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TheCrackpot · 12-12-2012, 10:52 PM

Well....

It's been almost 2 years. Still in secondary?

cortez90 · 12-17-2012, 04:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheCrackpot

Well....

It's been almost 2 years. Still in secondary?

I bet not.

TheCrackpot · 12-18-2012, 01:55 AM

I kid, of course.

For what it's worth, after thinking about this for a while, I decided to try something when I dry hopped a batch last week.

I filled a bowl with hot tap water (122F) and put two ounces of hops in the water and let them soak for 15 min. I left them sealed in the packages. My thinking was that gently warming them up before using them would sort of activate the aromatic oils. In keeping them dry while doing this, I thought I might avoid some of the harsh, grassy flavors that some people report when making hop teas and whatnot.

I bottled this brew on Sunday and it smelled and tasted great. Without a control to compare it to, I'll never know for sure if this has a positive effect. I'll wait and see how it tastes when conditioned. However, this was such an easy step to add, I'll probably keep doing it.

**cheezydemon3** · 12-18-2012, 03:14 PM

There might be a problem with hot tap water containing bacteria from the water heater, but I doubt it.

TheCrackpot · 12-18-2012, 05:36 PM

I left the hops sealed in the packages so the hops themselves never touched the tap water. So really i used dry heat to warm them up. I'd considered throwing them in the microwave for a few seconds or warming them in a pan but both options made me too nervous. This was a painless, mess free way to get them warmed up after spending a few weeks in the freezer. Like I said, I don't know for sure how much of, if any, positive effect this has. The hops did seem a lot more aromatic when I opened the packages than they do when I just let them sit out of the freezer for a few hours before hopping. However, I didn't do a side by side so that's just anecdotal.

**cheezydemon3** · 12-18-2012, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheCrackpot

I left the hops sealed in the packages so the hops themselves never touched the tap water. So really i used dry heat to warm them up. I'd considered throwing them in the microwave for a few seconds or warming them in a pan but both options made me too nervous. This was a painless, mess free way to get them warmed up after spending a few weeks in the freezer. Like I said, I don't know for sure how much of, if any, positive effect this has. The hops did seem a lot more aromatic when I opened the packages than they do when I just let them sit out of the freezer for a few hours before hopping. However, I didn't do a side by side so that's just anecdotal.

....seriously????lol. I wouldn't imagine they would stay warm after going into the wort.

I boiled maybe 3 cups water, let it cool to 160 or so, soaked the hops in the hot water, dump in secondary.

TheCrackpot · 12-19-2012, 01:23 AM

I guess they stayed warm just a little less time than yours did.

How did your method turn out?

Is that still how you add hops to the fermenter?

With how hard it is becoming to get some of my favorite aroma hops at a decent price (or at all), I've been interested in ways to maximize my dry hop additions.

**cheezydemon3** · 12-19-2012, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheCrackpot

I guess they stayed warm just a little less time than yours did.

How did your method turn out?

Is that still how you add hops to the fermenter?

With how hard it is becoming to get some of my favorite aroma hops at a decent price (or at all), I've been interested in ways to maximize my dry hop additions.

I actually steep them for 10 min or so covered, but not boiling, not fermenting, and get tons of aroma from it.

Warm WET (dry) hopping might extract a hint of betterness, but probably not.

Re-using those hops from secondary for bittering are unquestionably the way to recycle.

TheCrackpot · 12-20-2012, 05:32 PM

Well that was what I was waiting to hear from you and the reason I responded to this thread. I had been thinking about steeping the hops in hot water and then adding the fluid and hops to the fermenter. All I seemed to come across were people warning not to do this so I wanted to hear how well it worked for you.

You say that you recycle your dry hops for use as bittering. To do this you must be bagging your dry hops. Right?

If so, I'm interested in the technique you use to get them into the bag while still using the hoppy liquid.

**cheezydemon3** · 12-21-2012, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheCrackpot

Well that was what I was waiting to hear from you and the reason I responded to this thread. I had been thinking about steeping the hops in hot water and then adding the fluid and hops to the fermenter. All I seemed to come across were people warning not to do this so I wanted to hear how well it worked for you.

You say that you recycle your dry hops for use as bittering. To do this you must be bagging your dry hops. Right?

If so, I'm interested in the technique you use to get them into the bag while still using the hoppy liquid.

I have NOT done that, I merely said that it would be the best way to cut costs and recycle.

If I was to do it, I would syphon my fermented beer off of the hops and toss them straight into the boil.

Saving them, even frozen sounds iffy for some reason.