Dry hopping a lager

jgourd · 03-21-2010, 05:33 PM

So I'm going to dry hop a pilsner soon. It's fermenting well at 50F. Once I reach about 70% through the primary fermentation, I'll increase the temp to about 60F for the diacetyl rest until fermentation is complete. I'll then rack to secondary. When should I dry hop? And at what temps?

I figure I have 2 options:
(1) Rack on top of the hops in the secondary and leave this at 50F for a week. Then rack again and lager at 32F for 3+ weeks.
(2) Rack on top of the hops in the secondary and lager at 32F for 3+ weeks.

Whatcha think?

**greenbirds** · 03-21-2010, 08:06 PM

I have never dry hopped a lager, but have one in the planning stages... I've read that most breweries prefer to dry hop at warmer temperatures. Following that, I think the simplest approach would dry hop your primary near the very end of the diacetyl rest for 5-7 days, then rack to secondary and lager.

RushN24 · 03-28-2010, 05:06 AM

I read, I believe in a recent issue of BYO, that dry hopping is best done at warm fermentation temperatures 60-65F.

jgourd · 03-29-2010, 01:46 PM

So then I'll dry hop right after the diacetyl rest and my FG (or very near it) has been reached. I suspect I should rack to secondary on top of the hops? Meaning I shouldn't dry hop in the primary. In that case, I'll have to rack to ternary (?) for lagering. Good thing I just bought extra Better Bottles!

**greenbirds** · 03-29-2010, 06:11 PM

I don't see the problem with dry hopping in the primary. An extra week on the yeast cake is not going to hurt it, in my opinion. But a tertiary is always an option if you'd like to go that route.

jgourd · 03-29-2010, 06:14 PM

OK. I made a large yeast starter for this batch, and the krausen is still on top, even after primary fermentation is done (confirmed by my hydrometer). I can skim it off and add hops for 4-7 days or so, or maybe I'll just rack to secondary on top of the hops. Thanks.