Sanitize dry hops?

I just dry hopped for the first time. I sanitized the packages and scissors before cutting and adding. Wondering if this was necessary or if hops don't appreciate being soaked in 90-100F water for 3 minutes (in the package of course)?

Also, it was 2oz Centennial to 5gal of 1.012 FG IPA (OG 1.049). Too much?

Thanks everyone!

Its never bad to be super sanitary. As for the centennial, it has a good ibu for dry hopping I believe. Just let it hang in there for a while and relax.

Sounds like a waste of three minutes to me.

Oh yeah yeah, just toss them bad boys in there!

You are overstressing. Keep your kettles, fermenters and bottles really clean and sanitized before dumping beer/wort into them and you will be fine. Hop packs and yeast sachets/smackpacks are fine as is. You would be fine without the effort. On the othrhand, a little extra effort will never hurt you

I just did some dry hopping today for the first time but used a hops bag. I added a marble inside to weight it down and boiled marble and bag together before adding hops. Only drawback was I still needed to touch the bag minimally to get the hops added.

Sanitize the bag/marbles dont worry about the hops.

If I use a bag I sanitize it and whatever I use to weight it down. But I've never sanitized my hops, from what I've heard, they are resistant to any type of bug/bacteria.

These were hop pellets going from package straight in to primary. I was worried about contaminants on the outside of the packaging/scissors being transferred to the primary. Sounds like I was maybe a little over concerned. Oh well. As long as the hops don't mind.

Over cautious never hurt anything. Most people over do it but it will never hurt anything to do so. Don't worry, 100 to 110 water wont hurt your hops and 2oz isn't too much. If you bottle condition, a lot of that aroma will get scrubbed over the first few weeks anyway.

Hops can carry bacteria, but when dryhopping, you are adding them to an alcohol environment, and they have their own anti-bacterial properties. Don't stress too much. If dryhopping had a propensity to ruin batches, the brewers wouldn't do it. Just throw the bastards in your secondary. Your beer will thank you.

Hops were actually used way back when to sanitize the barrels of beer that were on the ships between England and India.
fun fact O' the day!

hops are anti-bacterial, SP....thats how IPA came about....hop the crap out of it so it makes the journey from england to india with minimal spoilage...more hops = longer shelf life, less contamination...the anti bacterial properties combined with the alcohol of the beer makes it hard for anything but the hardiest of things to live in it, and if you have one of the hardier infections then its time to look at your cleaning and sanitizing procedures rather than hopping rates.

I don't think the OP is asking whether or not to sanitize the actual hops... He's asking if the temp (while still inside the bag) will hurt the soon to be dry hops and if 2 oz of Centennial is a correct amount to dry hop with.

In answer to the first question, I assume since hop additions to the boil get 200F + temps for up to an hour or more, the heat's not going to affect them for 3 minutes, especially since they aren't exposed to the wort (or anything) at that point.

As far as how much dry hops? Well, that's kind of an interesting question. Reason is, there is no way I'm aware of of measuring or determining aroma contributions, other than taste. There are no contributions to IBU from flame out or dry hops, and no "aroma" measurement, so Beersmith or Brewtarget aren't going to change any of the numbers for flame out or dry hops, no matter how much you add.

I think someone with more experience could probably explain further, but my limited understanding is that dry hops contribute to the flavor based on the essential oils, and that alpha acid for dry hopping is typically low (4-5%), aka "Noble" hops. This guy, http://www.winning-homebrew.com/dry-hopping.html has a good explanation. Centennial's alpha acid is normally at least 9%, so might not be a "typical" dry hop, but then again, Chinook and Columbus (the other "C's") have been used successfully according to that article, and they are typically higher in alpha acid, so you may have great results.

1) No need to sanitize hops. They are bacteria free.
2) 90° to 100° F water is going to do nothing to sanitize. Really should boil (over 200° F) to kill microbes.
3) Dry hop with what smells nice as that is what you are going to get. Aroma relies upon volatile compounds to work. But, the heat of boiling the wort and the release of CO2 during fermentation cause a lot of hop smell to be driven from the beer.

2 oz centenial seems a lot for 5 gal. I dry hopped with Centennial twice both times 0.5 oz and it was hoppy

beerkrump said:

1) No need to sanitize hops. They are bacteria free.
2) 90° to 100° F water is going to do nothing to sanitize. Really should boil (over 200° F) to kill microbes.
3) Dry hop with what smells nice as that is what you are going to get. Aroma relies upon volatile compounds to work. But, the heat of boiling the wort and the release of CO2 during fermentation cause a lot of hop smell to be driven from the beer.

Click to expand...

Agree totally. Dry hopping is DRY because you put them in DRY. If you steep them at 90 - 100 before hand, you are not dry hopping - you are adding steeped hops to your beer. May or may not impact the flavor imparted by the hops, but definately will NOT sanitize them. That temp will pasturize, not sanitize. Big difference!

No harm in asking though, and as for 2 OZ of centennial - that will be a HUUUUUGE hop blast that will strip the top layer of your tongue off... but I personally would enjoy that Just my opinion

You won't get that great bitterness, but when you stick your nose in a freshly poured beer, it'll smell like you opened a bag of hops. And, that is a very good thing.

jjones17 said:

Agree totally. Dry hopping is DRY because you put them in DRY. If you steep them at 90 - 100 before hand, you are not dry hopping - you are adding steeped hops to your beer. May or may not impact the flavor imparted by the hops, but definately will NOT sanitize them. That temp will pasturize, not sanitize. Big difference!

No harm in asking though, and as for 2 OZ of centennial - that will be a HUUUUUGE hop blast that will strip the top layer of your tongue off... but I personally would enjoy that Just my opinion

Click to expand...

Read the OP. He's NOT SANITIZING THE HOPS, just the bag they came in. It's amazing how none of these posts reflect that understanding. I know I'm quite capable of shooting off half-cocked, but really?

Just reading back through this old thread. Funny that most people didn't read the original question. Anyway, the batch turned out great.

I wonder how people would feel if their hops got spilled in a dirty fridge or even opend in a fridge for a while or freezer.Shure they are antibacterial but im shure bacteria can still take a ride on them in worse situations.Lactic bacteria? Freezer burn crystals? What about those.
The op's discussion is on hop sanitation. first post origionally. The title might be a clue too.?