Attenuation and when to Dry Hop

[Nubiwan]

Intend to dry hop my Red Ale and IPA (Extract kist) to add a little aroma.

I was suggested on of the C's for my IPA (Citra, Cascade Centennial), so I opted for Centenial.

My LHBS suggest Northern Brewer hops for my red ale, but having trouble recalling why it was recommended.

Any thoughts on these choices? It'll just be and ounce of each for -5 days, based on information I have read on this board. Am I just adding to aroma with dry hops, or will I get taste too?

I must say that my primaries taste pretty decent on their own, so I have had a mind to even split them and hop half in a secondary for the sake of comparison, and bottle the rest as it stands. Good idea or what? Concern would be oxygen, and risk of contamination I'd introduce in a secondary.

The yeast I used is s-04, which has an expected attenuation of around 75%. For an OG of 1044 and 1040, does that mean my FG should be around 1011 and 1010? Simply 75% of 44 and 40?

On the Dry Hopping process. I plan to just chuck my pellets into the primary. No bag. If I intend to let my primaries sit and clear for a week or two, plus cold crash for 2-3 days, then do I wait to hop till the last 4-5 days to dry hop. Then crash them out, then bottle?

Is there any limit in the length of time an IPA should be in either a primary or a bottle? Seem to recall reading somewhere that the Hop flavours / aroma dissipates the long IPA's are conditioned/aged?

Thanks All

 

[RM-MN]

I don't believe that red ales typically have dry hops added. That doesn't mean you can't add them if you choose.

The pale ale should be at final gravity when you add the hops. Use your hydrometer to tell when that occurs. My dry hops would usually go in at 10 to 14 days past pitching the yeast but that could be shorter or longer. I don't cold crash but I use a paint strainer bag wrapped around the siphon to keep the hop particles out of the bottling bucket.

People who advocate low dissolved oxygen claim it prolongs the period that the hop aroma stays fresh. Without going to those extremes and just dumping the hops into the fermenter, I find that the hop aroma is great when I start drinking the beer, about 2 to 3 weeks after bottling and it begins to dissipate at 2 to 3 months.

I wouldn't try doing the secondary unless you have a carboy just the right size. The carboys need to be filled right to the neck to keep out as much oxygen as possible to avoid the chance of oxidation and infection. It would be better to split the batch before pitching yeast, using 2 fermenters for each batch. The headspace isn't nearly as critical in primary and I have had good success using a 6 1/2 gallon bucket for a 2 1/2 gallon batch. If you don't have the buckets, I have found the white HDPE buckets and lids at Walmart but only in 5 gallon size. That works well for making a split batch. Make a small hole in the lid to allow the excess gas to escape and tape (3 sides, one not) a piece of plastic over it to keep bugs out.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

It seems like you have a good plan on dry hopping. You can dry hop an lots of different times and I am not sure it will make a huge impact. I feel like I have the best luck if I wait until fermentation looks like it is mostly done, and give it at least 3 days for the hop pellets to give some flavor and settle out...though I don't cold crash.

Dry hopping will impart hop flavor as well...though sometimes it is hard to separate aroma and flavor.

I think doing split batches is a great way to test out processes for yourself, though I would have concern if you were moving it into a secondary vessel with more than 1/2 gal of head space.

 

[Pappers_]

You definitely want to dry hop your IPA, if you are looking to brew it to style. The red ale, as suggested above, doesn't have to be dry hopped, your call.

As for the variety, I always use a variety that I used when brewing the beer - have never really questioned that, until now LOL. So, the IPA we're drinking at home now, I used Centennial, Amarillo and Citra at 60, 20, 15, 10 and 5 minutes on the brew day, and dry hopped with one ounce of each of them.

With an IPA, you can afford to go heavier on the dry hopping than one ounce. I tend to throw the dry hops right into the primary fermenter, after fermentation is done, and leave it sit for five days or so at 65F, then rack into a clean/sanitized container and cold crash it for a week. Then rack again and leave as much debris as possible.

I need to start using @RM-MN 's strainer over the siphon end method.