Dry Hopping - How Long is Too Long?

sfbayjay · 02-25-2011, 10:23 PM

I am planning to do a dry-hopped IPA this week. I've done several dry-hopped batches with great success, but I have a scheduling issue this time around.

I will be away from home for 19 days. My tentative plan is to brew up the beer, give it 7 to 10 days in primary, then add dry hops right before leaving town, letting the hops soak for the whole 19 days I'm gone and then bottle right when I get back.

Questions:

1. Is 19 days too long of a dry-hop period? In past batches I've only left 'em in for about 10 days. Any risk of off flavors by letting things sit for so long?

2. If I go forward with this schedule, it means almost a month between pitching the yeast and bottling. For a "typical" batch, I've been allowing about 3 weeks. Should I have any worries about the quantity/integrity of the yeast to carbonate the beer upon bottling if I wait a month to bottle?

Thanks for any responses!

Squirrels · 02-25-2011, 11:19 PM

I just bottled a stout that had been sitting for 5 weeks in the primary. It tastes great. You should be fine with bottling. Use enough priming sugar and it will work out just fine.

For dry hopping I don't think it would be a problem. Hops really don't go bad if properly stored, you'll just have an extra hopped ale at the end.

**humann_brewing** · 02-25-2011, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squirrels

I just bottled a stout that had been sitting for 5 weeks in the primary. It tastes great. You should be fine with bottling. Use enough priming sugar and it will work out just fine.

For dry hopping I don't think it would be a problem. Hops really don't go bad if properly stored, you'll just have an extra hopped ale at the end.

leaving beer on yeast for a long time is ok in most cased but leave beer with hops at room temp for 5 weeks = not good, have you every cut your lawn and grabbed a fork and eaten out of the mower bag?

At fridge temps, IE: dry hop in the keg you can get away with that.

As to the original guy, 10 days will not get you in trouble with most varieties, in fact I would say 7-10 days is the most common timeline.

**Sea** · 02-25-2011, 11:32 PM

Don't dry-hop for more than 10 days, unless you want your beer to taste like grass, and not the good kind either. As for the time in general, not a problem. I've had ales on the yeast cake for two months with no ill effect.

rjwhite41 · 02-26-2011, 12:32 AM

I've dry hopped for 14 days no problem although 19 would make me a little nervous. Yeast cake no problem.

sfbayjay · 02-26-2011, 01:06 AM

Thanks for the quick responses, everyone! Sounds like I need to re-think my plan. As I suspected, seems like 19 days is pushing it for letting dry hops sit and soak. In past batches I've done 7 days or so of dry hopping with great results, so probably best to stick with what works.

As for the total timeline, seems like I'd be fine bottling after a month -- maybe even longer...

Maybe I could push back brew day, let the batch sit and polish itself up in primary while I'm gone, and then dry hop it when I get back. That would mean something like 3 weeks in primary, then dry hop for 7 or so days, then bottle. Still a month give or take between boil and bottle -- just longer wait before dry hopping.

Any issues with this idea?

Otherwise maybe I'll just do a batch of something w/o dry hopping and save this IPA for a later date...

350_Malibu · 02-26-2011, 01:22 AM

I'm still a little green to brewing, but this "3 weeks in primary, then dry hop for 7 or so days, then bottle" sounds reasonable to me. I would do it just based on what I've read. Or just wait until your back for the IPA.

FWIW I have a IBA in the primary that's been there for 16 days and I am going to dry hop it for 7 days starting tomorrow. Pretty close to what you have there...

Good Luck!

rjwhite41 · 02-26-2011, 04:04 PM

New plan sounds good.

**hope2perc** · 02-26-2011, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sfbayjay

Maybe I could push back brew day, let the batch sit and polish itself up in primary while I'm gone, and then dry hop it when I get back. That would mean something like 3 weeks in primary, then dry hop for 7 or so days, then bottle. Still a month give or take between boil and bottle -- just longer wait before dry hopping.

Perfect.