A few questions about dry hop and fermenting temps.

Hello, I fairly new around here and new to AG brewing. I have only brewed two extract batches prior and this Sunday (9-Dec) I will be brewing my first all grain batch. I have a few questions though.

I will be brewing a SN Pale Ale clone and would like to dry hop it. My questions arise due to the dry hopping and the fact that I will be going out of town for the holidays.

I plan on sitting in primary for about 7 days then moving to secondary around 16-Dec. I will be out of town from the 22-30 of December. While I am out of town, the house temperature will be around 60° (64-65° during primary). My question is, when should I dry hop? Before I leave or once I get back? How long does one usually dry hop for? Is the 60° okay while I am gone?

Thanks!!

Here's what I'd do if it were me:

Leave it in the primary. Once the beer clears (prob ~day 10-12), add the dry hops while you have a warm house. Then leave them in while you're gone. 8 days at 60° will be absolutely fine. Then it should be ready to bottle when you return.

TyTanium said:

Here's what I'd do if it were me:

Leave it in the primary. Once the beer clears (prob ~day 10-12), add the dry hops while you have a warm house. Then leave them in while you're gone. 8 days at 60° will be absolutely fine. Then it should be ready to bottle when you return.

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+1. There's no reason to put this beer into a secondary, especially at day 7.

That sounds like a good plan but I have to use a plastic bucket for primary. I will not have my 6.5 gallon carboy yet...that's why I was planning on moving it to secondary (5 gallon glass carboy).

There's nothing wrong with plastic buckets. I use them a lot. I've left beers in them for months with no problems.

Alright, thanks for the help/advice!