Too late to dry hop?

[kef300]

I have an IPA that has been in ny fermenting bucket for almost three weeks. I'm getting this urge to dry hop it to get some more aromatics. Can this be done still and is it recommended? Will it have a chance to do anything if I plan to bottle it this weekend?

Also, is 1oz of a medium AA hop (5-7%) enough for a 5 gal batch of an IPA? I don't want to over do it.

Thanks guys!


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[strangebrew14]

I think the challenge you are going to run into is only allowing the hops to sit for 3-4 days..I normally shoot for a week of dry hopping on my beers. 1oz of hops will be enough to add a little nose to the beer but on my IPAs I shoot for 2 oz. Good luck and I'm sure it will be tasty either way.

 

[LakeErieMonster]

It's not too late, right on time actually. I typically dryhop with 3 oz/5 gallons.

 

[jdauria]

How long the beer has been fermenting does not really have anything to do with when you dry hop. It's more about getting the hops in for several days to capture the aromatics. I've seen lots of discussing on how long to dry hop and it seems to range from 3-7 days with some going longer.

If you are bottling this weekend, you are really cutting it close. Are you just dumping them in or putting in a hop bag? If just dumping in, you want them to have time to settle and drop out. Some will also cold crash the beer after dry hopping to make sure it will settle.

As for how much, the AA does not really factor in for dry hopping. Really depends on how much hop aroma you really want. I did two ounces dry hop for a hoppy brown ale and it has a great hop aroma. But one DIPA recipe I have calls for over 5 oz of dry hops. Just go with the one ounce and see how it comes out and then just adjust next time?

 

[dobe12]

Definitely not too late and many professional brewers would urge you to NOT dry hop for more than 3-4 days. I used to dry hop for a week or more, but have cut that down to 4-5 days and my beers are just as good. I haven't noticed a difference either way.

Go for it. As long as you get a few days (2-3 minimum) you'll be fine.

Also, 1oz for an IPA seems light to me. I like to add 1 or 2oz to pale ales and 2-4 oz or more for IPAs. But it's your beer. Do what you want.

 

[kef300]

Thanks guys! I think I'm going to dump 2oz of Cascade in a hop bag and we'll see how it goes.

 

[jbaysurfer]

I have an IPA that has been in ny fermenting bucket for almost three weeks. I'm getting this urge to dry hop it to get some more aromatics. Can this be done still and is it recommended? Will it have a chance to do anything if I plan to bottle it this weekend?

Also, is 1oz of a medium AA hop (5-7%) enough for a 5 gal batch of an IPA? I don't want to over do it.

Thanks guys!


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

The AAs don't matter, but that's the low end I'd do for 5G of IPA. Keep in mind it's better then not doing it at all, and it's NEVER too late to dryhop a beer. That's why some retailers infuse hops into the tap draw through a hoprocket at serving time.

 

[jbaysurfer]

PS, you'll get better results if you put the bottling off until next week.