Dry hopping in primary?

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burningbushbrew

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This is my first time dry hopping and I am going to dry hop my amber ale and I really never use a secondary so can I just add whole hops to the primary? Does that cause a problem the racking? And how much should I use for a 5 gallon batch ?
 
I did a dry hop on an red ale a few weeks ago. Just tossed the 1 oz. of pellets into the primary and let it sit for 2 more weeks. Cost me about 3 bottles of my 5 gal batch when I bottled this week due to the increased amount of trub in the better bottle. I still don't know how it changed the taste as the bottles need to sit for a few weeks. Msg me in 3 weeks and I will let you know how much different it was from the non dry hopped batch I made this summer. And yes, racking had to be watched carefully like using a yeast that does not floc. well.
 
You can dry hop in your primary as long as your not planning on reusing the yeast cake (I use secondary out of habit more than anything). Wait until its at final gravity (finished fermenting) of course before you add your hops. Put the hops in a muslin bag instead of just dumping them in and you shouldn't have any problems racking off.

What kind of beer is it? You could use anywhere from .25oz to >1lb.......... your beer, your call. The single greatest thing about home brew!
 
So this more of a question on dry hopping. So do you do this in place of adding the hops during the wart process? If so does it give a diffrent flavor like more of an IPA?
 
Dry hopping is typically additional to a typical hop schedule, however some will use it in place of a 5min or flame out addition. Dry hops will give stronger hop aroma and taste but no bitterness.
 
No I had several hop infusion in the boil I just love hops and want to get a little flavor and mostly aroma. I am using a carboy so I can't really use a bag :/ is there an alternative?
 
My last batch I used part of the boil bag to use as a screen to filter out the hops with the siphon I have. It worked pretty good may wont to try that if you are going to just toss the hops in.
 
I dry hop in primary all the time and I use whole leaf hops and I just throw them in and have no issues with racking or with my auto siphon. You can simply put them in the carboy slowly by hand. First wash your hands well and rinse well and dry with clean towel. Whole leafs can be a pain in a carboy cause you have to do them slowly. (I use buckets, cheap and easy to clean, seal well and are easy for an old man like me to move on a cart.) Amount to use will depend on you and what your looking for. In my IPA's I have used up two ounces. Amber ales not so much but it is your beer use what you want. Let it sit for 7 days before packaging -- well that is what I like to do.
 
i was just going to actually ask this question today because ive got a red ipa i just made that needs to be dry hopped but i dont have any free fermenters for secondaries so i was just going to dry hop in the primary and keg them next week... seems like it shouldnt be an issue then,

i'm using pellets so i'm just going to toss them in and put a muslin bag around my racking cane when i siphon into the kegs.
 
BrewerinBR said:
I dry hop in primary all the time and I use whole leaf hops and I just throw them in and have no issues with racking or with my auto siphon. You can simply put them in the carboy slowly by hand. First wash your hands well and rinse well and dry with clean towel. Whole leafs can be a pain in a carboy cause you have to do them slowly. (I use buckets, cheap and easy to clean, seal well and are easy for an old man like me to move on a cart.) Amount to use will depend on you and what your looking for. In my IPA's I have used up two ounces. Amber ales not so much but it is your beer use what you want. Let it sit for 7 days before packaging -- well that is what I like to do.
Click to expand...

Awesome! Sound advice, much appreciated
 
I just dry hopped a pale in the primary. Two ounces of pellets, no bags. After 5 days, I cold crashed and the beer was as clear as can be. I also washed the yeast without any issues.
 
etrain666 said:
I just dry hopped a pale in the primary. Two ounces of pellets, no bags. After 5 days, I cold crashed and the beer was as clear as can be. I also washed the yeast without any issues.
Click to expand...

Hmmm. Why wouldn't you rack to a secondary if planning on dry hopping and reusing the yeast? Sounds a little counter intuitive, but I guess if it works, go for it. Don't think I'd pitch it in anything other than a Pale or IPA though. Or do you feel you were able to wash it well enough to use otherwise?
 
Lots of dryhops can clog up your siphon, but careful racking is all that's needed.

I suggest starting the siphon in the middle of the beer, and then lowering the racking cane down as the level of the beer drops.

If you're not all that proficient with racking, hops bags (sanitized first, of course) work just fine.

Here's a photo of a couple of my carboys (towel is off just for the photo!):
DSCN0251.jpg
 
501irishred said:
Hmmm. Why wouldn't you rack to a secondary if planning on dry hopping and reusing the yeast? Sounds a little counter intuitive, but I guess if it works, go for it. Don't think I'd pitch it in anything other than a Pale or IPA though. Or do you feel you were able to wash it well enough to use otherwise?
Click to expand...

I avoid racking to secondary to reduce the chance of oxidation, also, I like give the yeast as much time as possible to clean up the beer. I am able to wash the yeast and get one mason jar of pure white stuff. Perhaps I could get more if the hops were not there.
 

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