Dry Hopping

[Halaster]

How long should you leave hops in during dry hopping? Is there a general rule that they should only be in there a week or two? What happens if you leave them in there for three or four weeks in the secondary?

 

[polecreek]

I just looked it up in the brew wikki. It says leave for a week or two and since your not boiling it ,it doesnt bitter the beer any. I assume its more of an aorma thing.

 

[Yooper]

I find that with some hops, a week to 10 days of dryhopping gives great aroma and flavor. Longer isn't necessarily better- I've heard that you can get a "grassy" flavor from leaving some too long. That hasn't been my experience, but what I like to do is to leave them a week or so then taste. If more hops are needed, remove the old hops and add fresh. After a week, you're not going to get any more flavor and aroma out of the dryhops anyway.

I have dryhopped in the keg, when I needed more hops flavor and aroma. I think it can stay in there a bit longer, because of the cold temperatures.

 

[polecreek]

thanks for the help Yooper, and your welcome for the signature. By the way my Avalanche jersey is way cooler.

 

[Yooper]

thanks for the help Yooper, and your welcome for the signature. By the way my Avalanche jersey is way cooler.

Yeah, but the Wings jersey comes with the Stanley cup.

 

[wildwest450]

Yeah, but the Wings jersey comes with the Stanley cup.

Oh snap, that was sweet!

 

[Curtman]

Go wings! The greatest sport team on Earth!!!

 

[BullF-16]

I have dryhopped a few times now in the seconday (carboy). I use leaf hops and am tired of leaving about a half gallon behind.

I was thinking about adding a hops bag with hops to the primary after about 10 days, after fermentation is complete. Then after about a week, rack to the carboy for about 10 days without hops then keg. This seems like it would make transfer much easier and efficient.

Would this work

 

[vespa2t]

I havent dry hopped in a bag, but supposedly doesnt work as good as just letting them float about in the secondary.

BTW, it works nice to add your hops to some 150 deg water (just a small amount) to make a sort of hop emulsion, then add that to the secondary, and then rack on top of it. You will notice a difference right away while filling it vs. not doing that. It releases the tasty oils easier.

 

[mkade]

There's definitely not a consensus on the best way to dry hop. There are a lot of opinions on what is long enough, too long, etc. Brewstrong did a good podcast on dry hopping with Tasty McDole. Check it out.

The Brewing Network.com - :

 

[shortz]

I just transferred a brew to the secondary and dry-hopped as well. I am planning on letting them stay for the two weeks I would normally leave the brew in 2ndary.

I wanted to make a note on the emulsion idea a couple posts up though. Like it was mentioned the dry-hopping gives a great aroma and that is its main purpose. When u transfer on top of that, you are essentially releasing all the aroma that you want to capture in your brew. ...right?

 

[Corkster]

I have dryhopped a few times now in the seconday (carboy). I use leaf hops and am tired of leaving about a half gallon behind.

When you start to siphon off the secondary into a vessel for bottling, would it be plausible to stick the flow end of the siphon tube into a cheesecloth bag (like a paint strainer) and let the brew flow through that into the vessel in order to strain out the hops?

 

[GroosBrewz]

When you start to siphon off the secondary into a vessel for bottling, would it be plausible to stick the flow end of the siphon tube into a cheesecloth bag (like a paint strainer) and let the brew flow through that into the vessel in order to strain out the hops?

Whats up Cory? Your big bro here...

By the time you are in the secondary, most all your trub will have been left behind in the primary vessel.. So you should not need to strain it into your bottling bucket.. If you are dry hopping in the 2ndary, use a hop steeping bag.. And even if you dont, most all that stuff will have settled to the bottom and if you have a decent racking cane, it will not get sucked up

Later
chris

 

[cuinrearview]

Nothin' sexier than hops in the bottle. No real need to filter with cheescloth or a strainer bag unless you're presenting beer to royalty. It all tastes the same. JMHO.

 

[Halaster]

I only use the bag when dry hopping with pellets. If it's leaf hops I pitch it directly into the carboy. So far it has turned out ok. The big issue I have found is if you dry hop over 1 oz, getting it out is hell. A butter knife that is sterilized is what I have had to do.