Dry Hop - How Soon is Too Soon

[whovous]

I brewed four gallons of an 8% IPA on Sunday night and pitched San Diego Super late. Set temp in the FC at 65F. Monday morning and the blow-off tube was chugging like a mo-fo. Ramped to 69F this AM, but it is not there yet. Tuesday afternoon and it has barely slowed down at all.

Late tomorrow morning I am leaving the country for twelve days. I want to ramp the temp to 70F and pitch an ounce of Mosaic and an ounce of Simcoe just before I leave, then cold crash when I get back on the 26th. Does this make sense? I have the ability to program temp changes, if that matters.

My alternatives are to not dry-hop at all, or to do it when I get back, some fifteen days after pitching the yeast.

Suggestions?

 

[drunami]

I've yet to run into any problems dry hopping early, including dry hopping when I pitch yeast. Whether or not your want to have your beer on hops for longer is a different question though. I usually dry hop early to get the beer finished quicker. Two weeks isn't bad though. I'd say hop away!

 

[FloppyKnockers]

When it's boiling.... that's too soon to dry hop.








Dry hop now - you'll be fine

 

[whovous]

Hop I shall.

Thanks.

 

[brick_haus]

Yep, the only problem I see is about one ounce shy of a good IIPA. Throw another ounce in there!

 

[Sbe2]

Never too early

 

[whovous]

Yep, the only problem I see is about one ounce shy of a good IIPA. Throw another ounce in there!

It turns out that is exactly what I did. 2oz Mosaic and 1oz Simcoe. Totals were 2ox Simcoe, about 4.5 Mosaic, and a bit Columbus based CO2 abstract at 60 min and a little more at 20. This is with about 4 gallons to the fermenter.

 

[TheMadKing]

Brulosophy just did a test on this that showed no statistical difference in taste between dry hopping simultaneously with the yeast pitch vs dry hopping post fermentation

 

[416Brewer]

I don't know about too soon, but I think 12 days is too long to let your hops sit in the wort. You're likely to get grassy flavours from the hops and you'll loose a ton of hop aroma... imho... I'd wait till I got back dry hop for 4-5 days.

 

[kh54s10]

I don't know about too soon, but I think 12 days is too long to let your hops sit in the wort. You're likely to get grassy flavours from the hops and you'll loose a ton of hop aroma... imho... I'd wait till I got back dry hop for 4-5 days.

This was my thought also. I have never dry hopped for longer than 7 days so I have no direct experience. Has there been a Xbeeriment on dry hopping long as opposed to the 4-7 day standard?

 

[whovous]

Too late. I pitched the hops last night. I've done a long dry hop once before, and do not recall any grassy flavors. I guess we'll know in a month or so.

 

[416Brewer]

Too late. I pitched the hops last night. I've done a long dry hop once before, and do not recall any grassy flavors. I guess we'll know in a month or so.

Cool cool. Simcoe/Mosaic its really hard to miss with that combo.

 

[distributistdad]

I recently had a conversation about this with a local pro brewer in his taproom. He had made an absolutely incredible pale ale using Mosiac.

He said that the brew was an experiment, beginning dry hopping the day krausen fell (4 days into fermentation). He was fermenting using US-05 @ 61. Dry hopped day 5, day 6, day 7 & day 8. Results: one of the best Mosiac beers I've ever had -- tons of mango & stonefruit in the nose, you could smell the beer just sitting on the table in front of you.

 

[whovous]

This one is my latest effort at cloning Knee Deep's Breaking Bud. Efficiency was higher than expected, so it will be close to 8.0% whilst the original is 6.7.