Dry Hopping in primary

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dierythmus

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Hi All,

I brewed the North Brewer’s Dead Ringer IPA extract kit yesterday and all went well. For the first time, I don’t plan on transferring to a secondary, but rather dry hop in my primary. Do I need to adjust the timing? I planned on leaving it in the primary for 2 weeks. Then the kit instructions say to transfer and leave in the secondary for another two weeks. Does this mean I should leave it in the primary for a total of 4 weeks, or do I not need the additional 2 weeks if I’m not transferring? I plan on dry hopping ~10 days before kegging.
 
Let it hit a stable FG,then give it 3-7 days to clean up & settle out. Then dry hop. You want most of the yeast settled out so the hop oils don't coat the yeast cells & go to the bottom as well.
 
I agree. Too early and you will not get the results you are looking for. I usually wait till the air lock slows down. If you cant check your gravity the bubbles on the air lock can give you a resonable time when to add.
 
Or look at it & see if the krausen has fallen,& the beer appears to be clearing. Best yet,get a hydrometer. It's the only way to really know when fermentation is finished.
 
I always dryhop for 5-7 days, right before packaging the beer. So I'd let it ferment, clear, and then a week before I want to bottle or keg, I add the dryhops to the fermenter.

It works great!
 
I shoot for a week dry hop to bottling with an expectation that life can stretch me out for a few days beyond that before bottling. I've gone 2 weeks with friends saying they like that better but I like my shorter planned range better. That is just beer drinking talk though, I've never had one dumped out or abandoned.
 
Hope you don't mind me jumping in on this, it caught my eye because I plan on doing this (dry hopping in the primary) for the first time also with the brew I did yesterday. Planning to dry hop after two weeks in the primary. My sample that I took yesterday already has a good deal of sediment - I added hops directly to boil, no hop bag or anything. So when I do dry hop, can I use a hop bag or something to contain the additional sediment? If I do use a bag should I adjust by using more hops? Thanks much for any suggestions.
 
A bag can make racking to your bottling bucket easier especially if using whole hops. Be sure to sanitize the hop bag first. I just use my normal hop schedule when doing this. If your primary is a carboy using a bag for whole hops gets a little involved with installation and removal but it isn't a real big deal. For removal I made a hook out of a piece of defluxed 1/8" welding rod.
 
I use a bucket so removal won't be a problem. I have never sanitized hop bag before haha, so dumb question - assuming I use a star san solution or just boil in water, I guess it doesn't matter if the bag itself is still wet or should I let it dry first? Also do you need to force the bag under the beer or just toss it in and let it float? Thanks.
 
I use a bucket so removal won't be a problem. I have never sanitized hop bag before haha, so dumb question - assuming I use a star san solution or just boil in water, I guess it doesn't matter if the bag itself is still wet or should I let it dry first? Also do you need to force the bag under the beer or just toss it in and let it float? Thanks.

It can be wet, and it can float. Just make sure the hops are very loose in the bag, and not packed in there. If they seem not to be loose, use another bag or two.

For whole leaf hops, I like those large tea ball strainers. They have to be the stainless ones, though! Sanitize, fill, and gently place in the bucket. They don't hold all that much, though, so sometimes I use several. I still mostly just check them in, though, with no bags or containers at all. I'm very proficient with racking since I am an old winemaker, so this hasn't caused me any problems. Others may find clogging or other racking issues so bags can be a good idea!
 
Revvy said:
If you're doing for example a month long primary, and you plan on dryhopping for a week, you add your hops at the end of week three, and bottle at the end of week four.

I've never dry-hopped before, but plan to in my next brew. This is exactly how I'll be doing it. I only use a primary (for typically 3-4 weeks), so will dry hop using pellet hops (just thrown into the primary) a week before bottling. I just have three questions, having never done this before:

1). Do you need to "sanitize" the hops in any way? Probably a stupid noob question, but it doesn't hurt to ask, I suppose (I'll suck in my pride and take the ridicule). I've never seen anything on this, so my hunch is that the alcohol in the beer will be enough, especially if they are straight out of a new (and clean) package of hops - but just something I've wondered about, as we sanitize everything else - and up until now all hops have been boiled or thrown into hot wort at the end of the boil.

2). Should I crush up the pellet hops at all, or just break them up a little and toss 'em in?

3). Is there any need to stir the hops in the fermenter, or just throw them in and let them work for a week (recognizing that it will all get a stir in the bottling bucket later when I mix in my priming solution)?

Thanks for clarifying some ridiculously basic questions I have!
 
Revvy - Thanks for keeping the ridicule to a minimum. :) I figured as much on each of those points - but thanks for indulging...and comforting me! I can sleep much better tonight. I actually like the KISS principle, just didn't want to mess up something on my first go around dry-hopping. Cheers!
 
OK - plan to dry hop on Sunday using Revvy's three step instructions. So, any guidelines for how much to use? I am making a pale ale that I so far have used 1 oz of Centennial and 2 oz of Citra in the boil. I am planning to dry hop with another 1 oz of Citra. Any thoughts?
 
OK - plan to dry hop on Sunday using Revvy's three step instructions. So, any guidelines for how much to use? I am making a pale ale that I so far have used 1 oz of Centennial and 2 oz of Citra in the boil. I am planning to dry hop with another 1 oz of Citra. Any thoughts?

One oz should be good for that beer, 2 wouldn't hurt it either.
 
OK - plan to dry hop on Sunday using Revvy's three step instructions. So, any guidelines for how much to use? I am making a pale ale that I so far have used 1 oz of Centennial and 2 oz of Citra in the boil. I am planning to dry hop with another 1 oz of Citra. Any thoughts?

Its all a matter of taste. Do it, taste it and see how you like it. Make a note for future reference.
 
As much as I hate to stroke Revvys ego by double quoting him.....
If you're doing for example a month long primary, and you plan on dryhopping for a week, you add your hops at the end of week three, and bottle at the end of week four.


Here's what I do...

1) Just dump them in
2) Just dunp them in
3) just dump them in

It really isn't rocket science. Don't over think it, just open up your SEALED packet of hops, open up your fermenter, and choose options 1, 2 or 3 from above. ;)


I always use option 1(with pellets), whirfloc in the boil, and cold crash for a day or two prior to kegging or bottling.

I'll guarantee that all the folks using bags and all sorts of contraptions to segregate their hops from their wort do NOT have better clarity than me.

Oh yeah, and I dont secondary(most of the time), so I am racking off trub, yeast, and dry hops. Still achieving excellent clarity, Ill post a pic later if I remember.
 
My regular IPA I make is dry hopped with .5oz Citra pellets during fermentation. It comes out pretty good, almost has a Sixpoint Resin smell to it after two weeks bottle conditioning.
 
Uh oh, Xpertskir brought up something else he has me interested in trying - cold crashing. Never have done before but sounds like a good idea. I don't have equipment to do this, but I guess I could put the fermenter outside or in the garage for a day so long as the weather gives me cold enough temperature.
 
Depending on the brew and exact results required I most often will use one of Revvy's methods. Rumor has it that some will use all three at once but I will neither confirm or deny.
 
Couldn't decide between 1 oz and 2 oz so went with 1.5 oz haha! Gonna let that go for a week and then bottle. Have ready to drink for the opening of trout season!
 
Planning to bottle tomorrow. Does anyone use any method of filtering when transfering from the primary to the bottling bucket?
 
Hi All,

I brewed the North Brewer’s Dead Ringer IPA extract kit yesterday and all went well. For the first time, I don’t plan on transferring to a secondary, but rather dry hop in my primary. Do I need to adjust the timing? I planned on leaving it in the primary for 2 weeks. Then the kit instructions say to transfer and leave in the secondary for another two weeks. Does this mean I should leave it in the primary for a total of 4 weeks, or do I not need the additional 2 weeks if I’m not transferring? I plan on dry hopping ~10 days before kegging.

I do it exactly the way you describe.

After about a week I toss in my dry hops and let it stay for three (3) more weeks. Since I keg... any additional conditioning happens there...

This is true for my beers that are 5% ABV or above, I don't dry hop my low gravity beers.

I asked a local head brewer about the methodlogy of dry hopping... he said after about three days you would get the majority of the oils and you would not see any appreciable difference unless you left them for over three weeks.
 
Planning to bottle tomorrow. Does anyone use any method of filtering when transfering from the primary to the bottling bucket?

I use a 1 gallon paint strainer on the end of my auto siphon (the end that goes into the fermenter). Just hold it there with an elastic and make sure it's a little loose so it doesn't clog.
 
DPBISME said:
I do it exactly the way you describe.

After about a week I toss in my dry hops and let it stay for three (3) more weeks. Since I keg... any additional conditioning happens there...

This is true for my beers that are 5% ABV or above, I don't dry hop my low gravity beers.

I asked a local head brewer about the methodlogy of dry hopping... he said after about three days you would get the majority of the oils and you would not see any appreciable difference unless you left them for over three weeks.

Any noticeable difference after 3 days is usually a vegetal note, which I don't like at all. Hence some folks do multi-step dry hop additions, removing each addition after 3 days... I've ha the best success this way, though I'm moving toward all late addition/hop stand these days.
 
I'll guarantee that all the folks using bags and all sorts of contraptions to segregate their hops from their wort do NOT have better clarity than me.

Oh yeah, and I dont secondary(most of the time), so I am racking off trub, yeast, and dry hops. Still achieving excellent clarity, Ill post a pic later if I remember.
IDK about that crack about all us using contraptions stuff. here's proof;
my cascade pale ale PM,
http://
My AE Burton ale,
http://
AE Cooper's English Bitter,
http://
No fin9ngs used in any of these beers. But I will say this. The fine crush needed for BIAB (I use it for PB/PM) & cooling the wort down to 64F does make for some very stubborn protein haze that 5 weeks in the bottle & two weeks fridge time doesn't cure 100%,as in this 1st version of my pseudo lager called Hopped & Confused;
http://
So I was forced to order some Five Star Super Moss for the next batch,an all NZ IPA PM. Otherwise,my AE beers don't need it.
 
IDK about that crack about all us using contraptions stuff. here's proof;
my cascade pale ale PM,
http://
My AE Burton ale,
http://
AE Cooper's English Bitter,
http://
No fin9ngs used in any of these beers. But I will say this. The fine crush needed for BIAB (I use it for PB/PM) & cooling the wort down to 64F does make for some very stubborn protein haze that 5 weeks in the bottle & two weeks fridge time doesn't cure 100%,as in this 1st version of my pseudo lager called Hopped & Confused;
http://
So I was forced to order some Five Star Super Moss for the next batch,an all NZ IPA PM. Otherwise,my AE beers don't need it.

Anyone else just get really thirsty?
 
Revvy said:
I just rack, I don't bother with filtering, stuff stays behind on it's own, and my beer is crystal clear.

Amen. Half tab of Whirlfloc for a 5.5 gal batch at 15, hops right in the boil, perfectly clear beer every time.
image-3503555387.jpg
 
OK some nice looking beer there unionrdr and brulosopher, and I am thirsty! Thanks for all the feedback. I am just going to be careful to keep the siphon high enough to keep it away from the bottom sludge. Maybe when the level starts getting lower I will carefully tilt the fermenter to get the remaining beer away from the sludge. Will be hitting it after work tonight - but man do I HATE the bottling part UGH! Thanks again folks, this is a great forum.
 
Question: I am following a kit and it said to dry hop for 10 days. I am going to hit 10 days tomorrow but I am not going to be able to bottle till Friday. Am I going to screw up my IPA by leaving it a few extra days?
 
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