2 questions. Is it best to dry hop with a small grain bag+marbles in the bag? Or should I just dump the pellets straight into the secondary? And why does my beer look so cloudy after 2 weeks in the primary, 2 weeks in the secondary and 3 weeks in the bottle? Every batch I have brewed looks like this. Tastes great, but not eye appealing. Thanks!
Dry hopping
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SurlyBastard
Active Member
IMO whole leaf hops work the best for dry hopping and I just dump them all in. A lot less clean up than pellets, even while using a grain bag. As to your beers being cloudy, it could be a variety of things but I would start by using a clearing agent like Irish moss or gelatin and see if that helps.
I'm doing my first dry hop on Sunday and I havent decided if I'll throw them in a muslin bag or not (pellets this time around). I'll probably just dump em in and if the hops don't settle out by bottling time then I'll wrap a grain bag around the end of my auto-siphon. There's more than one way to skin a cat.
Are your beers cloudy after being chilled (chill haze)? Or before as well? Do you brew extract or AG? Do you use whirlfloc or anything to clear it up?
Are your beers cloudy after being chilled (chill haze)? Or before as well? Do you brew extract or AG? Do you use whirlfloc or anything to clear it up?
wzup97
Well-Known Member
I have done both, muslin bag w/marbles and just dumping them in loose, and I am certain that I get much better results by just dumping them in loose and waiting seven days. After seven days, they are preatty much sucken to the bottem and I just rack off the top leaving the residue behind. I have also done whole hops (no bag, just dumping them in), less residue but I still think a pellet dump is the way to go. I have not tried it yet, but I may try double whole hops over pellets, and see what happens.
geoffabrown
Member
How do you chill your wort? Getting to a cold break quickly is a great step towards clarity because the floating particulates that cause cloudiness will drop to the bottom (even more so with the irish moss or gelatin)
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
I just tossed the whole leaf hops into primary when I dry hopped. 6 days in the brew before bottling it up. The batch was about a month in primary total, and has been very clear. Of course, I dry hopped with just one ounce (total) so if you use more YMMV... I didn't bag the hops at all.
IMO dry hopping isn't a reason to rack off of the yeast. I do use either Irish Moss or Whirlfloc in all my batches, which could have something to do with how clear/clean they are. I've also been bottling until the last batch (kegged 3 gallons, bottled the remaining 1.5 gallons).
Without knowing how long you're letting your brew chill down before pouring, that could be part of why it's not that clear. Or not as clear as you want it to be. I typically let mine chill for at least 4 days before I even think about pouring one. This allows the sediment to compact nicely in the bottles, as well as ensures that the carbonation is in the brew (where it's supposed to be). I plan to slow carbonate my kegged batches for two weeks before pulling a pint. Plenty of time for any sediment that came over to compact in the keg.
IMO dry hopping isn't a reason to rack off of the yeast. I do use either Irish Moss or Whirlfloc in all my batches, which could have something to do with how clear/clean they are. I've also been bottling until the last batch (kegged 3 gallons, bottled the remaining 1.5 gallons).
Without knowing how long you're letting your brew chill down before pouring, that could be part of why it's not that clear. Or not as clear as you want it to be. I typically let mine chill for at least 4 days before I even think about pouring one. This allows the sediment to compact nicely in the bottles, as well as ensures that the carbonation is in the brew (where it's supposed to be). I plan to slow carbonate my kegged batches for two weeks before pulling a pint. Plenty of time for any sediment that came over to compact in the keg.
Sweetchuck
Well-Known Member
Haven't done this recently, but I used to dry hop by throwing pellets into a small saucer pan of boiling water and adding it to secondary, to kill any buggies that might be frequenting my hop pellets.
Might try that with my current batch.
Might try that with my current batch.
I just toss the hops into the fermenter when dryhopping. I love it!
As far as not-clear beer, there are several causes. First, not chilling fast after the boil can leave a haze, as can not getting a good "hot break". Some ingredients, like wheat, leave a protein haze. If it's a mash, and there isn't proper conversion, it can leave a starch haze.
I guess to fix a cloudy beer issue, we'd need to know what kind of techniques you were using (AG, PM, extract), if a nice hard boil was reached, if Irish moss or whirlfloc were used, if the wort was chilled rapidly, etc.
I really like kettle finings like whirlfloc or Irish moss, and I get super clear beer without any other work at all. No cold crashing, no gelatin (have vegetarian friends), etc.
As far as not-clear beer, there are several causes. First, not chilling fast after the boil can leave a haze, as can not getting a good "hot break". Some ingredients, like wheat, leave a protein haze. If it's a mash, and there isn't proper conversion, it can leave a starch haze.
I guess to fix a cloudy beer issue, we'd need to know what kind of techniques you were using (AG, PM, extract), if a nice hard boil was reached, if Irish moss or whirlfloc were used, if the wort was chilled rapidly, etc.
I really like kettle finings like whirlfloc or Irish moss, and I get super clear beer without any other work at all. No cold crashing, no gelatin (have vegetarian friends), etc.
MattyIceGfunk
Well-Known Member
What I do with the batches I put fruit in is when I'm siphoning the beer into the bottling bucket I put a sanitized muslin bag over the tube. That catches most of the zest and fruit so I'm guessing it will work for dry hopping too
I just toss them right into the secondary and rack my beer over top. After 7-10 days, most should have sunk to the bottom so I just carefully rack to my bottling bucket/keg and leave the hop mess behind.
If I am brewing an IPA where I use a lot of dry hops, or am just feeling too lazy to carefully rack without disturbing the trub, I attach a sanitized muslin bag to the outlet end of my tube and it catches any particles that I miss.
If I am brewing an IPA where I use a lot of dry hops, or am just feeling too lazy to carefully rack without disturbing the trub, I attach a sanitized muslin bag to the outlet end of my tube and it catches any particles that I miss.
