Floating Hops

I am dry hopping my IPA in a secondary, using whole leaf Cascade hops. I heard they would eventually sink to the bottom, but a week later they are still floating on top. I tried a very gentle stir, but to no avail.

Any suggestions? How long can I leave the IPA in the secondary?

I've never had my dry hops sink to the bottom. I just rack out from under them.

Mine never sink. I only leave mine in secondary for seven days. My preference though.

Leafs don't usually sink...even with time. But pellets do.

When you siphon your beer off of the dryhops, wrap the bottom of your racking cane with a mesh bag. There's no need to secondary, but I'd say 7-14 days is typical. You could skip the secondary and keep the beer in the primary for 3-4 weeks if you choose to.

bobbrews said:

Leafs don't usually sink...even with time. But pellets do.

When you siphon your beer off of the dryhops, wrap the bottom of your racking cane with a mesh bag. There's no need to secondary, but I'd say 7-14 days is typical. You could skip the secondary and keep the beer in the primary for 3-4 weeks if you choose to.

Click to expand...

My primary is a seven gallon bucket. Does all that air in there (I only brew five gallons at a time) make a difference?

So long as you're not agitating it (stop stirring!) and opening it up to let all the CO2 out, the airspace isn't a big deal. Since it's been poked at and fermentation's likely done now, you'll want to rack it out once the dry hops have done their job. Get it bottled/kegged after 7-14 days on the hops; fresher is better for IPAs anyway!

Arctic-Stranger said:

I am dry hopping my IPA in a secondary, using whole leaf Cascade hops. I heard they would eventually sink to the bottom, but a week later they are still floating on top. I tried a very gentle stir, but to no avail.

Any suggestions? How long can I leave the IPA in the secondary?

Click to expand...

Put a muslin bag or a nylon stocking over the end of your racking cane when you transfer the beer.
You should keep your IPA in the secondary for 1-3 weeks.

The airlock lets most of the CO2 out anyway. You could cover the opening with foil for the duration of fermentation and the pressure in the fermenter would remain at about 14 psi. You don't need the CO2 until you're packaging.

Headspace isnt an issue in the primary, only the secondary. Headspace in the primary can actually be beneficial by creating a denser C02 blanket atop the beer... but those effects are probably better realized when using a carboy vs. a bucket.