Hi everyone,

I'll be starting a fermentation in new French oak barrel shortly.
It's presently filled with water and not leaking and ready to be
filled.

I'm reading about how one should never let a barrel go dry and about
how barrels can get "infected" with bacteria if not properly topped
up. But I'm confused. During fermentation you can't top up the
barrel; there has to be some amount of head space to allow for
foaming.

My barrel is 13.5g and I have 17 gallons of must. I was going to
ferment 6g to about 10 Brix, rack out to a carboy for ML fermentation,
then put the remaining 11g in the barrel for the rest of the
fermentation.

I'm concerned about the areas of the barrel not submerged in must.
Won't it become a breading ground for all kinds of horrible bacteria?
Is it not a good idea to ferment in the barrel?

Any advice would be appreciated!

-Paul