>
> BucklandSwifty wrote:
>> I have two 40 gallon oak ex whiskey barrels, one of which was used to
>> mature last years cider in. I am pondering the best way of cleaning
>> it. There is only the usual bung hole in the top, I had thought of
>> half to two thirds filling with water/sterilising solution and
>> introducing an airline to get it “boiling” around. Having done that,
>> pump out the water. My next cunning plan was to steam the barrel,
>> here is my problem, what to use to supply the steam? Any ideas? The
>> major drawback with the 40 gallon oak barrel is handling to my mind!
>> Any advice gratefully received.
>>
>> Chris
>>
>>>
>>> Chris,
>>>
>>> I used to use these ex whisky barrels. They were bought from
>>> distilleries in Scotland at £2 each and brought down here by the
>>> HGV load by a smart guy in Somerset, who sold them for £25 each.
>>> Mostly they were bought from him by gardeners and sawn in half to
>>> make big planting tubs. I insisted that the ones I bought still
>>> had their bungs intact and were thus still whiskey sterile ( one
>>> still had a litre of whiskey in it, that I discarded!). They made
>>> good cider in their first year, but I took against the strong
>>> whiskey overtones. I’m not fond of whiskey, but I had imagined
>>> that the lingering effect would have been much more subtle than
>>> proved to be the case.
>>>
>>> However I decided to give the barrels another go the following
>>> year hoping that the whiskey flavour would be reduced to an
>>> acceptable level. I was then faced with the same problem as you
>>> are now, how to clean the barrels. I’d read the books that mention
>>> thrashing chains around in the barrels and steaming them out etc
>>> and decided that I just could not be doing with all that palaver.
>>> I just hosed out the barrels with tap water then dangled a Vigo
>>> sulphur candle on a piece of wire through the bung hole of each
>>> and put the bungs in to contain the sulphur dioxide smoke. Half an
>>> hour later I quickly removed the wires and rebunged the barrels.
>>> Perfectly good cider was made in all of them the following year,
>>> though I still did not like the whiskey flavour, albeit much
>>> reduced.
>>>
>>> The barrels have now been relegated to garden planters and two
>>> have been printed up to advertise my cider business at the
>>> entrance to our property. These are now leading a very useful life
>>> as they have stimulated a fair bit of business!
>>>
>>> Rose.