How to get the smell out of "Mango Chutney" barrel?

[seymour]

Indian restaurants aren't as ubiquitous here in the US, but I'm intrigued by all the creative uses for mango chutney barrels on this forum. Along those lines, I got a couple similar 5-gallon items from my neighborhood Greek restaurant. One contained black olives which I've managed to thoroughly clean-up. Another one contained pepperocini spicy peppers. I've scrubbed it repeatedly, gave it a lengthy soak with bleach water, another lengthy soak with One-Step/Oxy-Clean type cleanser, more scrubbing and rinsing....but there is still a strong chili scent! I guess I like an occasional chili beer as much as the next guy, but I don't want all my grains and/or finished beers to smell like this.

What do you guys advise? How can I reduce this smell? What would you use this barrel for?

Thanks!
-Seymour

[Brotherton Lad]

You could try baking powder. No idea if it will work, but it's an old way of shifting smells (as is vinegar).

[TC2642]

Bleach and sodium metabisulphite worked for mine, did have quite a long soak though. I use my barrel for boiling, stuck a kettle element and tap on it and away you go.

[Highlander]

do you have an element in there at the moment?
I found that heating it and keeping it above 50-60C seemed to get rid of most of the smells

[Kev888]

I tried several things on mine - bleach, soda crystals and a long hot soak in a strong percarbonate cleaner (which was the most effective), but they still smelled faintly of garlic for some time if I stored them with the lid on. I'd not thought of baking soda. Thankfully it didn't seem to affect my beer in any detectable way (I used them as FVs), and gradually the smell dissipated over a number of fermenting/cleaning cycles.

Cheers
Kev

[crafty john]

You could always do a ginger beer and ferment it in the barrel That way it would just smell of ginger.

[Brotherton Lad]

Or pour a bottle of Jack Daniels in and acquire a taste for spicy bourbon.

[seymour]

do you have an element in there at the moment?

Not yet, I just got them and am still formulating a plan. So, I think I'd rather not boil in plastic, I've got several big metal pots for that. I'm thinking I could use them as Hot Liquor Tanks, Mash/Lauter Tuns, or simply as air-tight storage for bulk grains and hops.

I think it would be easy enough to put a bottom manifold and valve in one for a cheap-and-easy Mash/Lauter Tun. It seems like something I could set alongside my regular kit and double the rewards for my efforts. Do you guys install a heating element in this situation, and if so, how do you hold a particular temperature? In case you can't tell, I always brew with gas heat.

Or pour a bottle of Jack Daniels in and acquire a taste for spicy bourbon.

I'll take a couple shots, but 5 gallons?!

[Fil]

the hdpe barrels have features you should consider, they soften with temps over 80C, my hlt will heat upto 85C for some batch sparges..

the softening will allow it to settle on its base and change shape somewhat, i cut a hole in the lid to enable me to keep it on to hold the mouth open as a circle, without it it tends to a tighter oval.

any heavy fittings hanging unbalanced can sag in the warm soft plastic, so a side mounted syphon drain can be a good idea helping to balance the external valve weight with the internal syphon.

if fitting a sight glass its worth boilling the pot for a while to let it settle in a 'comfy' shape before you calibrate it.

if using a stiff leaver valve support it before trying to turn it when mounted in soft warm hdpe you may just bend the assembly round to the side otherwise.

on the plus side being plastic they are a doddle to cut holes in...


having a boil down in hdpe

edit **** almost forgot always heat them on a flat surface, i once started on the crates until i noticed the barrel starting to sag down over the edges!!


as for the smell which is what u want to know mine had mango chutney in inner bags in em and the smell while pungent when first opened soon dissipated.

They make fantastic grain stores, totally rodent proof if thats a concern in your neck of the woods..

[seymour]

Lots of good ideas and advice, guys. Thanks and keep 'em coming!

I've decided to make the less stinky one into a mash/lauter tun. Last night I bought a ball valve and bulkhead, I'm still hunting other plumbing bits. I poured a small box of baking soda into the stinky one, sealed it and shook it up good. I'll check it again in a few days. I'll try to keep you posted and take some pictures as I go.

[Underground Joe]

You could always do a ginger beer and ferment it in the barrel That way it would just smell of ginger.

I have a king keg that I had a ginger beer in which made the next beer taste of ginger. I'm going to try some of the suggestions here to get rid of the taste.

[seymour]

A related question:
Those of you who simply use these barrels for grain storage, approximately how much grain can they fit? My local malt supplier sells 55 lb sacks, but I have no idea how much space that takes up. My barrels appear to be 5 gallon capacity.

[Fil]

i use 45l mango barrels for grain storage, 25kg fits in one no worries..
i got the volume of mine in the bathtub with a 1 l jug..

[seymour]

i use 45l mango barrels for grain storage, 25kg fits in one no worries..
i got the volume of mine in the bathtub with a 1 l jug..

Cool, thanks!

So, 45l = about 12 gallons, so my barrel is a little less than half your size.
Since 25 kg = 55 lbs, the size of a full grainsack, it sounds like I can fit half a sack per barrel. Good to know.

[seymour]

Bump.

I still haven't gotten around to converting one of these to an electric boiler, but I am getting some good use with one as a bottling bucket. The smell is gone, and it's pretty easy to keep clean and sanitary (so far so good, anyway.)



I installed a ball valve and connected a short length of tubing with a bottling wand. It has a cool little spring-loaded valve inside the tip, so you insert it into a bottle, press down to start the flow of beer, and simply lift it back out when the bottle is full. I'm really starting to hate bottling, so every little time-saving trick helps. You can also see the caps and capper tool soaking in sanitizer nearby.