Expert: Ed Westemeier - 11/17/2007

Question
Hello,
I’ve been a home brewer (beer) for about 10 years and have recently purchased a wooden barrel to keg beer in.  Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find information on how two carbonate beer in a wooden keg.  If you have any information on this matter, know of any books on this subject, or could suggest a website, it would be greatly appreciated.  The following are some of the questions that I have:
-Is there anything special I should know about carbonating beer in a keg?
-How do I drill the hole for the tap?
-How do I seal the tap hole during the aging process?
-How do I tap the keg?
-How do I properly seal the bung hole?
- Is there anything else I should know?
I would greatly appreciate it if you have the time to help me on this subject, or direct me to a source that could answer these questions.
Sincerely,
Wm. Brennan de Soto


Answer
Well, you didn't give me enough information to really provide a complete answer, but here are some things to consider:
Don't even think about carbonating your beer in the barrel.
You want a barrel that has been used for something else (like whiskey or bourbon) because a plain wood barrel will give it too much wood flavor.
You must sanitize the barrel thoroughly before using it. This usually requires burning sulfur sticks in it.
There are lots of other considerations, but those are a few.
Check out the book "Wild Brews" by Jeff Sparrow. It has some good information on using wood barrels for aging beers.