How to Brew Beer in Barrels

Barrels have been used for centuries to store our beverages, whether it was water, beer or wine. Barrels are useful in that they take a long time deteriorate, but they also contribute to the flavoring of the things we drink, which is not so desirable with water, but beer and wine are different. While most people brew beer in a high-tech fermenter, it's still possible to brew beer in barrels the old-fashioned way.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Brewing kit and equipment
• Barrel

1. Prepare your mash, or simply use malt extracts to create your wort. Follow the directions provided in your beer kit to know the proper proportions of ingredients.

2. Pour your wort into the fermenter, along with an appropriate portion of cold water and the yeast. Remember to re-hydrate the yeast first, or else the yeast may not fully activate. If the yeast fails to fully activate, it's possible it will not ferment all of the malted sugars, leaving you with a sweet, very low-alcohol brew.

3. Wait at least 5 days before disturbing the wort, which has been fermenting since the addition of the yeast.

4. Siphon the beer into the barrel. The easiest way to do this is by using a beer siphon and placing the fermenter above the barrel.

5. Pour your finishing hops in the barrel. This is important, as the finishing hops are what give the beer its final flavor. That, coupled with the fact you're finishing the fermentation in a barrel, is going to have a profound effect on the final flavor of the beer.

6. Allow the beer to ferment for at least 7 more days, or maybe even longer, depending on when you made the transfer to the barrel. If you are using a barrel that comes with a spigot, you can pour beer directly from the barrel into bottles. Alternatively, you can siphon the beer back to the fermenter and pour from there.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't have access to barrels, you can also use "spirals," cuttings or cubes of specific woods, which can be placed in a fermenter or a storage container that introduces a wood flavor to the product. For example, it is common for whiskeys to be aged in cured barrels, due to their distinct flavors.
• Don't completely seal barrels you are using during the fermentation process. Completely sealing a barrel will cause it to rupture as air pressure builds from the yeast metabolizing the sugars. Always use an airlock to help relieve pressure in the barrel.

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Resources

• Beer recipes from HowtoBrew.com