5 Gallon Whiskey Barrels and wax

[1beerbaron]

So I just bought one of these. I'm super excited, but am worried about oxidation with the high surface area to volume ratio. I've heard of people using wax and am thinking about buying some of this. I'm curious what input people have on this though (wax vs no wax, what kind of wax, etc). I appreciate the input.

[mobrewer]

I haven't used a barrel but I listen to The Sour Hour podcasts. I'd fill it with really hot water (190F?) and let it swell to see if that stops the leaks. Even if you aren't using the barrel for sour beer I'd listen to the podcast as they talk a lot about barrels the first year of the show.

[1beerbaron]

I haven't used a barrel but I listen to The Sour Hour podcasts. I'd fill it with really hot water (190F?) and let it swell to see if that stops the leaks. Even if you aren't using the barrel for sour beer I'd listen to the podcast as they talk a lot about barrels the first year of the show.

It's not the leaks I'm worried about as much as it is excessive oxidation due to the increased surface area to volume ratio. Wax sealing is something I've heard homebrewers will do with these smaller barrels.

[mobrewer]

I think oxidation comes with the territory. Couldn't you fill the barrel most of the way? I heard in Belgium they lean the barrels in a way that decreases the surface area to volume ratio. I'd listen to the sour hour and search the BN other podcasts as well.

[1beerbaron]

I think oxidation comes with the territory. Couldn't you fill the barrel most of the way? I heard in Belgium they lean the barrels in a way that decreases the surface area to volume ratio. I'd listen to the sour hour and search the BN other podcasts as well.

Micro-oxidation comes with the territory. Oxidation is always bad. I'm planning on filling the barrel full, that's why I got a 5 gallon barrel.

I've listened to almost all of the sour hour and hours upon hours of other BN shows. The only way I've ever seen/heard to make up for the difference in surface area to volume is by sealing the staves with wax. No amount of leaning is going to make up for the difference of 52 gallons to 5 gallons. I'm curious if anyone else has tried sealing and if it actually works that well and is worth the effort.

[b.mcalister1897]

I have used many barrels to make both sour and non sour beer. Ranging in sizes from 15 gallon to 2 liters. I have found that the amount of oxygen ingress depends on the quality of the barrel itself. And amount of yeast I pitch. My two 15 gallon barrels have very thick staves and is made very well so they have a pretty predictable amount of oxygen Ingress and produce solera sours in about 6 months. The 2 liter barrel was a crappy barrel and went south in about a month from too much oxygen. It was an experiment with leftover wort so I didn't really care. I have some 3 gallon barrels that are of medium quality and turn out some pretty great sour beer in about 3-5 months, great blending beers to add acidity to a beer but less complexity from shorter aging. Balcones is a respectable whiskey producer and I assume have very high quality barrels. I think waxing would be a waste of time and really messy and ugly up a great looking barrel. I do 100% barrel fermentation with my sours. I pitch a ton of my house yeast and fill it to the top with wort. I haven't had to dump a beer as long as I do that. I had one 3 gallon barrel go bad but it was early on in my homebrewing career, really had no idea what I was doing, and was a pretty cheaply made barrel. Just My two cents but I don't see a ton of people with small barrel experience talking about it. I am also not sure how much experience people have with small barrels either I suppose. But the only way I ferment my beers now is 100% barrel fermentation.


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[1beerbaron]

I ended up waxing it. I don't care about the look. It's not in a place where it looks good anyway. It also was pretty easy as I already have this and this for wax sealing bottles. I just put the wax in an empty, cleaned vegetable can and use that. For the barrel, I also bought a $2 foam brush. Worked fine. It didn't take much effort or time and only like $15 for the wax. Worth the piece of mind to me.

[brewinhard]

Do you plan on filling it with normal or wild brews first?