Dry hopping hops

For dry hopping, pellets or flowers? Do hop flowers need to be sanitized?

Do pellets need to be sanitized?

I used pellets... hops are naturally not prone to bacteria so no sanitation needed

You can use either. With pellets I would put them in a hop sack or a hop ball, easier to keep them separate when you package even though a lot will fall out into the trub. No need to sanitize.

I use pellets but you can use whole leaf. I would use a hop sack; I sanitize my hop bags before you use them.

I use pellets. And I don't use any sock. I just dump them into the secondary. When I rack it out I put a strainer over the end of my racking cane and it does the job well. When I've used a bag in the past I didn't like the results as much. That's me.

comet909 said:

I use pellets. And I don't use any sock. I just dump them into the secondary. When I rack it out I put a strainer over the end of my racking cane and it does the job well. When I've used a bag in the past I didn't like the results as much. That's me.

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+1 this is the method I prefer.

Thanks for the info. I plan on making an IPA near the end of the summer and I probably won't use a bag, instead will filter the racking cane.

Although I'm not paranoid about bacteria, I wanted to believe it about not having to sanitize hops for dry hopping but I needed a better explanation. This is the closest to acceptable explanation I have found from http://www.winning-homebrew.com/dry-hopping.html which adapts a 2003 BYO article:

"Many homebrewers are worried about contamination issues from adding un-sterilized hops to finished beer. This is unlikely because when the dry hops are added, near the end of fermentation, the alcohol helps keep any possible contamination to a minimum. Plus, since there are not many sugars left in the beer, there is not much for the beasties to eat. And finally, hops are anti-microbial and are therefore not a very good host for contaminants such as bacteria."

(EDIT: But is that the best explanation you have heard? I'm new so I can't rely on just my opinion)

comet909 said:

I use pellets. And I don't use any sock. I just dump them into the secondary. When I rack it out I put a strainer over the end of my racking cane and it does the job well. When I've used a bag in the past I didn't like the results as much. That's me.

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How exactly do you do this? A sanitized muslin bag rubberbanded around the racking cane? Do you strain the cane side in the secondary or the the of the siphon tubing in the bottling bucket? Have you ever had any trouble with clogging?

That about covers it, I think. No need to do anything to them but toss em in!

jkendrick said:

How exactly do you do this? A sanitized muslin bag rubberbanded around the racking cane? Do you strain the cane side in the secondary or the the of the siphon tubing in the bottling bucket? Have you ever had any trouble with clogging?

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Every time I try this my auto siphon ends up sucking air because the bag gets too clogged. Any suggestions?

bchurch said:

That about covers it, I think. No need to do anything to them but toss em in!

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I guess... still, birds will poop on plants, and bugs can get stuck and die, or lay eggs...

Do pellet packing plants boil the flowers down into pellets?

iambeer said:

I guess... still, birds will poop on plants, and bugs can get stuck and die, or lay eggs...

Do pellet packing plants boil the flowers down into pellets?

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How do you do it?

jkendrick said:

How exactly do you do this? A sanitized muslin bag rubberbanded around the racking cane? Do you strain the cane side in the secondary or the the of the siphon tubing in the bottling bucket? Have you ever had any trouble with clogging?

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Also interested in hearing how this is done

LateraLex said:

Also interested in hearing how this is done

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Sanitized mesh bag at the base of the racking cane, the ones I have already have ties built in. That's what I do anyway.

bchurch said:

Sanitized mesh bag at the base of the racking cane, the ones I have already have ties built in. That's what I do anyway.

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Do you put your racking cane all the way into the trub, or try to float it above?

I use whole cones almost exclusively for dry hopping. Most of them float, a few may drop, and what I do at racking time is start my siphon at the middle of the brew, and slowly lower it as the beer transfers. I'm careful to avoid the hops, and where it's not perfect, the occasional small piece will get through, I've never had a problem with hops material in my bottles or kegs. Pellets work fine for dry hopping, they can actually work faster, IME, but they leave a lot of small material behind that will get through a muslin bag. Either way you go, dry hop to taste when you're first starting out. That way you will learn how the aromas develop over different time periods, and at different temps.

LateraLex said:

Do you put your racking cane all the way into the trub, or try to float it above?

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Float above till I get near the bottom and then gently tilt it a little.