Dry Hopping - can you dry hop for to long?

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victorbmellow

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What are the effects of dry hopping longer than planned?
I have a recipe where I planned on dry hopping for 5 days, but it ended up dry hopping for 8.
Can you go too long? I've seen recipes that dry hop for 10 days.
 
Quick answer is that you'll be fine. You'll have just a very Tad bit more aroma in the beer. I believe the British brewers that shipped beers to the east India trading Co had their ales dry hopped for months and ipa's were known to cellar for years. So it may be possible to dry hop safely for a very long time.
 
Have to agree with annasdadhockey here. After two weeks or so, you run risks of grassy type flavors. This may or may not be a flaw for you.
 
My younger brother had some beer that had lots of hops in it that he sort of forgot about for about six months!
It was actually very good when he finally got it into bottles.

I would say that it depends on the hops and what you like.
In my brothers case, I would think that if there were any ill effects from the long term hopping time mellowed it out.
 
Usually you will get some grassy, vegetal type flavors after 14 days or so.

Have to agree with annasdadhockey here. After two weeks or so, you run risks of grassy type flavors.

This is not true. I dry hop in the keg and leave it in there until it's empty, sometimes up to 6 weeks and never had any "grassy, vegetal" flavors.
 
This is not true. I dry hop in the keg and leave it in there until it's empty, sometimes up to 6 weeks and never had any "grassy, vegetal" flavors.

+1 I think the grassy thing is a myth, at least pertaining to time. I've seen some data suggest temperature may be more correlated, but nothing conclusive, IMO.

I've gotten grassy/vegetal from squeezing my dry hop bag though, a number of times. Beer tastes like you have an entire hop cone in your mouth.
 
When I dry hopped in fermenter, I usually went about a week. Good results, but faded pretty fast (2oz and 3oz were tried). Since kegging I've simply been adding a nylon bag o' hops to the keg before it goes into the brew fridge for chilling and serving (when I want a dry hop addition). I leave the bag of hops in the keg for the duration, so it could be in there for 6-8 weeks. Keep in mind, this is at about 40F after the first 24 hours (time to chill it in the past).

So, if you're kegging, I would simply add the whole hops (or pellet hops) in a [sanitized] nylon hop bag to the keg right before you put it in to chill and carbonate. I would also go with the slow forced carbonation method (2-3 weeks at temperature and pressure) with this. That will give the dry hop addition the time needed to fully get into the brew. :rockin:
 
bja said:
It is, and people keep repeating it without having any personal experience.

Not necessarily, IMO it comes down to the hops used, duration of time and taste threshold of the drinker.

I prefer beers that are hopped for 5-7 days. I've had beers hopped for 14 days with certain hops that impart grassy, vegetal flavor but others with different hops that are delicious. I do believe it can become a concern that is worth noting
 
Not necessarily, IMO it comes down to the hops used, duration of time and taste threshold of the drinker.

I prefer beers that are hopped for 5-7 days. I've had beers hopped for 14 days with certain hops that impart grassy, vegetal flavor but others with different hops that are delicious. I do believe it can become a concern that is worth noting

In this case the "grassy, vegetal flavor" is specific to the type of hops used, not from dry hopping for too long.
 
So here is my 2cents FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.

I made 10gallons of a hoppy west coast red. The first 5gallons I dry hopped with 1oz Cascade 1oz Citra and bottled 10 days after dry hopping. The second 5gallons I dry hopped the same way, but I didnt get around to racking off the hops for about 3 weeks.

The first 5gallons was great. The second 5 was NOT. The second batch that sat on the hops for 3 weeks tasted grassy (not in a fresh hoppy good way, but in an astringent bad way) and had a flavor and aroma that reminded me of a mulch pile or the smell that comes out of a trashcan with yard trimmings in it.

I think those of you who are dry hopping in the keg have the benefit of preservation from the cold temps inside your fridge, which probably keep the hops from imparting these flavors.
 
bja said:
In this case the "grassy, vegetal flavor" is specific to the type of hops used, not from dry hopping for too long.

Pretty poor reasoning as some of these same hops were used for shorter periods of time with no ill effects resulting
 
And what are the specific hops that have grassy, vegetal flavor?
 
I've brewed hundreds of dryhopped American IPAs and IIPAs. The longest period I dryhopped was only 14 days. I usually hover around a median of 8-12 days, and found no benefit of a lesser 3-5 day dryhop by comparison. I have used both pellets and leaf hops. Dryhop temps. are typically 64-72 F. I've done it in both the primary and secondary. And I have never experienced a grassy, vegetal, green character from these beers.

With that said, I tend to primarily use American, high alpha, Pacific Northwest hops like Citra, Amarillo, Simcoe, Centennial, Chinook, Horizon, Columbus, Apollo, Nugget, Summit, etc. - These beers are always either quite fruity, citrusy, tropical, dank, resiny, floral, or all/some of the above.

However, perhaps you could get some of that vegetalness by dryhopping for an extended period with a hop that isn't necessarily great for dryhopping with like Perle, Magnum, or any of the other Noble, European varietals. I never bother with these hops late in the boil for my IPAs.
 
I've never dry hopped for more than 14 days, so I haven't had grassy flavors in my brew from dry hopping too long. However, I've tasted beers in homebrew clubs where a grassy flavor is noticable, and those beers have typically been dry hopped for a longer period of time. This is my experience, so I've seen grassy flavors come out of dry hopping too long (of which 8 days shouldn't be an issue).

I have HEARD that dry hopping in your keg reduces the likelihood of grassy flavors because of the cold temperature, but I haven't tried it yet.
 
bja said:
Good question because I guess I've never used those ones.

Honestly can't answer the question as to what hops were used. It's just something I experienced in tastings of others beers in club meetings and such where extended periods of dry hopping was done. As I previously stated I'm one to go 5-7 days and very rarely have pushed 10.
 
For those of you who have AND have never experienced big grassy flavors (supposedly from an extended dryhop):

*How long are these beers fermenting AND conditioning prior to adding the dryhops?

*What specific hops are you using in the boil and the dryhop?

*Roughly how many total IBUs Tinseth do these beers contain?

*How much total kettle hops are you using (minus the dryhops) per 5 gallon batch?

*How old are the dryhops?

*What ratio of dryhops per oz. / per gallon of beer are you adding?

*Are you careful to avoid oxygenation when adding your dryhops?

*What temp. do you dryhop at?

*Are you heavy handed on your 90/60/45/30 minute additions? And light handed on your 15/10/5/0/DH additions?

*Do you experience grassiness after hopbursting with a ton of late boil hop additions in addition to a substantial, extended dryhop?

...Let's eliminate these factors before we jump the gun on what we think the cause may be. It could be a combination of these things and may or may not have nothing/something to do with dryhop length. If enough people answer, maybe we can find a pattern so we can understand why some people experience grassy, and why others do not.
 
From my example above:

1. Fermented for about 10 days and then dry hopped
2. Cascade/Citra
3. 2oz for 5 gallons
4. IBU's I dont remember, typical IPA
5. Fresh, couple of months old?
6. Only have had the grassiness that one time
 
When I dry hopped in fermenter, I usually went about a week. Good results, but faded pretty fast (2oz and 3oz were tried). Since kegging I've simply been adding a nylon bag o' hops to the keg before it goes into the brew fridge for chilling and serving (when I want a dry hop addition). I leave the bag of hops in the keg for the duration, so it could be in there for 6-8 weeks. Keep in mind, this is at about 40F after the first 24 hours (time to chill it in the past).

So, if you're kegging, I would simply add the whole hops (or pellet hops) in a [sanitized] nylon hop bag to the keg right before you put it in to chill and carbonate. I would also go with the slow forced carbonation method (2-3 weeks at temperature and pressure) with this. That will give the dry hop addition the time needed to fully get into the brew. :rockin:

So what is the science behind dry-hopping at colder vs. warmer temps?
 
So what is the science behind dry-hopping at colder vs. warmer temps?

This is all speculative as I have not tested this myself:

I would imagine that dry hopping in the keg (cold) would result in a slower release of the hop aroma/flavor because the cold temp is preserving the natural state of the hops. But the keg is also sealed tightly which would trap in more of the aroma that is normally blown off by CO2 and inevitably lost when transferring the beer, which would normally be done after dry hopping.

As for warmer temps, I would say just the opposite. I would imagine that the aroma/flavor are released from the plant material more quickly, as higher temps usually speed up most any chemical process, and would also result in the hops biodegrading faster than at a cold temp. Some of the aroma must also be lost through the CO2 blow off and transferring the beer from the fermenter.
 
For those of you who have AND have never experienced big grassy flavors (supposedly from an extended dryhop):

*How long are these beers fermenting AND conditioning prior to adding the dryhops?

*What specific hops are you using in the boil and the dryhop?

*Roughly how many total IBUs Tinseth do these beers contain?

*How much total kettle hops are you using (minus the dryhops) per 5 gallon batch?

*How old are the dryhops?

*What ratio of dryhops per oz. / per gallon of beer are you adding?

*Are you careful to avoid oxygenation when adding your dryhops?

*What temp. do you dryhop at?

*Are you heavy handed on your 90/60/45/30 minute additions? And light handed on your 15/10/5/0/DH additions?

*Do you experience grassiness after hopbursting with a ton of late boil hop additions in addition to a substantial, extended dryhop?

...Let's eliminate these factors before we jump the gun on what we think the cause may be. It could be a combination of these things and may or may not have nothing/something to do with dryhop length. If enough people answer, maybe we can find a pattern so we can understand why some people experience grassy, and why others do not.

Great point made here. Unfortunately, we'll never be able to get to the end of it on this website, true science doesn't work here very well.
 
Thnx Duboman! Now I feel like taking my G.I. Bill and using it to help my hobby. Did you find this stuff by a simple internet search?
 
I don't do this anymore, but...

I went through a lazy phase once. I keg-hopped a batch with an ounce of cascade (whole) in the serving keg (5g). When the keg was kicked, I racked the next batch on top of that, without cleaning it or removing the hops. To top it off, I did it one more time later (3 times total). FYI, the hops were in a hop bag-like bag, tied to the top portion of the dip tube with an extension to ensure that it hung low enough to be in the beer but not interfere with the dip tube.

Never noticed anything grassy or off, although I'm sure I ran the risk of many different things happening there.
 
Thnx Duboman! Now I feel like taking my G.I. Bill and using it to help my hobby. Did you find this stuff by a simple internet search?

Someone actually pointed me to those links awhile back regarding a dry hop study that was being conducted since there is very little information out there scientifically regarding the effects and utilization of hops in the dry hop process.

Most of what's out there is experience based with no real scientific information to back it up. I've been following these sites as I am interested in reading the study once it's formally published. The one study link I think is the most current but I have not had a chance to completely read through it.:mug:
 
So what is the science behind dry-hopping at colder vs. warmer temps?

Nothing scientific to add, since I have no background in that. It would be interesting to get a biochemist to provide some info.

I do know that you won't get the grassy flavor when dry hopping in keg, at serving temps. So the colder temps, along with my normal longer time in primary, could have combined to produce the great results. Although there are others that go less time in primary for low ABV brews, dry hop in keg, and have pretty much the same results.
 
It is, and people keep repeating it without having any personal experience.

Well then, since you know more about my personal brewing experience than I do, I must be wrong. Please forgive me for merely echoing things I have only heard about and not actually experienced. My bad. :rolleyes:
 
I don't do this anymore, but...

I went through a lazy phase once. I keg-hopped a batch with an ounce of cascade (whole) in the serving keg (5g). When the keg was kicked, I racked the next batch on top of that, without cleaning it or removing the hops. To top it off, I did it one more time later (3 times total). FYI, the hops were in a hop bag-like bag, tied to the top portion of the dip tube with an extension to ensure that it hung low enough to be in the beer but not interfere with the dip tube.

Never noticed anything grassy or off, although I'm sure I ran the risk of many different things happening there.

Supremely lazy, I love it. :mug:
 
I don't do this anymore, but...

I went through a lazy phase once. I keg-hopped a batch with an ounce of cascade (whole) in the serving keg (5g). When the keg was kicked, I racked the next batch on top of that, without cleaning it or removing the hops. To top it off, I did it one more time later (3 times total). FYI, the hops were in a hop bag-like bag, tied to the top portion of the dip tube with an extension to ensure that it hung low enough to be in the beer but not interfere with the dip tube.

Never noticed anything grassy or off, although I'm sure I ran the risk of many different things happening there.

On another note, my kegs aren't chilled. I don't have a kegerator/keezer. Instead, I use a refrigerated jockey box-like server, so my kegs are at room temp. They're cold in the winter, though.
 
I keg-hopped a batch with an ounce of cascade (whole) in the serving keg (5g). When the keg was kicked, I racked the next batch on top of that, without cleaning it or removing the hops. To top it off, I did it one more time later (3 times total).

Never noticed anything grassy or off, although I'm sure I ran the risk of many different things happening there.

On another note, my kegs aren't chilled. I don't have a kegerator/keezer. Instead, I use a refrigerated jockey box-like server, so my kegs are at room temp.

This is interesting. So how long would you say the hops were in the keg at room temps?
 
bja said:
This is interesting. So how long would you say the hops were in the keg at room temps?

I'd say a keg lasts 7-10 days around here, depending on whether or not I have the second faucet hooked up and whether or not my BIL is in town. So, 20-30 days?

It was also late spring, so ambient temp was maybe 20 c.
 
I was rereading How to Brew and came across this:

"Grassy
Flavors reminiscent of chlorophyll and fresh cut grass occasionally occur and are most often linked to poorly stored ingredients. Poorly stored malt can pick up moisture and develop musty smells. Aldehydes can form in old malt and can contribute green grass flavors. Hops are another source of these green flavors. If the hops are poorly stored or not properly dried prior to storage, the chlorophyll compounds will become evident in the beer."
 
phatspade said:
I was rereading How to Brew and came across this:

"Grassy
Flavors reminiscent of chlorophyll and fresh cut grass occasionally occur and are most often linked to poorly stored ingredients. Poorly stored malt can pick up moisture and develop musty smells. Aldehydes can form in old malt and can contribute green grass flavors. Hops are another source of these green flavors. If the hops are poorly stored or not properly dried prior to storage, the chlorophyll compounds will become evident in the beer."

Since oxygen is a major component of this, I'm guessing that keg hopping with properly stored hops is a good combo. I'm also guessing here, but dry hopping in the primary or secondary fermenter-some of the desired aroma may be lost through the airlock and the undesirable aromas may be more prominent. In the keg-no oxygen and the desirable aromas are retained, so the undesirables may not be as noticeable.
 
A bit late to the party on this one, but I'm trying to see if I can fix a batch that I dry hopped for too long with fresh wet hops.

I "dry" hopped with freshly picked whole cones out of the backyard, a blend of cascade, centennial, and columbus. The hops sat on the beer for 14 days - I've dry hopped around that long with no ill effects before, so I didn't taste it until the 14 days was up.

At that point, I discovered a strong vegetal, almost asparagus like aroma, and a hint of it in the taste.

It's been about a month sitting in the keg, and it's not going away. Trying to decide if I may have ruined this batch.
 
Since oxygen is a major component of this, I'm guessing that keg hopping with properly stored hops is a good combo. I'm also guessing here, but dry hopping in the primary or secondary fermenter-some of the desired aroma may be lost through the airlock and the undesirable aromas may be more prominent. In the keg-no oxygen and the desirable aromas are retained, so the undesirables may not be as noticeable.


Sorry for not replying in a timely fashion as I didn't stay subscribed to it. You could say that, but there's more than one way for the grassy/veggie taste to happen. I reread How to Brew again and just came across more info. This is a direct word-for-word quote in the book from Chapter 1, Section 5.1, under the paragraph about "Finishing" hops.

"A word of caution when adding hops at knockout or using a hopback - depending on several factors, e.g. amount, variety, freshness, etc., the beer may take on a grassy taste due to tannins and other compounds which are usually neutralized by the boil. If short boil times are not yielding the desired hop aroma or a grassy flavor is evident, then I would suggest using FWH(first wort hopping) or Dry Hopping."
 
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