Simple question about dry hopping. I just brewed a Pale Ale and waited basically till my air lock stoped. I then threw in an ounce of Fuggles after Id say 4 days. Did I dry Hop too early, too late or right on time? I guess the real question is what is a good rule of thumb to dry hop?
Dry Hopping simple question
- Thread starter Robsbrew
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
The final 5-14 days before you plan to bottle, so in general after 1-2 weeks in the primary.
OP
OP
Robsbrew
Well-Known Member
Cool deal guys thanks a bunch! I just re-sanatized my secondary and keg! Here in a few minutes I am gonna rack to secondary and start working on the next variation to my Pale Ale. Once I have something solid and know exactly what I hve and that it is awesome I will post and let you guys go out and be fruitfull with beer and win greastet brewer ever awards and make statues in my memory!
I wouldnt rack it just yet. Have you even checked that your hydrometer has given stable readings for a few days in a row yet? Just because there is no airlock activity doesnt mean its done fermenting and just because theres no longer active fermentation, doesnt mean the yeast are done working. I'd give it at least another week before racking. Also, theres no need to secondary if you're kegging, the keg is your secondary. The keg is also where you should be dry hopping if you're using one as well
bigbeergeek
Well-Known Member
I agree with everything you've said except "the keg is where you should be dry hopping." I think that is certainly a matter of personal preference and not a "rule" that should be thrust on someone dry hopping for the first time. Personally, I prefer to do my dry hopping in the fermentor where I can keep my number of beer/hop contact days consistent between batches. Also, I want my IIPAs to taste like a pint glass full of hops, not actually contain a pile of hop particles. Like I said, personal preference.
You're not pulling any IBU's from dry-hopping, except maybe some tannic astringency which is commonly perceived as bitterness, so an IBU rating shouldn't be your goal. You could look at varying hop oil levels present in certain hops and get an idea of how long to leave them in contact with the brew, but you should also remember there is a relationship between aroma extraction, temperature, and time. Most people would agree that cooler dry-hopping pulls out less tannins and vegetal material, btu may require a slightly longer contact period.
One more thing most people can agree on, is that you should get as many yeast out of suspension before dry-hopping. The oils and yeast become tangled and drag each other out of suspension. Try dry-hopping directly in the primary and then dry-hop a beer that has been cold-crashed and racked to a secondary. You'll see the difference. When I rack a cold-crashed beer into secondary, I use a bottling wand attached to CO2 to bubble CO2 back into the beer and just on top to form a protective blanket.
People say that hops contain oxygen and you should dry-hop towards the end of fermentation so the remaining yeast can "scrub" out the oxygen, but I've never had an issue with an oxidized IPA. I like to drink them young anyway.
I agree with everything you've said except "the keg is where you should be dry hopping." I think that is certainly a matter of personal preference and not a "rule" that should be thrust on someone dry hopping for the first time. Personally, I prefer to do my dry hopping in the fermentor where I can keep my number of beer/hop contact days consistent between batches. Also, I want my IIPAs to taste like a pint glass full of hops, not actually contain a pile of hop particles. Like I said, personal preference.
+1.
If you do dry-hop in the keg, put it in a sock that you can pull out later.
An English beer expert (name escapes me) wrote an article in BYO last year on this topic.
Take home message is that dry hoping amount should be in relation to the OG.
For example: 5 Gallons w/
OG 1.090 = 5 oz
OG 1.080 = 4 oz
OG 1.070 = 3 oz
OG 1.060 = 2.5 oz
OG 1.050 = 2 oz
OG < 1.050 = 1 oz
I've followed it for my Imperial IPA's and IPA's with great and consistent results.
cheers
Take home message is that dry hoping amount should be in relation to the OG.
For example: 5 Gallons w/
OG 1.090 = 5 oz
OG 1.080 = 4 oz
OG 1.070 = 3 oz
OG 1.060 = 2.5 oz
OG 1.050 = 2 oz
OG < 1.050 = 1 oz
I've followed it for my Imperial IPA's and IPA's with great and consistent results.
cheers
Perhaps I should've said 'I would' instead of 'you should', but in no way meant it to be taken as rule. It's homebrewing, you can do whatever you want, but IMO its best to keep the dry hopping to as close to drinking time as possible to get the most out of them. Probably shoulda mentioned using those stainless steel steeping balls for it too instead of making it sound like to just throw em in
samc
Well-Known Member
Simple question, complex answers.
Experience will guide you. Many say leaving dry hops in the keg for extended time will lead to grassy flavors. I've had dry hops in my keg for months will zero issues.
Advantage to keg dry hopping is that you can taste it as it goes from little aroma to in your face aroma and then finally starts to mellow out and meld with the beer (if you still have any left by that point).
Experience will guide you. Many say leaving dry hops in the keg for extended time will lead to grassy flavors. I've had dry hops in my keg for months will zero issues.
Advantage to keg dry hopping is that you can taste it as it goes from little aroma to in your face aroma and then finally starts to mellow out and meld with the beer (if you still have any left by that point).
Is this at serving temps? If so, this goes towards what I was saying about the relationship of temp and time when dry-hopping. Dry-hop character takes longer to develop in a keg that's already 38° - 45°. Btw - how do you have beers that last for months?!?
