ImNewToBrew

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Guys,
Trying to learn a

1) Gypsum: We have a water softener in our house due to very hard municipal water. I would like to try adding a bit of gpysum to my brew this weekend as I read in Papazian's book that this could be helpful. I'm just wondering:

How Much to add?

When do I add it?

Does it alter the taste at all?

2) Dry Hopping: I will be trying to dry hop on this brew (Stone IPA clone) and I'd like to make sure I got it right. I add the Dry hops when I put it into the secondary, is that correct? But I have a few other questions.

Do I simply place the hops into the hop bag and put it into my secondary before transfering from my primary?

Do I need to mix it up at all or just drop it in and let it be?

Does dry hopping change the amount of time you let your beers sit in the primary or secondary? ie. when do you transfer to a secondary, I have left my current beer in the primary for 3 weeks, could I do that and then transfer to secondary to dry hop?

Thanks all in advance for the help.

kgraber

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I don't know the answer to #1 but for #2 you will want to wait until your fermentation is done to transfer to secondary. You can either add your hops directly or put them in a sanitized hop bag and place them in. Do not stir them in, that will oxidate your beer.

TTB-J

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I've never fiddled with my water - so I'll leave that issue for others. I have dry hopped though, so I can answer those questions.

You can put your hops in a bag or just drop them right in. You can do it in primary or secondary. You don't need to mix them up or anything. If you want them to be immersed, just put in a sanitized object that will help the bag sink to the bottom.

Dry hopping should take about 7 - 10 days for the aroma to get worked into the beer. The key is to wait until primary fermentation is complete in order to prevent rising CO2 from pushing off a lot of that sweet, hoppy goodness. At 3 weeks in the primary, your beer has probably completely fermented and is ready to transfer to secondary in order to dry hop. Do so, wait about 7 - 10 days and then bottle that bad boy up.

ImNewToBrew

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Hi,
Anyone have an input on the gypsum question?

Thanks,
Frank