3 day dry hop of Ramblin Rose IPA - do I add dextrose as well?

Dean H

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Good day all.

I'm a new brewer...onto my 4th batch and have found the recipe for Ramblin' Rose - Smash IPA....looking good so far!
My brew is fermenting in a 6.5 gallon, glass carboy and the recipe calls for a 3oz dry hop today...on day 3 of what I expect to be a 10 day process in the carboy.

Oddly, my first brew was a rather complicated (for me) recipe that called for a dry hop on day 8 of the 10 day ferment in the carboy. That recipe suggested I add a dextrose syrup to purge the oxygen that was likely added during the dry hop. In that case, and after added a similar syrup during bottling (for carbonation), the beer was over carbonated - for me, at least.

This recipe - Ramblin' Rose Smash IPA - does not note an addition of dextrose syrup. it's day 3 and the ferment still appears to be hard a work. I'm thinking that it will continue to ferment and subsequently create additional CO2 to expel the oxygen....but I'm not sure. (as it's day 3...as opposed to day 8 in the previous recipe)

As such, I'm asking if I need to add a dextrose syrup to the carboy along with the hops to remove the oxygen.....or will the continued fermentation do this for me over the next 7 days?

Any advice will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Dean
 
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It's not generally necessary to add sugars at dry hopping. In fact the action of extra fermentation may drive off some of the more volatile compounds in the hops. Ideally, fermentation should be complete and the hops added carefully to avoid introducing any extra oxygen. You'll find that nucleation of suspended CO2 will produce a lot of action that looks like fermentation. Even though there won't necessarily be any further fermentation, the CO2 released from suspension will drive off any small amount of oxygen.
As for over-carbonation, the fermentation needs to be complete and the gravity stable for 2-3 days, as measured with a hydrometer, before adding priming sugar and bottling, no matter whether extra sugars were added.
 
It's not generally necessary to add sugars at dry hopping. In fact the action of extra fermentation may drive off some of the more volatile compounds in the hops. Ideally, fermentation should be complete and the hops added carefully to avoid introducing any extra oxygen. You'll find that nucleation of suspended CO2 will produce a lot of action that looks like fermentation. Even though there won't necessarily be any further fermentation, the CO2 released from suspension will drive off any small amount of oxygen.
As for over-carbonation, the fermentation needs to be complete and the gravity stable for 2-3 days, as measured with a hydrometer, before adding priming sugar and bottling, no matter whether extra sugars were added.
Hi JA.
thanks for this....for clarity, it appears that I simply add the hops as quickly as possible and no dextrose syrup solution at this point as you've noted that the oxygen will likely be expelled without any help.
thanks again.

Cheers,
Dean
 
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Wait for the fermentation to get pretty much finished. Even after the yeast has completely finished and has begun to settle out, oxidation shouldn't be much of a problem. If you're using whole hops, O2 might be a little more of an issue but using pellets, just dump in and don't fret.
 
Wait for the fermentation to get pretty much finished. Even after the yeast has completely finished and has begun to settle out, oxidation shouldn't be much of a problem. If you're using whole hops, O2 might be a little more of an issue but using pellets, just dump in and don't fret.
Thanks JA,
the recipe I'm using is from one here, on brewers friend, and it does state to dry hop (yes pellets) on day 3 of fermentation....as you've noted, all my reading does suggest to wait until fermentation has completed to benefit fully from the flavouring of the hops.

I'll amend, based on your note, and wait till fermentation has visibly finished.

Cheers,
 
It's not generally necessary to add sugars at dry hopping. In fact the action of extra fermentation may drive off some of the more volatile compounds in the hops. Ideally, fermentation should be complete and the hops added carefully to avoid introducing any extra oxygen. You'll find that nucleation of suspended CO2 will produce a lot of action that looks like fermentation. Even though there won't necessarily be any further fermentation, the CO2 released from suspension will drive off any small amount of oxygen.
As for over-carbonation, the fermentation needs to be complete and the gravity stable for 2-3 days, as measured with a hydrometer, before adding priming sugar and bottling, no matter whether extra sugars were added.
It is an interesting approach. I generally dry-hop at high krauesen to scrub out the O2. I hadn't thought of kicking off a secondary fermentation to purge O2 if the dry hops were added after fermentation is complete. It might work, add a couple of points of gravity (similar to priming for bottle conditioning) and let the CO2 do the work....
 
It is an interesting approach. I generally dry-hop at high krauesen to scrub out the O2. I hadn't thought of kicking off a secondary fermentation to purge O2 if the dry hops were added after fermentation is complete. It might work, add a couple of points of gravity (similar to priming for bottle conditioning) and let the CO2 do the work....
Hi Nosybear,
Thanks for adding.....Indeed, I do believe I'm currently at high krauesen today. I've read that adding hops at this point does not permit the full flavouring that I should be looking for.
Adding 3oz of pelletized hops either today.....or later, based on JA's comments....

I think I'm learning that there are multiple theories - and multiple solutions. Just unsure as to which direction I should proceed now...

Cheers,
Dean
 
Hi Nosybear,
Thanks for adding.....Indeed, I do believe I'm currently at high krauesen today. I've read that adding hops at this point does not permit the full flavouring that I should be looking for.
Adding 3oz of pelletized hops either today.....or later, based on JA's comments....

I think I'm learning that there are multiple theories - and multiple solutions. Just unsure as to which direction I should proceed now...

Cheers,
Dean
People complain that water chemistry is complex, they should look into what's going on with hops.... For now, pick a line and ski it. I've found I like the high krauesen approach. I don't get as much flavor, in exchange I get less oxidation and the nice biotransformation flavors (big word, I don't think anyone knows exactly what it means). I find dry hopping after fermentation leaves harsh flavors I don't particularly like to the point I wouldn't dry hop at all until I discovered the high krauesen route. All I an recommend is you try it several different ways then pick the one that appeals to you.
 
People complain that water chemistry is complex, they should look into what's going on with hops.... For now, pick a line and ski it. I've found I like the high krauesen approach. I don't get as much flavor, in exchange I get less oxidation and the nice biotransformation flavors (big word, I don't think anyone knows exactly what it means). I find dry hopping after fermentation leaves harsh flavors I don't particularly like to the point I wouldn't dry hop at all until I discovered the high krauesen route. All I an recommend is you try it several different ways then pick the one that appeals to you.
Fair play!

Indeed, I'll keep to the recipe, this time, and dry hop today, day 3. Next time, perhaps I'll try a later hop addition.

I'm on my way to brewing more artistically than via science....

Cheers, to all.
Dean
 
Yeah basically I would say try a few different batches and timings to see what you like ultimately and then stick with it.
I toss mine in the same time as yeast pitch because then I don't have to worry about it and what little testing there is out there shows no real appreciable difference.
 
I generally dry-hop at high krauesen to scrub out the O2.
I just like it later in the process. As I mentioned earlier, in my experience, nucleation pushes a lot of CO2 out and it often restarts fermentation for another point or so, anyway. if I'm going to hop during active fermentation, I'll do it at yeast pitch for "bio-transformation" and then add a dry-hop later. Success with keg-hopping would argue against the O2-introduction theory. Maybe there's a little more incidence of oxidation when adding hops to "still" beer either in the fermenter or when transfering to keg for carbonation but I haven't seen any problem with it.
Recently I found a couple of cans of a heavily-hopped DIPA that I did 2 summers ago. It would have been dry-hopped to hell and back at 2 or 3 different stages, kegged, carbed, canned and (mostly) consumed. The cans have been refridgerated and the beer was simply sublime. Not a hint of off-flavor or oxidation.
 
I’ve added sugar with the dry hops, then a spund to 25psi or so. It gets the yeast going to mitigate oxygen and I carb at the same time. It speeds up everything too, I can turn a beer from kettle to glass in 7-8 days. I’ve done JA way too, not sure other than speed there is a big difference.
 
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I’ve added sugar with the dry hops, then a spund to 25psi or so. It gets the yeast going to mitigate oxygen and I carb at the same time. It speeds up everything too, I can turn a beer from kettle to glass in 7-8 days. I’ve done JA way too, not sure other than speed there is a big difference.
If I'm using my unitank, I've done it that way. Mostly I don't dry hop in there because the few times I've done it have been absolutely disastrous in terms of clearing the racking port of hop sludge. I've got a submersible hop spider now and should be able to pull that off. Yes, hopping with a few points left and closing the valves is a very effective way to do it.
 
If I'm using my unitank, I've done it that way. Mostly I don't dry hop in there because the few times I've done it have been absolutely disastrous in terms of clearing the racking port of hop sludge. I've got a submersible hop spider now and should be able to pull that off. Yes, hopping with a few points left and closing the valves is a very effective way to do it.
Alright, let's see this submersible hop spider! Sounds interesting!
 
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Gents,
Thanks for all the input....as I'm quite new to brewing, I'm still bottling - I do like to share what I've created so bottles may stick around for a while.
Truly an education here and it's great to join such a helpful community.

Cheers,
Dean
 
You, me, carpark.
What the hell is a carpark? Is it a park for cars? I hope it's peaceful and tranquil in that park.

Just kidding. Every time I hear that it reminds me a nature reserve or something. I like to park my car in a parking lot. It's what we do in America!
 

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