Late hop additions instead of dry hopping?

Can I get good hop flavor if I just add the hops intended for dry hopping as a late addition to the boil instead? I have had varying results with dry hopping in the past, and would like to avoid the use of the secondary, extra racking, risk of infection or contamination etc. I know the dry hopping process and late hop additions probably give different results, but am guessing they might be similar. Any suggestions?

Both methods will give your beer hop character, but it will be different. A lot of the aroma is stripped during fermentation (the wonderful hop smell that comes out of the airlock means that aroma won't be in the finished beer).

However, i dry hop, but i don't secondary. I wait until fermentation has stopped, then add the hops directly to the primary. I've never had a problem.

Hey nasmeyer. Dry hopping makes use of the alcohol that's been produced to extract essential oils and flavours from the hops. A late addition will do the same, but through heat instead of alcohol solubility. In my experience, the late hop is usually more consistent than dry-hopping, but a good dry-hop is REALLY good.

Short answer; yes, you can add those hops in the last 5min of your boil instead of dry-hopping to get pretty darned decent hop flavour and aroma. Yes, they do pretty much the same thing. No, they don't do EXACTLY the same thing.

Try a late hop addition with a recipe that you've dry-hopped, and see if you're satisfied with the difference. This is one of those 'personal preference' things.

emoutal said:

Both methods will give your beer hop character, but it will be different. A lot of the aroma is stripped during fermentation (the wonderful hop smell that comes out of the airlock means that aroma won't be in the finished beer).

However, i dry hop, but i don't secondary. I wait until fermentation has stopped, then add the hops directly to the primary. I've never had a problem.

Click to expand...

Sounds like a good idea but I would be concerned about introducing oxygen into the primary when adding the hops, unless you are using a 6 gallon carboy or purging the oxygen out with some CO2. Because of the oxygen introduction, would it not be recommended to dry hop in the primary if using a 6 gallon Ale Pail?

i think you should be fine. I don't think cracking the lid of an ale pail to pour in some hops would introduce any more oxygen then racking to a secondary and adding them there. In fact it might actually be introduced to less oxygen if you dry hop in the primary.

That being said, i still always rack to secondary when dry hopping.

In the brewing podcast about Dry hopping from BrewStrong they mention they will dry hop just as fermentation is dieing down, this way the yeast are still active and will strip out any oxygen that is introduced along with the dry hops.

Another thing to consider in the flame out vs dry hopping debate is that compounds contributed by hops during the boil are utilized by yeast during their reproductive phase. Not a lot, but some. Dry hopping will also impart the delicate and volatile aromatic compounds that are driven off if hops are added to hot wort. If you want to put your nose in the glass and smell heaven, dry hop.

nasmeyer said:

Sounds like a good idea but I would be concerned about introducing oxygen into the primary when adding the hops, unless you are using a 6 gallon carboy or purging the oxygen out with some CO2. Because of the oxygen introduction, would it not be recommended to dry hop in the primary if using a 6 gallon Ale Pail?

Click to expand...

Oxidation is an over-inflated noob worry. Sure, it happens. But opening your fermenter to take hydro readings or to dry hop will not oxidize your beer. You'd have to stir the hell out of it and then some to do any real damage. Just think of how much "oxygen" your beer is exposed to during the bottling process.

Dry hopping distinctly adds a sweet resinous flavor that just doesn't happen from late additions also. I really like dry hopping in the keg.