Stupid barrel question.

[ska1331]

Hey all,

This may be a stupid question, but I will ask it any how. If I were to use a charred oak barrel, can I fill it in stages? I can get 19ltr new charred oak barrels and approximately 150ltr used wet bourbon barrels for aging. Only thing is I can't fill either in one run. Would it do the spirit harm to add 5ltrs at a time? Any help would be welcomed as I am questioning if I should try it or just keep adding the wood to the spirits.

[Meatheadinc]

Problem with not filling barrels is they can dry out and leak.
I dont suggest i 150lt barrel to anyone on the hobby scale.
19lt will work, just ensure that when only part filled that you rotate the barrel often to prevent drying out.
Shouldnt be much of a problem once over half full.
Good luck.

[ska1331]

Thanks. Looking to see what happens if I fill a barrel and forget it for a bit.

[rumdidlydum]

Just remember that with a small barrel the alc will oak up faster than a large barrel.
You don't want to over oak it :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[ska1331]

Was going thru some of the bottles on my shelf today while making another mash. We decided that we have several that didn't turn out quite the way we wanted. Figure we will just run them back with some feints for some neutrals. Might get a small barrel and test with what we get from that run. Plan is to eventually age a nice grain mash.