Thank you for the ideas. Interesting device!
Update on my brew.
Sparkling Amber LME x 2 at 60 min
Left out 1 lb dextrose called for in recipe..oops.
Partial boil 2 gallons.
Falconer 7Cs at 60/10/5.
Unintentional hop stand, as I chilled my wort outside in the snow, but it took 2-3 hrs to reach 85 degrees (probably a bad thing). I pitched Wyeast British Ale III, as it had already been smacked at brew time and I didn't want to leave it overnight.
Primary ferment x 10 days. Last 3 days SG was 1.02 and not dropping.
Racked to secondary, mostly spent at 68F.
1 oz Galaxy the next day, then 1 oz Cascade the next (no hop bag, right into the carboy, and I would agitate it daily). Total 7 day dry hop. Last two days were a cold crash to 55F. I had planned for 10, but then my local brew shop guy said don't go over 7, so I decided to bottle early.
SG still 1.02. Racked to bottle bucket using a sanitized long nylon bag as a sheath for the siphon- it worked very well. Aromas from the secondary were FANTASTIC! WOW the citrus in those Galaxy hops really comes through. The initial product definitely tasted way better than my first batch at this point. It still has that "homebrewed" taste though. Mistakes were made, but much was learned for the next round.
For my next batch I'm working on the following for a IIPA:
Conan culture from a can of HT.
Full 5 gallon boil- ordered a 3500W induction burner.
Working on a HT clone recipe using extract. Lots of hop combos to choose from.
Maybe a hopshot.
Will do late additions of extract.
Hop additions at 15/10 or 10/5. Goal would be more hop flavor, since aroma will come from the later additions.
Will do a hop stand for 30 min at 165F. I have an immersion chiller now.
Primary ferment in low 60s. Working on a water bath system with PID to keep it where I want.
Will divide up the dry hopping (probably 3 oz) in 3 additions over last 7 days.
Will allow a longer secondary ferment of 14 days total.
Liked the cold crash.
Besides this?
http://www.dogfish.com/company/tangents/randall-the-enamel-animal.htm
Once it's brewed, there isn't much you can do. Dry hopping also suffers from diminishing returns. For a five gallon batch, the difference between 1oz to 2oz of hops for a dry hop should be noticeable. 2oz - 3oz, not nearly as much, and above 3.5oz is pointless. This is from the book "For The Love of Hops" where they talk to various commercial breweries, and I've done calculations converting pounds and barrels to oz/gallons.
They also recommend doing multiple dry hopping for the big hop forward beers. Take your total dry hop amount, split it up into two-three additions, and put each one in for about 2-3 days and remove, putting in the next round of fresh hops.
For a real prominent hop flavor/aroma, look at a hop stand at the end of your boil. On the last Double IPA I made, the aroma just from the hop stand was so wonderful, I couldn't tell if dry hopping actually did anything more.
