Group Brew-Oak barrel

[Westco]

So me and my local home brew are wanting to do a group brew in a oak barrel. The person in charge of getting the oak barrel is MIA. So months later I am going to take things into my own hands and try to come up with the right barrel. I am surrounded by wineries so finding a barrel is not a problem. I do need to know a few things about finding the right barrel.

I have heard that you need to get the right used barrel, so when i call the wineries what questions should I be asking? We want to do some kind of sour beer so if the barrel has bugs I am assuming thats not a bad thing...

Any information would be awesome!

[NHBrewer]

Unlikely you are going to get a barrel that already had bugs in it from a winery. They are trying with all their might to keep those wonderful beauties out of their winery. That being said it is pretty easy to innoculate any barrel you may get with whatever cocktail of bugs you want. Listen to all of the Sunday Sessions with Vinnie from Russian River for an idea as to where to start on that front. Now what kind of barrel? You should think about what flavors you want and go from there. You want a Chard flavor try a Chard barrel you want Cab try Cab you get the picture. When contacting barrel dealers or wineries in general tell them what you want it for and be prepared to pick it up when they are ready not you. You will want to get the barrel full as soon as possible after they empty it. This is only a small bit of advice but with that much beer going in you want to do as much homework as possible so you have the best chance of getting what you want out of the time and money you are about to put into such an undertaking. Best of Luck.

Chris