Dry Hopping, How do you do yours?

[Credible Sauce]

My thoughts...

After trying whole leaf hops in various bags including tights as thats what a brewery i know do ! I decided to throw whole hops in straight to fermenter. Horrible job transferring beer was the result. I have a bottom drawing fermenters and the hops clogged and clogged the process. The bags are a dick about and obviously blocked transfers are also.

I decided to use pellets on the last one. They break up nicely which will maximise exposure to beer. They also from an orderly layer at the bottom of FV which is also handy.

In summary I got a much better flavour from the pellets and no lost beer.

I add just towards the end of fermentation. CO2 is not as vigorous to avoid scrubbing. Also read somewhere (?) that this avoids and raw vegetal flavours.

The aroma of my latest with the pellets is outrageous. It smells like fruit juice. Taste is also great.

So... How do you do yours?

Cheers

Matt

 

[Hawkbox]

I've only ever used pellets, and after one experience with a hop sock and a carboy I just pitched them directly in now. Then gelatin fine to kind of settle everything down by force.

 

[okoncentrerad]

For my first brews I used to put my hops in a bag I tossed into the fermentor. However, since not being that happy with the outcome of some of my beers I for my last two brews changed a couple of things, one was throwing the hops (pellets) directly into the fermentor. I probably will keep doing that from now on.

 

[GFHomebrew]

ive used pallets only but you could hit the whole cones in a blender.5 days contact

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I don't dry hop any more I just use a stainless steel hop canister in my keg but not very often I do a whirlpool and that works fine for me

 

[thunderwagn]

I usually dry hop with whole cones just because I grow them. I toss them in a hop bag and suspend in my keg usually till the keg kicks which isn't long typically lol.

 

[thehaze]

I use pellets and just throw them in the fermenter. I cold crash, everything settles to the bottom, I siphon the beer to the bottling bucket. ( I wrap a fine hop back around my auto-siphon, just in case, there is hop debris in suspension, and this will stop any debris going into the bottles )

Pellets work very well when thrown loose in the fermenter.

 

[Credible Sauce]

As always a variety of info. Thumbs up to the cold crash. It drops the debris bits that are not behaving.

What about time of addition. Anyone else adding at tail end of fermentation as opposed to when FG is reached?

 

[thehaze]

It depends on what you like to achieve: NEIPAs are known for getting dry hopping during fermentation, like day 2-3 to get that biotransformation going and another charge a few days later.

If you dry hop at the end of fermentation, any oxygen you might have introduced in the fermenter at that stage, might be scavanged by the rest of fermentation. But seeing that dry hopping is usually employed to hoppy beers, where strong,er aroma and flavour are desirable, it is probably advisable to dry hop whenever you think it is the best time, taken into consideration your system's and process' lmitations ( if any ).

But hoppy beers need to be drank fresh.

 

[philjohnwilliams]

Pellets, straight in, no bag.

 

[Aub]

I use pellets and just throw them in the fermenter. I cold crash, everything settles to the bottom, I siphon the beer to the bottling bucket. ( I wrap a fine hop back around my auto-siphon, just in case, there is hop debris in suspension, and this will stop any debris going into the bottles )

Pellets work very well when thrown loose in the fermenter.

Do you dry hop after you cold crash or before?

 

[Nosybear]

I don't necessarily cold crash. Think of it this way: The longer the delay between finishing dry hopping and serving, the more the hop flavor and aroma will deteriorate. So I'd go with "immediately before packaging," whether or not a cold crash is involved.

 

[Hawkbox]

I usually dry hop a day or two before cold crashing as the cold will drop the hops out of solution and stop anything from happening. So 3-4 days before packaging.

 

[Aub]

I usually dry hop a day or two before cold crashing as the cold will drop the hops out of solution and stop anything from happening. So 3-4 days before packaging.

Thanks, that sounds logical, I'll give it a go.

 

[GFHomebrew]

i know of one micro brewer on the coast here even dry hopping his house pale ale cold around 10c he said why ? you tell me and well both know.

 

[Aub]

i know of one micro brewer on the coast here even dry hopping his house pale ale cold around 10c he said why ? you tell me and well both know.

Seems to be a lot of debate about dry hopping warm/cold, I suppose trying both ways is the go and find what suits you best.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

its simple, like anything the warmer temps will loosen the oils faster, the cold is slower and some times when too cold they just drop to the bottom, remember heat expands, cold contracts

 

[Aub]

its simple, like anything the warmer temps will loosen the oils faster, the cold is slower and some times when too cold they just drop to the bottom, remember heat expands, cold contracts

I suppose dry hopping cold would give a much subtler effect. I am not going to rack to a secondary so I'm thinking dry hop 2 days and drop temp to 10-7 degrees for another 2 days in conical fermenter.
Flying by the seat of my pants a bit as this is my first all grain brew................all is well so far.

 

[GFHomebrew]

I suppose dry hopping cold would give a much subtler effect. I am not going to rack to a secondary so I'm thinking dry hop 2 days and drop temp to 10-7 degrees for another 2 days in conical fermenter.
Flying by the seat of my pants a bit as this is my first all grain brew................all is well so far.

going by tge things happen slower when cold then you could delay the purported "grassy" flavours if you need to cold crash for a while.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

thats why keg hopping works, the dip tub is in the bottom, the cold drops the oil to the bottom very slowly which helps not over do it