Dry hopping without a secondary?

Is it possible to dry hop without a secondary? I am about to start my very first brew, a Bell's Two Hearted clone from AHS (as suggested to me on this site). I wasn't planning on using a secondary, but the recipe calls for dry hopping in the secondary. Is it possible for me to dry hop without the secondary? If not, would skipping the dry hopping have a major negative effect on the brew?

Thanks in advance.

It shouldn't have any major negative effect. I haven't done that before, but I am actually about to do it tonight. Just make sure primary fermentation is over. I also waited for the krausen to fall.

MTpilot said:

It shouldn't have any major negative effect. I haven't done that before, but I am actually about to do it tonight. Just make sure primary fermentation is over. I also waited for the krausen to fall.

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Thanks. The recipe says to leave in the primary for 5-7 days, transfer to secondary, add dry hops and bottle after another 5-7 days.

My plan is to leave in primary until hydrometer says fermentation is done (probably around a week), add dry hops and bottle about a week or so later.

Hopefully that won't screw things up too much.

It definitely will not screw up the beer. Bottling after two weeks will make for lots of yeast in the bottles, but even that isn't a big deal.

Works fine.

This is how I do it. After about 10 days most of the fermentation is done. Airlock activity is minimal. This is when I add the dry hops. Then I let it sit for at least 2 weeks and then I keg it (or bottle in you case). Though somtimes I just let it sit for 3 weeks or so and then I dry hop in the keg.

If you can let it sit for a little more time than you are propsing it will do 2 things. Improve the flavor of the beer overall, and give the hops/yeast more time to settle before you bottle.

Waiting is hard but it is worth it.

knights of Gambrinus said:

Works fine.

This is how I do it. After about 10 days most of the fermentation is done. Airlock activity is minimal. This is when I add the dry hops. Then I let it sit for at least 2 weeks and then I keg it (or bottle in you case). Though somtimes I just let it sit for 3 weeks or so and then I dry hop in the keg.

If you can let it sit for a little more time than you are propsing it will do 2 things. Improve the flavor of the beer overall, and give the hops/yeast more time to settle before you bottle.

Waiting is hard but it is worth it.

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I think that I can manage some extra wait time. I will at least try.

I actually use a similar technique for my dry hopped beers. I wait for the beer to ferment and the krausen to fall in the primary, then I add the hops. After 7 to 10 days I transfer the beer to a secondary leaving the trub and hops behind. I then give the beer a couple weeks in the secondary to clear before bottling. This ensures I have less yeast sediment and hops residue in the bottles.

There should be no problem with going straight to the bottle except it may not be as clear.
If you skip the dry hop the beer will be different but not in a bad way. It will just have less hops aroma and flavor. There will still be plenty of hops just not quite as strong aroma and maybe not quite as fresh smelling.

Craig

Thanks for advice, everyone. I have a quick follow up. The kit calls for the use of Centennial hops, but the kit actually came with mostly Amarillo hops, I assume to AHS being out of stock of the Centennial.

Is there is reason to think that one hop or the other should be used in the initial brew and one saved for the dry hop? I only have an oz. of the Centennial, so should I mix the Centennial and the Amarillo and dry hop with Amarillo, or should I brew with all the Amarillo and dry hop with the Centennial?

Or, does it not matter that much?

Thanks again.

Both will work very nicely for dry hopping. Centennial is generally a higher %AA so you might want to use that for the initial bittering charge. The amarillo is a very distinctive flavor and aroma hop that I enjoy very much. You are lucky to have it actually. Amarillo and centennial are going to be much harder to come by.

Both are related to cascade and possess similar citrusy characters. Especially grapefruit.

enjoy.

knights of Gambrinus said:

Both will work very nicely for dry hopping. Centennial is generally a higher %AA so you might want to use that for the initial bittering charge. The amarillo is a very distinctive flavor and aroma hop that I enjoy very much. You are lucky to have it actually. Amarillo and centennial are going to be much harder to come by.

Both are related to cascade and possess similar citrusy characters. Especially grapefruit.

enjoy.

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Excellent. Thanks for the advice!

When it comes to hops for the next 24 months, just try it. If you dsecide to grow some hops, mak eone of them any of the USA "C" hops (Centennial, Cascade, Cetcetera), and the other one a low alpha (<5%) euro variety, EKG, Saaz, whatever.

One of them should grow well in your home area code, amd you will likely be looking for some of each anyway.