How much does barrel aging affect final abv of the beer?

My Old Rasputin XV says 11.9% on the bottle, whereas the normal version is somewhere around 9%.

 

Just Google this. Too many bs ideas come in on here everytime this comes up on BA.

 

I've barrel aged beers that were "done" fermenting and the extra oxygen influx produced a renewed (though slight) fermentation which dried out the beers and upped the ABV slightly.

 

Water evaporation will raise the ABV. Residual spirits in the barrel and the wood pores will raise the ABV.

 

The craziest is Southern Tier Backburner. Regular is like 9.6% and the barrel aged version is 14.2%. Why?

 

Residual spirits or wine (whichever it is) will seep into the beer and increase the abv. If the beer undergoes a fermentation in the barrel this will also increase the abv.

The real variable is how much spirits or wine is left in the wood, and this varies considerably. If you've ever read any interviews with brewers, you know that sometimes they get barrels which are mostly dry with only a little liquid in the wood pores, and sometimes they get barrels which have big wet puddles of wine/liquor left. And all points between those extremes, too. It depends on what the vineyard or distillery does with the barrel afterwards, it depends on how quickly they get the barrel to the beer brewers (the quicker they get it, the more is left in the wood), all the way down to the quality of each individual barrel.


Just to give you an idea of how much it can vary, the base beer for Goose Island Bourbon County Stout is a beer called Cook County Stout. It clocks in between 11% and 11.5%. Pretty much every label for Bourbon County since 2008 has said the beer is 13%, 14.5%, or 15%. By contrast, the base beer for King Henry was (I think) 10% on the dot, and after the barrel it was somewhere between 13.4% and 16%, depending on who you talk to.

 

Yes. Fermentation, atenuations, saccharides, residual proteins etc. The abv will increase scientifically proven.

 

Alcohol is more volatile than water. Do research before posting. It doesn't raise the ABV, simple as that.

 

The yeast in the beer reacts with the wood which is composed primaliry of carbon and carbohydrates (sugars) which then becomes alcohol, thus increasing the internal volume of the barrel and therefore displacing water out thru the pores of the grain structure of the wood so ya it increases abv. why do think barrel aged beers are always so high in alcohol content?

 

because high gravity beers better tolerate the oxidative process of barrel aging.

 

That's a big increase. I'm going to guess that the brewery makes a bumped-up version of the base beer to put into the barrels.

 

Did it ever cross your mind that maybe I did do some research (on the last thread about this), and that the rate through wood is less for alcohol than water? Unless the spirits are over 80% then the ABV goes down as more alcohol is diffusing through the wood compared to the water, less ABV and it goes up. Don't know the exact rates of water vs. various alcohols. What does your references or data say?

Here is a quote. Source is http://www.distilling.com/PDF/chapter4.pdf
"At 55 to 65% abv, barrels were found to have a greater porosity for water, with the fusel
alcohols, acids, esters, aldehydes, and furfural being retained. Further studies confirmed
that these lower strengths result in an increase in alcohol content after aging, whereas a
decrease in strength is found when spirits are aged at higher alcohol concentrations."

 

I think I need a bomber after reading this thread..

 

We usually see a 3% gain in bourbon barrels on average, though individual barrels are all over the place.

 

Boom! I guess you did do some research.

 

Your really making posting a comment complicated.

 

"Measurements show more water leaves when barrels are stored in low humidity cellars, and more alcohol leaves when barrels are stored in high humidity cellars."

http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-articles/Barrels and Wine.html


I have a 47 gallon bourbon barrel filled with a russian imperial stout. At this point, I have seen no increase at alcohol. I have been unable to find a number for when low humidity changes to high, but I think it is important to note that both alcohol and water are obviously leaving the barrel.

I would guess that some individual barrels may see a slight increase in alcohol content, but I have never experienced that firsthand. I can ask a distiller friend and report back as well, since his barrel room is obviously much larger than mine.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. Humidity is a factor, as was stated in the link I had. Bulletrain76 is a pro, he says they do see an increase in ABV, and they make a few barrel aged beers. Patrick Rue had posted sometime ago about the increase that was seen in Black Tuesday, but that may have been before the site crash.

 

Love people who challenge others to do research, while doing no research themselves.