Dry Hopping/Bulk Aging Question...

BrewSwag 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Pelikan

Pelikan

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2008
Messages
901
Reaction score
15
Location
Q Continuum
I'm going to be doing a double bastard clone pretty soon. It needs to be dry hopped, but I also wanted to keep it in the secondary for about 3ish week for bulk aging purposes.

My question is this: most dry hopping regimes recommend approx. 2 weeks or less contact time in the secondary. Would there be any issue with me keeping the brew on the hops for about three weeks?
 
I wouldn't do that. I'd rack to secondary and let it age a bit, then add the dry hops. I don't like to dry hop more than about a week to 10 days. Sometimes certain hops can taste "grassy" (notably cascade) when left for too long.
 
+1. Let the beer age in the secondary - add the dry hops 7 to 10 days before bottling. I have ruined some beers by leaving the dry hops in too long - that made them lawnmower beers - because they tasted like grass clippings.
 
The other consideration for shorter dry hopping times, less aroma loss before bottling.
 
I have done 16 days with no negative effects. I used to do 14 days, but think I will cut this down a bit.

The BYO article with the Stone article said 5 - 7 days was peak I believe.

I have never experienced "grassy" flavors from dry hopping though, so I can't say for sure how long is too long.
 
I know that 4 weeks is too long. I dry hop in the keg, leave for 7-10 days, and CO2 transfer to another keg.

I tried leaving a weighted hop bag in the keg twice, and got a rather strong "vegetable" flavor in the beer.

I suppose I could just drink it faster, too.
 
Hmmm....it's going to be a PITA to rack it to secondary, then add the hops later, so I guess I'll just keep it in the primary for a bit longer -- maybe 4-5 weeks -- then rack to secondary on top of hops for a week.
 

Similar threads

yard_bird
Bulk Aging Imperial Stout
Replies
2
Views
423
sibelman
sibelman
MaxStout
The "short & cool" dry hop method (Janish) - applied to bottle conditioning
Replies
7
Views
2K
minmaxx77
M
MaxStout
Dry hopping: diacetyl, then no diacetyl
Replies
3
Views
1K
VikeMan
VikeMan
B
Fermentation Under Pressure & Dry Hopping
Replies
6
Views
600
McMullan
McMullan
CyberFox
No aroma from 6 oz dry hop. What gives?!
Replies
38
Views
4K
CyberFox
CyberFox
SSBrew 300

Latest posts

Back
Top