Hops floating in my fermenter

Tal Orbach

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I added hops to my fermenter a couple of days ago (primary fermenter, about 11 days into the fermentation). I added them loose. They are still floating on top. Is that OK?
 
I added hops to my fermenter a couple of days ago (primary fermenter, about 11 days into the fermentation). I added them loose. They are still floating on top. Is that OK?

pellets i'm assuming? at 11 days, you probably don't have a krausen anymore so they should soak up enough liquid eventually to sink after a few days. pellets also degrade and will crumble after a while too. i've taken the back end of my kettle paddle and gently pushed them down before with no ill effects of oxidation. don't rouse things up too much at this stage. sanitize wisely.

if whole leafs, you'll probably need to push them down.
 
You are correct. Pellets, and no more krausen. Do I start counting the dry hop time from the moment they entered the fermenter, or do I wait until they sink (because maybe now they don't really contribute that much)? That is - if I wanted to dry hop for 5 days, and I started two days ago - should I bottle in 3 days still?
 
Start from when you put them in. They float for a while, the first time I dry hopped it made me really nervous cause they wouldn't sink. It just takes time. So in 3 days if you want a 5 day dry hop you should bottle.
 
Alright. So floating time still counts. Cool.
Now, if I want to cold crush before I bottle - do I count that time also has part of the dry hopping? That is - should I put the in the fridge in a couple of days, and bottle the next day, or should I put them in the fridge in 3 days (when 5 days have passed) and bottle one day after?
 
Alright. So floating time still counts. Cool.
Now, if I want to cold crush before I bottle - do I count that time also has part of the dry hopping? That is - should I put the in the fridge in a couple of days, and bottle the next day, or should I put them in the fridge in 3 days (when 5 days have passed) and bottle one day after?

what hawkbox said...count from the time you added the hops.

can you rack to a container that you can cold crash in and bottle from (e.g. a plastic carboy with bottling spigot)? if so, that's what i'd do. i'd rack to get the beer off the hops and yeast. then cold crash. then bottle. if you need to rack from your cold crash container to a bottling bucket, that is fine too but typically the fewest number of transfers possible is best. especially for your small volumes. for all of the gnashing of teeth over dry hop durations...it'll all be for not if you oxidize/stale your beer.

if you decide to cold crash in your primary, that is fine too. if you cold crash for 2 days at the end of your 5 day dry hop, you'll be fine. If you want to cold crash for the last couple days of your dry hop, that is fine too. personally, i'd cold crash at the end of 5 days b/c i've noticed that colder beer doesn't take up the aromas quite as efficiently (e.g. dry hopping in a cold keg under pressure).

a casual observation, as i've been there. you might be suffering from a case of "overthinking the shit out of everything". happens to the best of us. when it comes down to days, whether it's fermentation...or dry hopping...or time in a secondary...or length of time to carb in a bottle or keg...it's not an exact science and whatever path you go down, your beer will likely be fine. sticking to times is really about creating a repeatable process for recreating your recipe/process. i've jacked up just about every part of the process and things still turn out (at worst) "ok". bottom line...beer making is a MUCH more forgivable process than we're inclined to believe when we first start.
 
My bottling container is WAAAY too big to fit in my fridge (also - I'd need two containers - which I don't have).
So you're saying that if I start the cold crash earlier, it effectively means less dry hop time (i.e. - don't count cold crash days as part of dry hopping), right?

As for overthinking - yes. That's me. For everything I do. I'm sure the beer will be fine either way. But I want to use this beer to learn the differences between the hops that I've used. Meaning that getting the dry hop right is vital for my aim to be achieved. :)
 
My bottling container is WAAAY too big to fit in my fridge (also - I'd need two containers - which I don't have).
So you're saying that if I start the cold crash earlier, it effectively means less dry hop time (i.e. - don't count cold crash days as part of dry hopping), right?

As for overthinking - yes. That's me. For everything I do. I'm sure the beer will be fine either way. But I want to use this beer to learn the differences between the hops that I've used. Meaning that getting the dry hop right is vital for my aim to be achieved. :)

gotcha. 100% understand. most of us have been there.

as far as counting the dry hop time if you're cold crashing simultaneously...i have no scientific data to prove my point. it's purely an observation from dry hopping in a cold and pressurized keg versus in the fermenter. it's taken me two weeks to pick up on dry hop aroma in a cold keg while the aromas are very much present after a few days of dry hopping in a fermenter. dry hopping is a bit of a debated subject as well (e.g. stripping of aromas if you add the hops too soon, lasting nature of dry hops due to oil breakdown, etc) most aspects of brewing are. :)
 
gotcha. 100% understand. most of us have been there.

as far as counting the dry hop time if you're cold crashing simultaneously...i have no scientific data to prove my point. it's purely an observation from dry hopping in a cold and pressurized keg versus in the fermenter. it's taken me two weeks to pick up on dry hop aroma in a cold keg while the aromas are very much present after a few days of dry hopping in a fermenter. dry hopping is a bit of a debated subject as well (e.g. stripping of aromas if you add the hops too soon, lasting nature of dry hops due to oil breakdown, etc) most aspects of brewing are. :)

Yeah... makes sense. Maybe cold crashing time can be partially counted. Anyway, I think I'll start the cold crash after the 5 days have past. How long should I crash for? Is one day enough, or do I need to make it longer?
 
depends. if you're using gelatin with a yeast that is highly flocculent, a day can produce good results. without gelatin on a medium floc yeast, it can be a few days (3). lost of variables. i'd say do at least 2 days, with or without gelatin.
 
Hi Tal Orbach. For future reference, I add my finishing hops (dry hopping) wrapped in a clean mesh cleaners cloth. I have included a link to a video put out by the Coopers brewery in Adelaide, Australia. Being my first post, I hope it turns out.
 
Hi Tal Orbach. For future reference, I add my finishing hops (dry hopping) wrapped in a clean mesh cleaners cloth. I have included a link to a video put out by the Coopers brewery in Adelaide, Australia. Being my first post, I hope it turns out.
I decided against bagging the hops, because one of my fermentation vessels has a rather narrow neck, and I figured it will be hard to get it in there, and much harder (if even possible) to get it out.
 
Not using gelatin, the yeast is Nottingham.

nottingham is high floc. 2 days in cold crash should yield decent clarity.

dry hopping in a bag in a standard neck carboy is bad times, so good call with avoiding that. if you're cautious while racking to avoid the crashed deposit on the bottom of your fermenter, you should get pretty good clarity going into your bottling bucket. I've put a filter bag on the end of my racking hose (discharge end) and kept it submerged in the bottling bucket and it caught a lot of sediment as well, if you're looking for an added layer of trub catching. make sure it's submerged and is low velocity (minimize your the distance between your two hydraulic levels).
 
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It took me 20 minutes and a long knife to get the damned hop sock out of my glass carboy the one time I did it.
 

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