That’s very exciting. What kind of prices are we looking at per barrel?
Sounds great. Exciting. Typically spirit barrels (rum) pair well with dark beers and red wine and Porto can go either way but may overpower some lighter beers.
Do you know the type of oak and how many fills they took.
Disclaimer I am typing a lot sorry
Also something to consider, if we did fill the rum barrel and the beer going in was clean and low strength (say you wanted to extract rum flavor) it could flatten out flavor wise quickly and would need to be taken out and refilled with the next. It’s common that second use have a ton of flavor and you need to take any beer out quite quickly.
Make sure to perform a visual inspection and make a barrel tea as well even if you trust the vendor you don’t want to lose it.
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No I don’t. It’s irrelevant for now as we are not ready to purchase them nor I don’t want to buy and leave it dry for x months until ready to be filled. As per the inspection, I have zero knowledge about barrel. If you want to go on site to inspect before buying, I will be more than happy.
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I hear rum barrel, I think imperial tropical stout.
The barrel aged barleywine we did worked nicely in a red wine barrel. It had an overpowering vanilla flavour from the oak for the first couple of months. I thought it might have been a lost cause, but leaving the keg at room temp for a few more months, the flavours mellowed and the beer was excellent.
When we’re ready to go ahead (and covid conditions permit some degree of gathering indoors again) we’ll evaluate our options. Looking forward to this!
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I’d be in to help fill a barrel of clean dark beer (imperial stout, barley wine, etc.) or high ABV belgian (Triple, Quad, etc.). Although I enjoy sours, I’m not sure what I’d do with 20l of the same sour. For sours, I’d be in for a half share (10l).
My preference would be an imperial stout in rum barrel but I’m good with whatever
@ericpare Did Olivier give you an idea of how much lead time we would need to give him? I’d say it sounds like we have a want for a dark-beer clean-ferment barrel (e.g. whiskey, rhum, wine?) and a sour barrel (probably wine of some sort). I think the next steps would be to pin down some numbers (what barrels, when we get them, what recipes go in, who wants in, etc.).
The exec spoke last week and it looks like we can cover some of the cost of the barrels, and anything that would be used again (e.g. barrel racks, other various equipment needed).
Lead time, not really. To my understanding, we can purchase them now, according to his inventory. I didn’t ask if he had an idea for the next shipment that he will receive.
I agree. If we plan to buy 2 barrels, we have to know which participants is going to provide beer for which barrel (or both). 450 is significant a lot of beer to provide for 13 of us especially is someone only interested for an aged dark beer. Since this is our first experience, maybe we should do a single one.
Thoughts ??
I would propose we play this out one barrel at a time to keep volumes and prices reasonable and give us some time for experimentation & learning.
There seems to be general support for a dark ale. Belgian Dark Strong, Imperial Stout or English Barleywine would be my preferences, depending on the barrel available.
I can contribute 10 gallons now that I have a bigger mash tun.
I agree with @kurthoughton as to go with a single barrel to have a feel for the process.
I can contribute up to 38-40 litres but if it is in the “imperial” territory, I may have to do two mash+sparge and a single boil. I don’t mind the extra work.
I reiterate my preference for lighter beers but will not be disappointed to contribute to a barrel aged (imperial) stout.
if we are going with one barrel, it’s an average of 17 liters per participant. Easy enough for most of us. With a grainfather, I don’t mind doing 2x 5kg mash to maximize my efficiency. I always wanted to try it but big beer is not my favorite 
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I have another friend or two that aren’t active on the forum that might be interested. I’ll reach out to see.
Just curious, I hear people have made barrel aged beers but how many uses do you get, what have you planned to put in, in what order?
The bourbon barrels are pretty thin and worn from the charring and aren’t great for many uses (so I’ve heard).
Do we want to optimize the life of the barrel we get? I could see the barrels going from strong clean beers, to lighter beers to mixed fermentation. Anyone have such experience?
If we rotate in beers obviously, we need to coordinate a lot and as it ages and the decision is made to put in another we have to be ready. What are peoples opinions on the journey of the barrel?
If anyone is interested in borrowing the book Wood & Beer: A Brewer’s Guide by Dick Cantwell and Peter Bouckaert in order to help with the project let me know.
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Quick update.
Barrel price 360$
Rum barrel is available now but the thing is…it has to be filled as soon as possible.
Everyone is ready to brew ?? 
Interesting update, Éric! However, it might be a bit premature. We’re shy a few brewers (unless a few more are willing to up their quantities substantially) and we don’t even know when we might be able to gather safely/legally. Based on my past experience, there will be some time spent standing around the barrel as we fill/empty it. In a garage with the door open, that’s no problem, but in someone’s basement is going to be trickier. Can we plan for a spring fill?
If we can agree on the beer first, we can plan to brew in march/april and fill an appropriate barrel within a few weeks once fermentations are complete. An imperial stout would mix well with a variety of barrels, but I’m always open to other suggestions. Also, this gives the gov’ some time to relax the rules.
Thoughts?
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The participants will has to provide, on average, 17 liters. Some offer to provide 30 liters so I’m not seeing this as an issue for those who can provide 8-10 liters. About the fill, it will probably be in my garage and yes, I can leave the door open and all masked if required.
Me and Xavier had a chat last night and he should post something soon about the next steps. I think most of the participants agreed to start with one barrel with an Imperial Stout. We need to find a recipe (not a style I like to brew so I can’t submit one) and start planning our brew day. If anyone have a recipe, please post it.
Realistically, March is the earliest where we could be ready. Personally, I want at least 3 weeks of fermentation minimum. So yes, the fill will probably happen in spring.
My bad, for some reason I was thinking 17 gallons, not litres, so that’s perfect. I have one friend that’s not on the list that seems interested. Lets assume another 18L for him, I’ll confirm that ASAP. I have questions regarding the total volume of beer going in and coming out. I remember last time that there was a substantial sediment at the bottom of the barrel, such that there will be some loss beyond the angel’s share. Maybe Sean can give us some feedback on this?
As far as recipes go, I recommend Jamil Z’s Czar’s Revenge from the book Brewing Classic Syles. It’s hard to beat and pretty straight forward to brew. I can post a picture of the recipe, but there are plenty of people that have shared it online too.
K
here is a link to that recipe
From Brewing Classic Styles pages 175-176
RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT
An intense and rich, dark roasty ale with substantial alcohol warming. This is an advanced style that can be brewed by extract-with-grain or all-grain methods. Ferments at 67 to 70° F (19 to 21° C) and requires several months or more until ready to drink.
OG - 1.075-1.115
FG - 1.018-1.030
IBU - 50-90
Color 30-40 SRM
Alcohol - 8.0-12% ABV
Keys to Brewing Russian Imperial Stout: Russian imperial stout is as big, rich, and bold as a stout can be. It seems that in this style, there are really no upper limits, only minimums. A good version of this beer needs to have a big roasted malt character, coming across in the flavor and aroma as coffee, dark chocolate, and even tar-like notes. There are also a lot of dark fruits, hops, and alcohol, although the alcohol shouldn’t be overly hot or harsh.
There are two very important considerations when brewing a Russian imperial stout. The first is ensuring that the beer is attenuated enough to avoid being overly sweet or syrupy. Yes, this can be a sweeter dessert beer, but don’t overdo it. The second is a controlled fermentation to ensure that the beer’s substantial alcohol doesn’t end up hot and solventy, which is a very common problem in many amateur examples. A long aging period will really help soften some of the harsh edges, so plan accordingly.
RECIPE: THE CZAR’S REVENGE
OG: 1.098 (23.4 °P)
FG: 1.030 (7.5 °P)
ADF: 68%
IBU: 77
Color: 57 SRM (113 EBC) Alcohol: 9.2% ABV (7.0% ABW)
Boil: 60 minutes
Pre-Boil Volume: 7 gallons (26.5L)
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.084 (20.2 °P)
Grains
British pale ale malt - 19 Lbs (8.62kg)
Black Roasted Barley (500 °L) - 1.5 lbs. (0.68kg) - 8.5%
Special “B” (120 °L) - 1.0 lb. (0.45kg) - 5.6%
CaraMunich (60 °L) - 0.5 lb. (227g) - 2.8%
Chocolate Malt (350 °L) - 0.5 lb. (227g) - 2.8%
Pale Chocolate Malt (200 °L) - 0.5 lb. (227g) - 2.8%
Hops
Horizon 13% AA, 60 min. - 1.5 oz. (43g) - 64.4 IBUs
Kent Goldings 5% AA, 10 min. - 2.0 oz. (57g) - 6.6 IBU
KentGoldings 5% AA, 1 min. - 2.0 oz. (57g) - 5.5 IBU
Yeast
White Labs WLP001 California Ale, Wyeast 1056 American Ale, or Fermentis Safale US-05
Fermentation and Conditioning
Use 18 grams of properly rehydrated dry yeast, 3.5 liquid yeast packages, or make an appropriate starter. Ferment at 67° F (19° C). When finished, carbonate the beer to approximately 2 to 2.5 volumes. Store the beer in a cool, dark place, and allow to age. The beer will improve over time and ideally should mature 6 or more months before consumption.
Mash at 154° F (68° C).
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