Would it be OK to leave a whisky barrel for 2 months empty before putting any beer in

[Majd]

Hi,
I recently bought a used 53 gallon whisky barrel. As Murphy’s Law always prevail, the barrel is arriving today (ordered it 3 months ago), and I’m schedules for a surgery tomorrow. The odds are I will not be able to brew anything to fill in the barrel for about 2 months. Mind you I need to ferment the beer first too.
The barrel could have about one or two pints of whisky still inside it. My questions are:
1- Can I just wrap the barrel with plastic Saran wrap and keep it in my garage for 2 months until I have beer to put in it?
2- I do have for now 10 gallons of standard red ale ~ 5% Alc, (not the ideal beer for this barrel), but would I be better off putting those 10 gallons in the barrel rather than just wrapping it?
Any advice would help
Thanks

 

[Hopper5000]

Hey,

Do you know how freshly the barrel was dumped? If it does indeed have a couple if pints in there then you might be ok for a bit.

I have done many barrel projects and we usually can't fill the barrel right away. In this instance I would pop out the wood bung and replace it with a silicone one (making sure it doesn't splinter off and fall in). I make sure there is some whiskey in there usually by dumping a handle in and then rocking it around so it coats all the surfaces (if there is already some in there then that is great).

You can continually spray down the barrel with water which will help keep it hydrated (weekly). Hot water is the best as it will absorb quicker.

You should be fine for a couple months. Saran-wrap might help a bit but it will still dry out.

Don't partially fill it with beer because all that head-space will make it oxidize and leaves plenty of room for bugs to be floating around in there and aceto-bacteria to take hold.

 

[Majd]

Hey,

Do you know how freshly the barrel was dumped? If it does indeed have a couple if pints in there then you might be ok for a bit.

I have done many barrel projects and we usually can't fill the barrel right away. In this instance I would pop out the wood bung and replace it with a silicone one (making sure it doesn't splinter off and fall in). I make sure there is some whiskey in there usually by dumping a handle in and then rocking it around so it coats all the surfaces (if there is already some in there then that is great).

You can continually spray down the barrel with water which will help keep it hydrated (weekly). Hot water is the best as it will absorb quicker.

You should be fine for a couple months. Saran-wrap might help a bit but it will still dry out.

Don't partially fill it with beer because all that head-space will make it oxidize and leaves plenty of room for bugs to be floating around in there and aceto-bacteria to take hold.

According to the seller "Nelson's Green Brier Distillery", they are emptied right before they were shipped.

 

[sudbuddy]

+1 to spraying down the outside, it's a great way to keep the barrel hydrated without losing the whiskey character. I also agree that dumping a handle in there would help. Good luck with the surgery, hopefully you can pick up the paddle again soon

 

[Majd]

+1 to spraying down the outside, it's a great way to keep the barrel hydrated without losing the whiskey character. I also agree that dumping a handle in there would help. Good luck with the surgery, hopefully you can pick up the paddle again soon

I'm sorry to say that I did not understand when both of you said to dump a handle in. can you explain?

Thanks

 

[sudbuddy]

I'm sorry to say that I did not understand when both of you said to dump a handle in. can you explain?

Thanks

a handle is a slang unit of measurement for a large jug of whiskey (which usually has a handle on it, hence the name). If your barrel absorbs all the whiskey you can add more by going to the store, buying a cheap handle of whiskey and pouring it into the barrel. Also employ this method for reusing the barrel after your first batch, but maybe use 2-3 handles for that considering the size of the barrel.

 

[adamdillabo]

A half gallon of alcohol. Or is it a gallon?

 

[Hopper5000]

A handle is the larger size of whiskey (usually 1.75 liter) normal bottles are 750ml. You want the whiskey in there because it will keep it sanitized anything on the inside. I would pop the wood bung out and shine a flashlight in there to see if there is any liquid. If there is then just plug it up with a sanitized bung and spray it down periodically.