How to Properly Dry Hop

[Dave77]

My most recent recipe calls for a dry hop addition 4 days into fermentation. I was just going to pitch the hops directly to the fermenter, but would prefer not having to strain them out later. Can I just put the hops in a muslin bag and toss it in so it's easier to retrieve later? If I do that, should I soak the muslin bag in Starsan first?

Thanks in advance...

 

[DonT]

You can do either way. I just pitch them in... but if you use a bag, be sure to sanitize it in starsan like you said.

 

[Dave77]

In my subsequent research on this, I saw a guy on Youtube using 2 magnets (meant for a sousvide applicaiton) - one for under the bucket lid to hold a muslin bag, the other for the top of the bucket lid so that when it was time to dry hop he just removed the outside magnet and the hops fell in the wort without having to open the lid. "Clever" I thought, but a couple of questions arose in my mind:

1) If the hops were suspended like that in the bucket for a few days, would they loose their 'freshness' in not being in a vaccuum sealed bag?
2) The weight of the magnet would (I'm guessing) sink the muslin bag to the bottom of the fermenter. Would it still have the desired effect sitting on the bottom, or should the hops be floating around in the wort instead?

Thanks for helping out this curious newbie mind...

 

[DonT]

1) No
2) Yes, but give the bag some slack to let the hops rise up a bit.

 

[Jag75]

Make sure the bag is big enough to allow the hops to swell and fully soak . I have a SS washer on the end of the string on my bags. Washer sinks and the hops suspend around the middle .

 

[hotbeer]

I quit dry hopping when I realized I didn't really like the super dooper hoppy and murky beers it made. I found I can get all the hoppy flavors I desire by stuffing the hops in at flame out.

And I don't have all the hassles that I read about from others or the risk of O2 making my beer tasteless or oxidized if I store them for a long time after bottling.

If you like dry hopping that's okay. It just seems that dry hopping is becoming the dogma and mantra that is touted as all things beer just like using a secondary was in the turn of the century and actually still is by the noobs to brewing.

 

[VikeMan]

1) If the hops were suspended like that in the bucket for a few days, would they loose their 'freshness' in not being in a vaccuum sealed bag?

They would definitely lose some volatile compounds, which would escape through the airlock. Ever smell hops after removing them from their sealed bag? The aroma producing particles you breathed in were no longer in the hops.

 

[Dave77]

I quit dry hopping when I realized I didn't really like the super dooper hoppy and murky beers it made. I found I can get all the hoppy flavors I desire by stuffing the hops in at flame out.

And I don't have all the hassles that I read about from others or the risk of O2 making my beer tasteless or oxidized if I store them for a long time after bottling.

If you like dry hopping that's okay. It just seems that dry hopping is becoming the dogma and mantra that is touted as all things beer just like using a secondary was in the turn of the century and actually still is by the noobs to brewing.

Interesting take. I'm not big on really hoppy beers either, but I'm still in the 'learning' stage so wanted to try it. I'll keep your 'put all hops in at flameout' suggestion for future trials. Thanks.

 

[Jag75]

Try dry hopping about 3 to 4 days before you package . Imo that makes the hops shine through .

 

[Geezer-Glide]

I still dry hop but then again I like hops. I put mine in a nylon(?) bag with a 1/2“ SS hex nut and a small sealed test tube. The hex nut/tt arrangement keeps it more or less vertical and maybe less likely to interfere with the Tilt. I do give the bag and hardware a good wash with I/O San before tossing them in. Does it work? Seems like it does but like most of my brewing procedures, I’m not really sure.

 

[bigboogieman]

In my subsequent research on this, I saw a guy on Youtube using 2 magnets (meant for a sousvide applicaiton) - one for under the bucket lid to hold a muslin bag, the other for the top of the bucket lid so that when it was time to dry hop he just removed the outside magnet and the hops fell in the wort without having to open the lid.

I just did a variation of this - the hops were in a large nylon bag. I put magnets in both ends and mounted the bag horizontally, so 4 total magnets. The bag is long enough that it stretches all the way from one side of the fermenter to the other. Then when it came time to dry hop, I slid the magnets down so they were approximately in the middle of the beer (vertically), instead of removing the magnets. This way the bag was held in place, and I didn't have to worry about it dropping to the bottom in a heap. Seemed to work pretty well, and I will probably do it this way again next time.