored full of water and some citric acid so they don't mold in the first place. Or just scratch it up to experience, make a decoration out of it and buy a new one for actual usage.

Ahh, citric acid! That was my mistake, after the second beer was removed I left it full of just water. I think we are going to declare this barrel dead and move on.