Dry Hopped Cider

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Munns86

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This is my first post but have used HBT a lot in the past. I have done some research on hopped cry and it seems most people here are not a fan of the idea. But just a month ago I visited finnriver cidery in WA and had their dry hopped cider and man was it good! All that I know is that it is dry hopped and they use Cascade hops. I was wondering if anyone had the pleasure of drinking this and/or had some advise for recreating it. Thanks!
 
Never had a dry-hopped cider, might be something I would try on a small scale, like in a gallon jug and see whether I liked it.

Thanks for the links to Finnriver Farms, what a great website http://www.finnriver.com/, just wished I lived anywhere near it! Did you read their mission statement?

At Finnriver Farm we are striving to create deep-rooted & fruitful connections...

to the land we farm,

to our wild and human neighbors,

and to our community as a whole.

We are engaged in the earnest pursuit of wise land stewardship through the following commitments:

Practicing sustainable agriculture
Harnessing renewable energies
Contributing to vibrant local economy
Restoring riparian wildlife habitat
Reviving artisan traditions
Serving as an educational resource
Keeping a vibrant farm culture alive and well
Finnriver is 100% locally financed through a community network of visionary investors.

Thoreau wrote, “You must get your living by loving.” We love this farm and we welcome you come visit and become a part of our growing community
 
So if was going to dry hop it I just add hops in after fermentation for a short amount of time, like 10 minutes?
 
Most folks recommend dry hopping beer for about 7 days. Cider is generally less dense with flavors, so I'd recommend trying a small amount of cascades, and (carefully) pulling off a sample every day until it seems right.

Make sure you wait until primary fermentation is more or less complete and the cider has mellowed to a point you are satisfied with, as the flavor and aroma notes you're seeking by dry hopping are quite volatile and will slowly leak out of solution.

Keep in mind that ciders can take some time to totally ferment, so use your hydrometer to evaluate completion and be sure to taste the base cider before dry hopping. Ciders are sneaky and delicate! ;)
 
Thanks for all the good info! So when you say add a small amount how much would you say for a five to six gallon batch? An oz or two?
 
I imagine one or two ounces of a milder, more aroma-oriented hop would be sufficient. Just make sure your hydrometer indicates a finished gravity to ensure substantial alcohol content as this will lessen the likelihood of infection. This will also prevent offgassing of your precious volatile hop aroma compounds. Many beers lose hoppiness over time because of the escaping gasses through the airlock, so if fermentation is done in your cider, you won't lose as much aroma in the bubbles.

If you really feel brave, toss some hops in a nylon mesh bag and put that in your keg for a consistent dry hop effect that won't dissipate over time as rapidly. The downside there would be that you might produce some grassy flavors if the hops sit too long, over overdo the hop flavor in something as delicate as a cider.
 

Did you ever end up trying this? I'm from WA and just found this cider and LOVE IT! I've been thinking about making a batch of apple wine and dry hoping it or maybe making a hop tea and adding that after the fermentation. Any insight on what you have tried would be great.
 
I would also like to hear how this turned out. I'm new to brewing and I've been experimenting with some small batches of cider. I've never heard of a dry hoped cider but I like the idea. I think I'll try this on my next small batch. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Sadly no. But by harvest of apples for this year that I made in to cider is just finishing so I guess I could still but I'm worried to waste it if it doesn't turn out.
 
Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I figure it was better than starting a new one.

I started a 3 gallon batch of cider today that I'm going to dry hop with either Cascade or Willamette.

If anyone is interested I will let you know how it ends up.

3 gallons apple juice
1.5 cups brown sugar
1.5 cups white sugar
4 tsp yeast nutrient.
Safale-05 Ale Yeast
OG 1.064 expected FG 1.000 & expected ABV 8.4%
 
Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I figure it was better than starting a new one.

I started a 3 gallon batch of cider today that I'm going to dry hop with either Cascade or Willamette.

If anyone is interested I will let you know how it ends up.

3 gallons apple juice
1.5 cups brown sugar
1.5 cups white sugar
4 tsp yeast nutrient.
Safale-05 Ale Yeast
OG 1.064 expected FG 1.000 & expected ABV 8.4%

I'd be very interested in how this turns out. Do you have any idea how long you are going to ferment or dry hop for? Just out of curiosity.
 
Sounds great! Love that mission statement BTW, and I go for a 1 oz. of hops dry to five gallons. Shoot, I might try this next, thanks for the inspire:)
 
america said:
I'd be very interested in how this turns out. Do you have any idea how long you are going to ferment or dry hop for? Just out of curiosity.

I'm going to let it ferment dry. I'm not sure how long that's going to be but my carboy is bubbling like crazy so I don't think it should be more than a few weeks.

I was going to dry hop 1oz for 7 days.

image-3373061043.jpg
 
Today I threw in a half ounce of Cascade into my 3 gallon batch. I will let it go for a week, take a sample and see how it tastes. If it tastes how I want it it will be time to bottle. If not I have another half ounce I can throw in.

image-1325151881.jpg
 
I'm a Seattle-ite with regular access to the deliciousness that is Finn River dry hopped cider. Homebrew beers all the time, taking my first crack at a cider with just a 1 gallon batch. Here's the plan:

1 gallon juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
Ale Yeast

1 week primary, 1 week secondary - dry hop in secondary with 1/4 ounce of fresh picked Cascade hops i got from a buddy at work.

Here we go!
 
Cold crashing mine right now. Will take a sample tomorrow and determine if more hops are going in or if it's time to bottle.
 
I've seen a recipe for a creamy oat cider and it only had .5 oz for 5 gallons. Might want to use less than an ounce, but I want to see how this turns out!
 
I bottled last night and ended up with 30 bottles. I used carbonation tabs since my last cider batch is severely over carbed and I batch primed that one.

We'll see in three weeks how it turns out.
 
i too am a fan of finn fiver's dry hopped cider, and am missing it having recently moved from seattle to salt lake city... looking to dry hop a single gallon of a dry sparkling cider that i just racked into secondary tonight. any suggestions on type of hops and amounts? anybody had good results. i love hops, but am new to the whole cider experience.
thanks!!!
 
i too am a fan of finn fiver's dry hopped cider, and am missing it having recently moved from seattle to salt lake city... looking to dry hop a single gallon of a dry sparkling cider that i just racked into secondary tonight. any suggestions on type of hops and amounts? anybody had good results. i love hops, but am new to the whole cider experience.
thanks!!!

It's not much help but I do know that Finn River uses Cascade hops. I would think Citra would be a good choice as well, but that's just a guess.
 
I used .5 oz of Cascade in a 3 gallon batch. I bottled it a week ago so I can't provide any feedback other than it smelled great.
 
Tried the first bottle of my batch last night and it turned out great. It smelled like grass and hay and had a very slight hop taste to it with great apple notes.
 
I found this thread on a web-search for dry-hopped cider. I've made quite a few batches of cider, but never really thought seriously about putting any hops in because the light body didn't seem like it would stand up to it. I have been trying to build a sessionable IPA, and so far without success. I'm about ready to give up, although maybe the right yeast could give me the body I'm lacking...?

Anyway I really love the hop profile of my latest attempt, and when I just finished the dregs of a glass, I thought "That hop flavor (minus the bittering) would be GREAT on a glass of cider." Who else has tried this? For what it's worth, the main late addition / dry hops in my beer were citra and crystal.

So I'm curious to see what others have to report, and will add my two cents when I've made a batch.

Ben
 
I brewed this up using .7oz of cascade. I think it tastes amazing. I'm wondering if anyone has thoughts on what other hops might go well with cider?
 
Today while bottling another batch of brew I dropped a shot of Fireball in a pint of my dry hopped cider. It was absolutely delicious!!!
 
I'm making another 5 galons of cider and going for gold, i'm not patient enough to do this one gal at a time.. all 5 gal it is!! i'm going to try this out and see what happens
 
Working on one myself at the moment, Willamette and Chinook hops, lots of the latter. Results soon!
 
I bottled the Amarillo test batch after 2 days with the hops. It holds a lot of promise. We'll see how it ends up after it carbs and ages for a few weeks. I do think the Amarillo blends well with the cider.
 
I used 7 grams (about .24 ounce) over 2 days in a 1 gallon test batch. I tasted the cider from the plastic soda bottle carb test. It's a little too overpowering now for my taste, but that could very well change as it ages. If I knew then what I know now, I probably would have used 1/2 the amount of hops and let it sit longer if needed to reach the taste I'm going for.
 
I used .5oz of Cascade in a 3 gallon batch for 7 days. The aroma was a strong grassy hay smell initially but it's tapered off since then and is now just about what I was going for.
 
I'm happy to report that my 1-gallon test batch of Amarillo has mellowed down nicely after a little more than a week in the bottle. I'll open another one after a few more weeks. The Amarillo is definitely a nice blend with the cider.
 
I'm happy to report that my 1-gallon test batch of Amarillo has mellowed down nicely after a little more than a week in the bottle. I'll open another one after a few more weeks. The Amarillo is definitely a nice blend with the cider.


4 years later do you remember how this ended up lol? Does dry hopping with 0.25oz for a 1 gal batch seem about right?
 
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