Agave

[Hop]

I treat Agave like Honey, and I got the best flavor results by adding it at bottling (boil it briefly to sanitize, just like with Honey, then add it before bottling). Note that I've only tried it in the boil and at bottling, but I'd like to also try it after primary fermentation at some point (but still use Corn Sugar for priming).

If you use Agave at bottling, use it as your Priming Sugar, and consider also adding a little yeast nutrient (I know Honey needs this, so I assume Agave might and go with it). It's best to measure it with a Hydrometer, dilute it with water, and use 2-3 gravity points of Agave per gallon of beer you're bottling (from How to Brew: "For all sugars in general, you want to add 2-3 gravity points per gallon of beer to prime.").

It tastes absolutely nothing like Tequila, if that's what you're after. If you want a Tequila-like flavor, you might need to introduce Tequila to your beer in another way.

[dunleav1]

I have used light and dark agave in belgian dubbels. They both turned out good.
I added them to primary after fermentation slowed. I boiled the agave syrup with a little water in the microwave for a minute.
For the dubbel I prefer a dirty sugar with some flavor. The agave leaves little residual flavor.
The agave would be good in a double IPA, etc.
Where you want to raise the gravity but not effect the flavor.

I got mine at Whole Foods in the baking section.

[BedlamBrewer]

Thanks all for the suggestions. This is great. I picked mine up at costco. Two 23.5 ounce bottles for 9.95 (that's what I remember anyway). It's enough to have an impact but, like all the really good things in Costco, not there the next week. I never thought of using it as my priming sugar. Thanks again.

[Charlie]

It tastes absolutely nothing like Tequila, if that's what you're after. If you want a Tequila-like flavor, you might need to introduce Tequila to your beer in another way.

Dang!

If tequila flavor is not from agave then where does it come from? We tried to pick it apart last night and couldn't come up with anything. I know the stuff is aged in white oak barrels, and sometimes they're used Jack Daniels barrels, but I don't get a lot of oak off of tequila.

Edit: I found this.

Characterization of Tequila Flavor by Instrumental and Sensory Analysis. Scot M. Benn† and Terry L. Peppard. J. Agric. Food Chem., 1996, 44 (2), pp 557–566

Tequila, the fermented and twice-distilled juice of Agave tequilana, was extracted using dichloromethane. The extract obtained, which represented approximately 0.03% v/v of the original product, was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC), employing both flame ionization detection (FID) and sulfur chemiluminescence detection, as well as by gas chromatography−mass spectrometry (GC−MS). More than 175 components were identified in the extract, accounting for more than 99% of the total GC FID peak area. The extract was also subjected to sensory analysis employing the technique of GC with odor port evaluation/aroma extract dilution analysis. More than 60 odorants were detected, at least 30 of which could be correlated with specific GC peaks arising from components found in the extract. On the basis of their detection in the most dilute extracts analyzed, five constituents were determined to be the most powerful odorants of tequila; these were isovaleraldehyde, isoamyl alcohol, β-damascenone, 2-phenylethanol, and vanillin. Efforts at reconstituting tequila flavor from its component parts were not successful, however, indicating that further significant contributors to tequila flavor remain to be identified.

That's just the abstract. If anybody's got access to the full article please send me the pdf.

Thanks,
Charlie

[Hop]

I haven't delved deeply in trying to reproduce the taste of distilled spirits in beer, but keep in mind how a lot of others are made...

Bourbon is basically just beer made with lots of corn (~70% corn, then malted barley, and rye and/or what) that is distilled and aged in charred oak barrels. But, it tastes absolutely nothing like the exact same recipe made as a normal beer.

Tequila probably gets a very significant portion of its flavor not from the piña of the Agave plant, but from the process (distillation, barrels [stainless or oak], aging, etc.) and the yeast they utilize.

To experience how different the yeast alone makes beer, try making a small wort batch with just light malt extract and some hops, then split it into two fermentation vessels (like a sanitized milk jug). Use two very different yeasts (e.g. Belgian Ale in one and Pacific Ale in the other) and you'll find that the two batches taste nothing alike.