Dry Hopping Questions

I am dry hopping for the first time right now. Last night I racked onto 1 oz Cascade in a carboy. The hops are all floating on the top. Is that normal? Am I getting everything out of the hops or should I try to push it down into the beer?

Also is it possible to overhop, by leaving the hops in too long?

Thanks

Ya its normal, When I dry hop in a keg I use a nylon bag with a stainless steel ball to weight it down. They will usually absorb the brew and fall to the bottom, sometimes you can rock the carboy gently and they will fall

They float like a boat until saturated by the beer and then sink. I am drinking my pale ale right now with Magnum bittering and Cascade finishing and then dry hopped with Cascade for 10 days. Mmmmmmmm good. It's 45 days old now and yummy.

friscobrewer said:

Also is it possible to overhop, by leaving the hops in too long?

Thanks

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One must ask one's self... is it possible to over hop... Period

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I think this is relevant.

I have not dry hopped yet, but I've read about dry hopping in the secondary and dry hopping in the keg. With the latter, has anyone ever had any off flavours from having hops in the keg for too long (for example if one ages the beer for several months)? I'm just trying to decide whether to dry hop in secondary or in the keg.
For those who dry hop in the secondary, do you just put hop plugs in the secondary or do you have them in a bag? Is it even possible to have them in a bag and get them through the neck of the carboy to rack it?

You can't overhop the beer by leaving the dryhops in too long. The hops will give up all their aroma within the first two weeks I think. After that they're just stuff floating in your beer.

It's common practice to rack after 2 weeks or so to avoid grassy flavors. That said, I got a silver medal for a beer that was dry-hopped for a couple of months.



BTW; Where are you getting your Cascade from?

friscobrewer said:

I am dry hopping for the first time right now. Last night I racked onto 1 oz Cascade in a carboy. The hops are all floating on the top. Is that normal? Am I getting everything out of the hops or should I try to push it down into the beer?

Also is it possible to overhop, by leaving the hops in too long?

Thanks

Click to expand...

normal! totally normal. wait till they start to fall then it looks really weird

korndog said:

BTW; Where are you getting your Cascade from?

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LHBS in Dallas has had it every time I have been in in the past few months.