Dry Hop Question

I brewed up an IPA last weekend that I am planning on dry hopping in primary with 2-3 oz of Cascade. In the past Ive just tossed them in but this time around I'm experimenting with filtering the hop material out to make bottling a bit easier. For dry hopping, If I place them in a hop bag and attach a string (for removing the bag) do I need to weigh them down with someting (ive read ppl use marbles etc.) or can I just toss the bag in and it will eventually sink to the bottom as the hops absorb the beer...What are your experiences?

thanks

what are you using pellets or whole hops ?

I just buy a window sheer (curtain) for wallys and cut it into squares

put my pellets in a square so they have room to expand (which they will) and tie it with a string

then drop that into the keg or primary for dry hopping

I just let them float around but I am sure that is whatever you want to do

all the best

S_M

One annoyance of using a hop bag is that if you do it in a carboy, it can be difficult to get the bag out. The pellets will expand as they absorb liquid, and the neck of many carboys is quite narrow. If I know a beer is going to have a serious dry hop (or fruit, or whatever), I use a plastic bucket instead.

As for weighing, yeah a few marbles or rocks or whatever (sanitized!) isn't a bad idea. I haven't conducted any controlled studies, however.

Thanks guys.....forgot to mention that I'll be using pellets and a bucket for primary.

I've used both muslin and nylon bags and had success (and no problems) with both. I use a couple bolts from the "create a bolt" set I got when I bought I for my SS washers for my cooler MLT conversion for weighing down.

I never had a problem getting pellets out, especially since it is the consistency of wet sand afterwards.

I use pellets all the Time and just throw them in. When I rack out I simply place a muslin bag over the end of the cane acting as a filter, no hop debris during transfer

What is the recommended length of time to leave dry hops in before kegging to get the most out of them? Is one week too short?

Finchy said:

What is the recommended length of time to leave dry hops in before kegging to get the most out of them? Is one week too short?

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I like 5-7 days at room temp.

When dry-hopping in the keg, is there any advantage sinking them to bottom or letting them float at top in hop bag? I would be concerned with the hops getting stuck in the dip tube when pouring beer? Will the bag without marbles or any other weight sink eventually anyway?

Khrushka said:

When dry-hopping in the keg, is there any advantage sinking them to bottom or letting them float at top in hop bag? I would be concerned with the hops getting stuck in the dip tube when pouring beer? Will the bag without marbles or any other weight sink eventually anyway?

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You can use a tea ball. I like the finer mesh/screen ones versus larger holes.

From experience I can tell you DO NOT use anything steel to weight down your hop bag, unless you are 100% positive it is stainless! Otherwise the 'I' in IPA will stand for a distinct iron taste. I use marbles for sinking, tie a piece of fishing line to the bag, and learned that dry hopping with a bag in a bucket is exponentially easier than doing it in a carboy as pulling out the bag is a huge PITA. BUT, BUT, this last big ipa I double dry hopped in the carboy has HUGE hop flavor and I would have to say it is from the difficulty of pulling the hop bag back out...in the struggle the hops were completely squeezed of all liquid. As I am just thinking about it, this may be similar to how a hop rocket works.....hmmm.