Dry Hopping

[Kable Wilmoth]

So, what is everyone's process/opinion around here for dry hopping.

• Minimum amount, or might as well not do it at all?
• How long do you dry hop, max days?
• When do you drop them in, tail end of fermentation to avoid oxidation?
• Do you bag your hops or drop in loose?
• Do you rack off your yeast and dry hop in a secondary?
• Do you use pellet or leaf?
• Do you do it in the keg?

I have done it many ways and am wondering if there is a clear 'correct' way of going about it?

-kable

[Chris Brehm]

I'm not sure if there is a clear "correct" way or not. Normally I transfer to secondary, use pellet hops, let it sit for a week then either bottle or keg. Seems to have worked so far.

 

-Chris

[Jeremy Reeves]

Nice question!  I think i've done it similarly each time, but never in a specific ritualistic manner.

With the exception of one time, I have waited a good two weeks before dry hopping.  I throw pellet hops straight into the carboy.  I think i have both racked into a secondary and left the beer in primary when doing so.  I have dry hopped for as little as 4 days, but usually no more than 7 days.  On the final day I bottle/keg.

Now recently I heard of some people throwing the hops in while there are still a couple of points left, with the thinking that if the yeast is still active that it will clean up any oxygen that has been introduced.  This makes sense to me, but I have been 'taught' that if the yeast is still active it will gobble up some of the hop profile.  Maybe there is a nice balance of oxygen scrubbing vs hop deterioration that needs to be met?

JER

On Mon, Nov 5, 2012 at 12:15 PM, Kable Wilmoth <ka...@wilmoth.net> wrote:

[Kable Wilmoth]

I have pretty much been doing the same as you (and Chris) but changed lately based on a brewing network podcast which talked about getting yeast out so that you don't loose all your hops with it.

I typically don't 2ndary, but am thinking about adding it back in, just for this dry hop process.  So toward the end of fermentation, (cold crash?), rack off into secondary ontop of my loose pellet hops, (if cold crashed, raise temp again?) then dry hop for 4-5 days, cold crash and keg.

Seems like extra work, but I really love a good dry hop.

Just wanted to get an e-mail discussion going on the topic.

-kable

[Josh Parrish]

I recently dry hopped in the keg for the first time. 

Racked the beer into my keg, and wasn't happy with the beer - too malty, not enough hop. So, threw some loose-leaf hops in a mesh bag and tossed it directly into the keg for 5 day. Tasted it along the way (hard work...) and pulled the hop bag when the hoppiness started to be more pronounced. It worked beter than hoped to balance things out. 

On Mon, Nov 5, 2012 at 12:15 PM, Kable Wilmoth <ka...@wilmoth.net> wrote:

--
Josh Parrish
360-746-0256
key...@gmail.com

[Gary Hardwick]

I bet that the extra work might yield better results, but I doubt that I could actually notice it. 

I'm too lazy and too paranoid to transfer to a secondary. I usually just wait until the the 8th or 9th day of my usual 14 day primary ferment and then I toss in about 25% more hops thinking that some oils will be lost when the yeast settles out. I try not to dry hop for too long as I've heard the flavor can get "grassy", but that grassiness should subside after kegging/bottling . 

I tend to think that 3 weeks in the primary isn't too long so I in the past I've done a cold crash at two weeks then added dry hops for a few days and let the beer warm up, and kegged or bottled when you get around to it. All that beer is gone now so somebody must have liked it.  

I wouldn't cold crash too early. Even if your gravity is not dropping those yeast may still be working and cleaning up your beer. If anything thing I'd warm it up to around 70 then toss your hops in. 

Do a split batch and experiment. 

[Jeremy Reeves]

I have always wondered what effects, if any, large temperature swings would have on my young beer.  For example, fermenting at 65, cold crashing down to 40s or so, free raising back up to room temperature, and then ultimately getting it back down to serving temp (either in a keg or bottle).  The thought process being like Kable said, cold crashing to knock the yeast out, warming to dry hop, cold crashing to knock hops down, warming to condition.  The way I have heard a couple of pro brewers talk about dry hopping leads me to believe the warmer the beer the quicker the dry hop will 'take' and the cooler the beer is the longer it may take.

JER

[Justin Bajema]

I've been dry hopping in the keg.  I throw the hops in a bag, rack the beer into the keg with the hops, and hook up to CO2 and put in the fridge.  I don't bother to remove the hops from the keg.  As I understand it, the risk of extracting vegetal flavors from the hops is much lower at lower temperatures.  And you get to see how the hop aroma changes over the couple weeks that the beer is on tap.

 

- Justin

[Jesse Nickerson]

Great conversation!

Ive got just one option to add...

I think the quantity and time of exposure for ideal hop extraction is too dependent on too many things (beer gravity, profile, temperature, hop age and condition) to say with certainty when enough is enough.

So, ive done the following to allow for the most flexibility.

Clean and sanitize a keg. Add my whole leaf dry hops to the keg in a nylon bag. Seal it up and purge it with CO2. Rack from primary or secondary into the keg through the pick up tube. You can open the emergency valve or use a piece of tubing from the gas post to vent. This fills very gently and (provided your co2 purge was done well) it should be filling with nearly no oxygen contact. Once its filled, youre able to sample from the keg (warm or cold) and when (if) it reaches a point verging on too much hop or too much vegetal character i will counter pressure transfer the beer from one keg to another thats been co2 purged.
Very little oxygen contact and the ability to sample at will, looking for the sweetspot makes this pretty appealing for me.

Jesse

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[Kable Wilmoth]

Jesse,

Do you carbonate the beer in the first keg while dry hopping to get a head start?

Have you ever done this w/ pellet hops or too much of a mess?

-kable

[Gary Hardwick]

I can't imagine temperature changes over a short period having that great of an effect. The end product will be consumed in a few weeks anyway so oxidation and other off flavors due to aging wouldn't be of much concern to me. Oxidation and contamination due to racking into a secondary is a concern, hence why I don't do it. (on top of being lazy) 

When I bottle beer I ferment at 62-64ish, cold crash, bottle, condition at 70 for 2-3 weeks, chill to 36-40ish for a week, and then drink. I haven't noticed any off flavors due to those swings. 

[Jesse Nickerson]

Kable - I have carbonated in the first keg but that is keeping it cold (to make the CO2 for soluble and the reason for doing the next transfer under counter pressure (i.e. into a pressurized keg.) If you prefer to keep the beer warm while dry hopping it might be tough to simultaneously carbonate. I do think the advantage of transferring into a CO2 purged vessel STILL makes this a good choice.

Gary - in terms of the concern over the secondary I see where you're coming from. I tell people at the shop my opinion on secondary fermentation quite a bit:....

It will, without a doubt in my mind, make virtually every beer better.  For some beers, it's close to a requirement (high OG beers like barley wines and imperial insert-style-here type beers.) For most though, we're talking about fairly subtle improvements at the risk of major flaws (contamination and oxidation.) SOooooooo, if you can do it gently and sanitarilly, you should. If you're not sure (or not feeling like doing it - I fall into that "lazy" category too sometimes) then the beer may be better off with an extended primary.

The cool thing about the technique I was describing is that many of us keg our finished beers anyway. So, its really of no extra concern sanitation-wise and all but eliminates the risk of oxidation until the beer is completely drank.

Oh yeah...pellets... My brew kettle uses a little bazooka screen covered pick up tube that clogs like crazy with pellets and no steeping bags. So, generally I use whole leaf hops exclusively (unless there's a variety I can only get as pellets.) For dry hopping though, I feel like pellet hops are more processed than whole leafs and as a result will inevitably fall short on delicate characteristics such as aromatics. So, though they can be harder to cram into a carboy neck and might soak up a more measurable amount of your precious beer, I think they're the better choice for dry hopping. That being said, almost every commercial brewery  uses pellets (even for dry hopping.) I think it's more for logistical and cost concerns though.  I'd be interested to hear what pro brewers thought of strictly the quality of pellets vs whole leaf for dry hopping...

Jesse

[Todd Quessenberry]

For whatever it's worth, my process for dry hopped beers generally looks something like:

Start primary ferment @ 62F, slowly raise to 68F by day 5.

Somewhere between days 7 and 10, rack to secondary, add dry hops (loose pellets), purge carboy w/ CO2, keep holding @ 68F.

After ~5 days on hops, drop temp to 30F for a day or two to crash yeast and hops.

Package.

But most of my beers are malty or sour and not dry hopped, so what do I know ;).

Todd

[Jesse Nickerson]

Is that the process you used on the 17 American Pale Ales you entered in Novembeerfest?

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