Alternative to dry hopping?

[Ralelen]

Has anyone attempted adding hop pellets to their priming (I use DME) sugar before bottling in order to get a "dry hopping" effect? If the priming sugar is boiled for only 10 minutes, I would assume you are only extracting oils used for aroma. Also has anyone tried steeping wort in a French with hops and using that addition as a "dry hop"? The reason why I ask this is that on a Basic Brewing episode they were talking about this but never got back to it. Im dry hopping an IIPA tomorrow and am thinking of steeping 1 oz of whole leaf in a French press then dumping it in primary, then when bottling comes along put two ounces of pellets into the priming sugar boil. Any thought?

 

[Dome555]

I think you might run into problems with whole leaf and a french press. I'd stop pushing if you feel more resistance than usual. If the leaves clog the filter then the pressure you're putting is going straight to the cylinder. That's brilliant though, please post how it turns out. Be a nice way to make hop tea too which just has to be good.

I don't see why hop pellets in with the priming solution wouldn't work but I wouldn't add them to the boil at all. I'd add them to the bottling bucket right before racking onto the priming solution. The only problem I see in adding them to the priming solution or bottling bucket is that they won't distribute uniformly and it'll be difficult to get the same amount of hops into each bottle.

 

[Ralelen]

Anyone else?

 

[remilard]

If you heat the hops you won't be getting a dry hop effect.

I think if you try "whirlpool" hopping you will get what you want. Basically add hops after flameout (I like to chill to about 195 first) and let them sit in the hot wort for half an hour before chilling.

Ray Daniels and Randy Mosher did a presentation about 3 NHCs ago where they talked about this, you can probably find the PDF online.

Every commercial IPA you love is made this way. Not sure why homebrewers don't do this (actually I am sure, one of those nuggets of info that most homebrewers accept without thinking about it is that you have to chill fast to lock in hop aroma).

The only advantage to hot steeping hops and adding post fermentation would be that you wouldn't lose aroma during fermentation. You can remedy this by using more hops post boil but I guess if you are really trying to save money the hop tea method is worth it. There is a big thread about doing this on here.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Every commercial IPA you love is made this way. Not sure why homebrewers don't do this (actually I am sure, one of those nuggets of info that most homebrewers accept without thinking about it is that you have to chill fast to lock in hop aroma).

That's a fairly standard procedure - whirlpool hopping. It requires a sufficiently long boil to prevent DMS buildup during the hot steep, but other than that, it's very straightforward and successful. It is not usually something that is included in beginner instructions because of the increased risk of DMS production and, potentially, infection.

The character you get from a whirlpool addition is different from dry hopping though, since the first is a hot extraction in wort, the second a cold extraction in the presence of ethanol.

 

[unionrdr]

There's a guy on one of the forums I belong to that was using pounds of whole hops in his AG IPA's. He then bought a french press to steep them in for 30-60 mins,then press'em. He says he now only needs a couple of ounces to achieve the same effect. I can't wait to afford,say an 8 cup press. I though,put in an ounce of pellets,pour in the boiling water,& let them steep. The pellets break down & swell up to a grainy paste about the size of a baseball. I thought the French press would be perfect for squeezing out all that hop deliciousness. I'm going to try it when I can get one.