I'm doing the same recipe with slightly different fermentations for two 5 gallon barrels. I have done the primary fermentation in glass for both. I started in glass because I wanted to end up with as much beer and as little yeast as possible in the barrels. In the first recipe, I did the primary fermentation with a Belgian strain and then added some brett, lacto, and pedio when I racked to the barrel. In the second, I added the Belgian strain, the brett, lacto, and pedio all at the same time into the glass letting them compete during primary. Now that everything is settled out in the second, I am going to rack from the glass. My thinking is that I should have plenty of all four yeast/bacteria still in solution after I transfer. What are your opinions?
I think that you will have enough in solution to go into the barrels, or at least pick up enough off the bottom when you rack. You really just want enough brett in there to eat up any oxygen and enough bacteria to keep slowly souring the beer. I recently bottled 4 x 30 gallons of sour beer that had been in barrels for 8 mons -11 mons. All but one of the beers was made in a cylindro-conical, allowed to fully ferment, and then placed into the barrel without the addition of anything else but some bottle dregs as the months went by. That was enough bacteria/yeast to make very nice sours.
