How to dry hop???

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bbriscoe

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I'm making a double IPA that calls for dry hops after 1 week. Its been in the primary a week and I plan to rack to carboy, probably tonight and add the dry hops.

Do I just put them in the hop bag, drop in the carboy, then rack the wort? Or sanitize the bag first somehow?

They LHBS guy said the hop bag was already clean enough (in the plastic) and there wasn't much risk of contamination because there is alcohol in the wort now. Is that true?

I'm also planning to bottle after 12-14 days since reading that a short fermentation/aging is preferable at high temps - and it 115 outside. I can't afford to keep my house at 73 much longer.

But does the temperature after bottling matter much? If so, for how long? I've let my house get up to 90 or so when on vacation and it didn't seem to hurt my older brews I have bottled in storage.
 
Only after one week of fermentation? I would check your hydrometer to see if fermentation has finished up. It's somewhat accepted knowledge that dry hopping during active fermentation results in less aroma because the hop oils get bonded to the yeast settling out.
 
Only after one week of fermentation? I would check your hydrometer to see if fermentation has finished up.

As this guy said, yeah, you should definitely get a reading and check the final gravity to be sure that the beer is done fermenting. Especially since you are making a double IPA.
That said, I don't think I've ever had a brew take longer than 5 days to ferment.
 
it was done. Target is 1.01. It read 1.011 last Tuesday - so my next reading will either confirm that it has quit changing, or it will be at or below the target gravity.m Anyway I dry hopped and I'm waiting for them to settle out so I can bottle. How long does that usually take?
 
I would give it another 2 weeks in the primary. Then rack it call me crazy but don't rush it it ain't Kool Aid...lol
 
I would leave it longer in primary, then add the dry hops for a week (in primary) before sending it to bottle/keg... Call me crazy (you won't be the first) but that's worked very well for me. I'm actually going to be dry hopping an English IPA on Wednesday, that's been in primary for just over a month now. It will sit with the dry hops in it for a week, then it goes to keg.
 
late to the party - what's done is done.
My IPAs (and doubles) sit 3 weeks before I touch 'em. Then I rack to secondary (I've just tossed pellets into the primary, but I don't get the same aroma/flavors - I think the trub absorbs too much). So...I rack to secondary and toss 'em in. Usually for a week, sometimes 2. Then bottle or keg.
 
Def make sure you have a stable FG 1st. Then let it clean up & settle 3-5 days. Then dry hop 1 week & bottle. That's what I've been doing,& it works well.
 
I would give it another 2 weeks in the primary. Then rack it call me crazy but don't rush it it ain't Kool Aid...lol

Why so long? I have temperature issues so I was planning to follow this method:

"If you have trouble controlling your environmental temperature, your best results will come from bottling the beer as soon as possible. Whether using the blow-off, two-stage, or single-stage method, nine (9) days is appropriate, with twelve (12) days being an absolute maximum in the fermenters. This should be a sufficient amount of time for complete fermentation and adequate clarity. The least recommended of the systems is the single stage, due to the large amount of head space above the surface of the beer."

http://www.ebrew.com/primarynews/summer_brewing.htm

and
"The most important things to remember about brewing during the summer are:

1) sanitize everything that comes in contact with the wort/beer

2) prevent contamination by airborne wild yeast and bacteria

3) make all-malt ales at temperatures below 75 degrees

4) be on guard for signs of yeast autolysis

5) bottle in a maximum of 12 days

6) drink up!"

Today is day #13 - so with the above in mind, why wouldn't I go ahead and bottle?
 
Ha!lolz...Ancient history! OMG,is that outdated. That info must be 20 years old. Once you're past initial fermentation,temps aren't quite as critical. Although to be kept in check just the same. But not to the degree where you stop adding hops. Short ferment times were from the days of thinking autolysis was an easily aroused demon. They thought the yeast were dying when they settled to the bottom.
EEEEENGT! wrong! What it all boils down to is,we know better now on many of these subjects. We wouldn't steer you wrong...:mug:
 
Very outdated info.

Really, we aren't going to gain ANYTHING by steering you wrong. We are joyfully sharing our experience so you, too, can make the best brew you can! And over the hundreds of thousands of gallons of home brew made, over the 80,000 members strong here, there's just a little bit of experience. Soak it up!

and read, read, read. You don't know us, you don't have to trust us - but consider that we're sharing because we love the hobby -

Read How To Brew - it's online at howtobrew.com, and that's a first edition - also outdated and old, but furnished free by the author, John Palmer.

Read Charlie Papazian's Complete Joy of Homebrewing - and understand that it, too, is very old (just look at the photos!!!).

Understand that while kit sellers want you to make a good batch, they want you to come back just as quick as you can...so they stay in business. Many of the instructions are sub-optimal.

Also understand that if we got better results rushing things, that would be the FIRST thing you would hear. We, too, are anxious to taste the fruits of our labors. But...we've learned that it's better with time and temp control. So we emphasize that -



Best of luck to you!
 
I just throw the hops in (without a bag.) They'll eventually settle to the bottom.

+1 I whirlpool at the end of chilling and then siphon from the edge of the boil kettle. We don't need no stinkin' hop bags ! :rockin:
 
Def make sure you have a stable FG 1st. Then let it clean up & settle 3-5 days. Then dry hop 1 week & bottle. That's what I've been doing,& it works well.

That's bascially what I've done. FG always reaches target quickly for me. Active fermentation lasted about 2 days, I gave it the entire week to settle out, then racked to carboy and dry hopped on day 7. Today is day 14 (7 days in carboy). I'm hoping to bottle tomorrow before I leave town, so according to you method, I should be good, right?
 
If you got a stable FG,& you tasted no off flavors,sure. Otherwise,it'll need the mentioned 3-5 days to clean up.
 
Yeah - it was at target FG when I dry hopped, tasted good tho not hoppy enough yet, and was clear. Question - does adding hops change the gravity?


Also, what happens if you cold crash after bottling? I can't fit my carboy in the fridge.
 
If you're going to bottle,don't cold crash. The beer will clear up on it's own while conditioning @ room temp in boxes. And with 5-6 days in the fridge,it'll be compacted on the bottom of the bottle.
 
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