How to prepare and use an oak barrel.

[gmcbride]

I have a new five gallon barrel but no idea how to prepare it, use it, clean it or store it. I have been unable to find concise clear instructions on the web yet.
Any help out there?

[barleyburps]

upon getting the barrel, you will need to fill with water and let it sit until the wood expands and you are getting no seeping (either between the staves, or around the end pieces). My experience indicates this takes typically about 1-3 days.

Once it is holding liquid, It would be good to give it a quick cleaning (there is no way it will ever be truly sanitized, so get that idea out of your mind right now - & don't worry about it). My FIRST keg, I followed the instructions that came with it which was to fill with a solution of water, soda ash (or barolkleen)
at a ratio of 1 lb/5 gallon water. Let soak for 3 days, then empty and rinse 3-4 times with cold water. Then make up a solution of 2 gallon cold water, 2 oz of potassium or sodium metabisulfite, and 1/2 oz of citric acid. (try not to breathe the vapors of this as it has to be a health hazard - it will take your breath away). Empty that and rinse with cold water and it will be ready to fill with beer/wine/white lightning/or whatever.

[barleyburps]

the SECOND TWO kegs, I took a different route. After soaking them until they no longer seeped, I bought a large bottle of cheap colonial club vodka at the grocery store, poured all of it in the keg and rolled/swished it until I felt all surfaces were sufficiently covered, then dumped it back into the bottle for future use. I then proceeded to fill my kegs with beer.

I have had numerous batches go through all three kegs and have never had any type of contamination which I could detect.

I suggest not putting water in the keg to swell it originally, until you are fairly close to putting beer in it. If you swell it, then let it sit Idle for a month, the wood will begin to dry out and you will have to re-swell it. If you just keep water in it for awhile, you will start to grow some slippery algae in there, and will have to rinse/clean it well before re-using. I time all of my bottling/kegging from oak for the same day that I have another batch ready to go in, so I have no idle time with an open keg.

I hope this helps.

[barleyburps]

But if you do have to let it sit idle for a long time, once the beer is out of it, I would rinse it well with water to remove any yeasty sludge, then place it upside down with the bung hole open between 2 boards, bricks, or something so that it can drip dry. After thoroughly drying, I would replace the bung and forget about it until you are ready to use it again, then refill with water to swell it, and swish some more vodka around in it.

[barleyburps]

. . . .now I have to go down to the basement and find a bottle of oak beer to open. . . .