Tequila barrel beer question - alcohol content

[bmack]

Hello Everyone, I'm new to the forums and fairly new to brewing as well. I have a 5 liter oak barrel that I'm currently aging tequila in. I plan emptying the tequila and putting some (currently in primary) agave wit in the barrel for secondary.

Since I don't have much experience using barrels for beer, I am curious if transferring the beer directly to the barrel after emptying the tequila will add alcohol content to the beer. I'd like to just add some tequila and oak flavors without boosting the alcohol content. Should I rinse the barrel with water before adding the beer?

Thanks!

 

[Camping57]

Nope. The amount of alcohol added to your wort if the bbl is drained well is not significant. Try doing the math to see actually how much alcohol by volume it takes to increase your ABV by a full %. For a small bbl like you have (5L) it works out to 1.8 oz. of pure alcohol to bump it by 1%. If you cut your tequila to 100 proof, then it becomes 3.2 oz. I hope you won't leave that much booze swirling around in you bbl.

 

[masterfool101]

Camping has it right . .. while there WILL be a slight increase in ABV, it will most likely be too small to measure.

Also, rinsing the barrel risks adding contaminants. . . i'd simply rack into it and have a go at it. You won't notice any extra alcohol.

The other thing to keep in mind is that if you have over any length of time, you're going to see some evaporation in the barrel (angel's share, they call it). So if you're planning a LONG aging, many brewers brew more beer than fits in the barrel, and "top off" every week or two. However, given the small barrel size, and the fact that you just want to add a small amount of flavor, you probably don't have to worry about this . . .

 

[bmack]

Thanks. I didn't think about doing math, although it seems the obvious answer now