2 weeks secondary - dry hop for 1 or 2?

[eadavis80]

Will be brewing Northern Brewer's Conundrum session IPA Monday. Plan on primary for two and then a 2-week secondary. Instructions say to add the dry hops 1-2 weeks before bottling day. I will be using secondary for this beer. Do you think it's best to rack the beer and then on day 8 of secondary add the dry hops on top of the racked beer or rack the beer on the dry hops and leave those dry hops in there for the full 2 weeks? Some things I've read say dry hopping over a week is bad news. Others will say the more you fiddle with your beer, the greater the risk of oxidation/infection. Just trying to make the best beer I can and learn from your experiences. Thanks!

 

[rcornell]

I would say just the 7 days

 

[Calder]

Leave it in the primary, and toss in the hops 7 to 10 days before you plan to bottle. If you really have to transfer, transfer 7 to 10 days before bottling and add the hops then. The hops will create nucleation sites for some of the CO2 to come out of suspension providing some protection for the beer.

There is no 'correct' length to primary (or secondary).

 

[Yooper]

Dryhop for 5-7 days, just before bottling, for freshest hops aroma.

 

[eadavis80]

I realize kit instructions should be taken with a grain of salt. Given they instruct 2 weeks of primary and 2 weeks of secondary, you're saying either go 2 weeks primary and then rack/dry hop for only 1 week OR 3 weeks primary and then rack/dry hop for 1 week? What would be the harm in having racked for 1 week and adding the hops after that for 1 week? Is there serious risk of oxidation/infection?

 

[Calder]

No serious potential for a problem, but sine you are only secondarying because you are dry hopping, why not do both at the same time.

If you think about it, beer will be clearer if left 4 weeks in primary rather than 2 weeks pri and 2 weeks sec. There are a lot of fine particles that take a long time to settle; any that didn't make it to the bottom in the first 2 weeks, will be mixed up again.

I am one of the few who do secondary most batches, but I believe you should have a reason to rack to secondary.

 

[RandallFlag]

Some things I've read say dry hopping over a week is bad news.

Um, I hope this is not the case because I have the NB Plinian Legacy in secondary on week 2 of dry hopping with another late addition to go.

Anybody care to clear this up? Fact or Fiction?

 

[eadavis80]

Well, it's too late in your case now. Like all things in home brewing, these are just opinions of others. If your recipe called for an extended dry hop, then it's probably fine. That being said, in e-mail/chat discussions I had with this topic yesterday, both AdventuresInHomebrewing and Northern Brewer told me that they'd suggest racking my beer, letting it sit one week and then adding the hops on day 8 of secondary. NB did say if I wanted to let the hops sit more, I could taste after a week of secondary and see for myself, but I've read many things that discourages dry hopping over 10 days due to an increased chance of veggie/grassy aromas left in beer. I've only dry hopped a few beers and both I went no more than seven days. Good luck on your dry hops.

 

[joshesmusica]

if you have the time, listen to this:
http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/Brew-Strong/Brew-Strong-12-08-08-Dry-Hopping

(it doesn't actually download when you click download, it just streams it.)