Methanol

[agsimoedwgie]

First time Forum user so please excuse any mistakes or errors. Would adding 1/2 a bag of Jack Daniels Oak Barrel chips to the brew process leave methanol in the wort or be cause for concern? They were roasted at 300 degrees before steeping.

 

[Luis]

First of all, hello and welcome to this forum.

How did you roast them? I am not really sure what you are really asking for. Did you put gasoline or some other type of fuel into the chips and then roasted them?

If you just roasted them without adding any type of fuel to the chips, the only potential issue I can really find could be the risk of infection when the chips are not properly sanitized, but then again, many people on this forum had done that without any trouble, but not concerns about the methanol.

 

[Homercidal]

First time Forum user so please excuse any mistakes or errors. Would adding 1/2 a bag of Jack Daniels Oak Barrel chips to the brew process leave methanol in the wort or be cause for concern? They were roasted at 300 degrees before steeping.

There won't be any problem with Methanol. I'm assuming you are adding them to the secondary after soaking in bourbon or some other alcohol.

Some people do toast their oak before using, but I would say it's not really needed for JD chips because they are already charred before JD uses them.

The toasting process probably drove off any methanol (Which would have been a VERY minute amount anyway). All fermented commonly contain a small amount, but it is diluted and a very small portion of the alcohol content. It's only a concern when it's distilled and not removed during the process, like when dumb people try to make whiskey at home.