Dry Hopping in Primary - Mesh Bag or not?

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AnnapolisBrewer

AnnapolisBrewer

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I have decided to forego transferring to a secondary carboy and just leave the brew in the primary bucket. So here is my question:

Should I use a mesh bag for the 3 oz. of hop pellets for the dry hopping or should I open the lid and just throw them in.

BTW- Its a 5 gallon batch of Ferocious from Midwest Supplies.

It has been fermenting for 7 days now.
 
When I dry hop I just drop the pellets and they float. Put them in 3-7 days before you bottle.
A hop bag would be easy too.
It's a love/hate flavour. Use it with full bodied beers so the flavour won't be perceived as overwhelming. I have noticed that true ale lovers love the dry hopped taste. Lager drinkers always make a screwed up face and say: "It has an aftertaste" (ie. what the f@#% is that unfamiliar flavour). 3 ounces of dry hopping will impact a strong dry hopped taste that some love and some can't stand.
Oh, and one more thing. If the hops are loose, they'll descend to the bottom but you'll get some little "floaties" in the beer (no problem, just little hop bits)
Enjoy!
 
Just open the lid and throw them in there. No bag needed and no reason to introduce anything that doesn't need to be there.

I'd also wait a bit longer. Give it some more time. Check and make sure the gravity is stable and then toss the hops in there. Leave them for a week atleast.. Or to taste, whichever. I regularly have dry hopped for 2-3 weeks in some cases... Toss an ounce, then another ounce a week later, and the another ounce and then keg it/bottle it. Some say they get a grassy flavor, I've yet to experience that.
 
Awesome. Thanks everyone for the advice. I'm going to wait a few more days then just throw them in and let them work their magic. I love this forum.
 
After trying pellet & raw hops loose or in bags,I've found bags make for a lot less hassle later. I wait till the beer has settled out clear or slightly misty before dry hopping in primary. Maybe 3-4 weeks. No more than 1oz pellets in hop sacks,1oz raw in grain bag due to larger wet volume.
Dry hop 1 week to 10 days is a common average that works quite qwell for me.:mug:
 
You can bag them but you don't have to. One thing I've done is toss them in and then wrap a big nylon mash bag around the end of the siphon when racking- I used both leaf and pellets that time though. Pellets alone fall out decently. Add them as late as possible though, the last 5-7 days before you bottle or keg.
 
AnnapolisBrewer said:
Day 11 huh? I will take the advise thanks! Why does the instructions for the batch say to dry hop between days 5-7?
Click to expand...

Don't go by instructions for when to add. Just because your airlock stopped bubbling doesn't mean you're done fermenting. After 7 days take a hydrometer sample. Then two or three days later take another sample. If the gravity is the same (stable) fermentation is done. if you leave it alone for a little bit longer it will clear up...then add the hops.
 
Waited until day 15 to throw in the hops. Used the thief and took a taste. Good taste but it seemed a little thick. Is this normal?
 
could just be suspended yeast. wait until it's packaged and carbed before making a judgement
 
Dry hops are working their magic right now. They have been in there since Tuesday night (4 days ago). Im going to wait until they have been in there for at least 7 days before bottling. Any votes against that?

I drank a few of my first brew yesterday. It was an Autumn Amber Ale that I bottled 3.5 weeks ago. Awesome head on the beer. No floaties and no yeast cake in the bottom. I had substituted Bramling Cross hops during the boil. The beer tastes just like Fat Tire. I am so happy that my first batch was not a flop.

This is a credit to all of you on here any your awesome and timely advice. Thanks again everyone!!!!
 
I've found that the "sweet spot" for the best flavor and aroma from dryhopping seems to be by packaging on day 5 of dryhopping. Going 7 days won't hurt, though. I just prefer 3-5 days.
 
Yooper said:
I've found that the "sweet spot" for the best flavor and aroma from dryhopping seems to be by packaging on day 5 of dryhopping. Going 7 days won't hurt, though. I just prefer 3-5 days.
Click to expand...

Totally agree- it doesn't take long for the oils to dissolve into solution. Takes a little longer if you do it at crash temperatures but most people don't.
 
Sir-Hops-A-Lot said:
When I dry hop I just drop the pellets and they float. Put them in 3-7 days before you bottle.
A hop bag would be easy too.
It's a love/hate flavour. Use it with full bodied beers so the flavour won't be perceived as overwhelming. I have noticed that true ale lovers love the dry hopped taste. Lager drinkers always make a screwed up face and say: "It has an aftertaste" (ie. what the f@#% is that unfamiliar flavour). 3 ounces of dry hopping will impact a strong dry hopped taste that some love and some can't stand.
Oh, and one more thing. If the hops are loose, they'll descend to the bottom but you'll get some little "floaties" in the beer (no problem, just little hop bits)
Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Dry hopping shouldnt effect the IBU's much at all if any, it will add to the flavor a bit and definately the aroma though.
 
So I bottled the other day. I only ended up with 42 bottles. There was so much trub it was ridiculous. I did, however, taste the beer and it was wonderful and has such aroma to it. FANTASTIC!

I think next time I will try putting a filter over the inner part of the spigot in the bottling bucket and I might use a mesh bag for the dry hops.

I can't wait to try one of them. Only two months until I drink the first one!
 
AnnapolisBrewer said:
So I bottled the other day. I only ended up with 42 bottles. There was so much trub it was ridiculous. I did, however, taste the beer and it was wonderful and has such aroma to it. FANTASTIC!

I think next time I will try putting a filter over the inner part of the spigot in the bottling bucket and I might use a mesh bag for the dry hops.

I can't wait to try one of them. Only two months until I drink the first one!
Click to expand...

I put a paint strainer bag over the end of my autosiphon (over the racking cane if that is what you use) and secure it with a rubber band. That kept the hop debris from ever reaching the bottling bucket. I didn't do this the first time and clogged my bottling wand with hop debris.
 
RM-MN said:
I put a paint strainer bag over the end of my autosiphon (over the racking cane if that is what you use) and secure it with a rubber band. That kept the hop debris from ever reaching the bottling bucket. I didn't do this the first time and clogged my bottling wand with hop debris.
Click to expand...

That is an awesome idea. That was the issue I had too. The bottling wand kept getting clogged and I finally just said "screw it" when I got to the 42nd bottle. Enough was enough with battling the trub.

Thanks for the knowledge!!
 
RM-MN said:
I put a paint strainer bag over the end of my autosiphon (over the racking cane if that is what you use) and secure it with a rubber band. That kept the hop debris from ever reaching the bottling bucket. I didn't do this the first time and clogged my bottling wand with hop debris.
Click to expand...

Just what happened to me the last dry hopped beer. Drove me crazy it took so long to bottle and I only had 16 to bottle.

I made a paper cone and poured the hop pellets in the air lock hole then replace the air lock. I will wrap something around my autosiphon next time. It was my GERMAN Imperial IPA which is almost ready to sample.

W/my German heritage I love to take an English recipe and use German grain, hops and yeast if can. :mug:
 

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