top of carboy is hop caked !

So I just did the Houblomonstre tripel IPA from Northern brewer(OG 1.082), which had about 5 oz of hops. After the first day of fermentation, the top(inside) of the carboy was caked with hops. (almost like the underside of a lawnmower) My guess is that the CO2 coming up forced the hops up. Is this normal for a hoppy brew. (only my 3rc batch)

josers said:

So I just did the Houblomonstre tripel IPA from Northern brewer(OG 1.082), which had about 5 oz of hops. After the first day of fermentation, the top(inside) of the carboy was caked with hops. (almost like the underside of a lawnmower) My guess is that the CO2 coming up forced the hops up. Is this normal for a hoppy brew. (only my 3rc batch)

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Did you add more hops to the fermenter, or were those hops just from the boil?

If they're from the boil, don't worry about it. Many people strain their wort to get rid of some of the debris going into the fermenter. I don't usually strain, though, and I have some hops debris in there often.

Yeah it was from the boil, here is the pic to share




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...i had this same thing happen. brew i in secondary keg now. i beleive it is ok as no off smell.... time will tell....

I have a similiar situation but in secondary from dry hopping. I think it is just CO2 forcing the hops up. But this has been steady for 7 days now. I have tasted and no off flavors. So I am not too worried, I just worry that since most of the hops have been on top I won't get the flavors and aroma I was aiming for. But I gently stir daily to get the hops moving throughout my beer. I think it should be fine. I may wait next time before dry hopping, to make sure most excess CO2 is released.

I'm not sure how they are currently affecting your brew, but cool crashing the secondary prior to bottling will fix this problem entirely (at least the effect it will have later). For me, 24 hours of cold crashing (stuck in 34* fridge) is all that's needed.

I wouldn't worry at all. When you siphon ("rack") out of the carboy, you'll leave all that crud behind. Wait until it's finished- it'll also have a nasty brown krausen ring around the top, too. Fermentation isn't pretty!

just racked this in secondary, it is very tasty though it could be more hoppy. Since all that hops was push up and out of the beer i may have lost some of that flavor. I wonder if i should dry hop a couple weeks (or days?) before bottling..

if you can dry hop, then dry hop..got any left?

Try dry hopping with a couple ounces for about a week before bottling. You can also make a hop tea or vodka hop infusion and add it to your bottling bucket and rack on top of it. The latter two will probably get you the best hop aroma/flavor bang for your buck.

The vodka hop infusion sounds interesting. Should one use the same amount of hops as if they were dry hopping? Also, how long to soak in the vodka prior to bottling?

Same amount of hops. And give it 3-7 days of a soak. Then send the solution through a coffee filter and discard the solids.

Awesome idea, I will use the advice. Thanks!!