• Please visit and share your knowledge at our sister communities:
  • If you have not, please join our official Homebrewing Facebook Group!

    Homebrewing Facebook Group

Biotransformation Dry Hop charge.. Leave it in? Pull it out?

Homebrew Talk

Help Support Homebrew Talk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Javaslinger

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 9, 2017
Messages
121
Reaction score
13
So I understand that leaving dry hops in longer than 5-7 days can lead to grassy flavors. I'm going to do a biotransformation charge early at about 48 hours and another charge with about 5 days before bottling.

I'm NOT kegging, so I can't do my 2nd charge in the keg and thereby pull the beer off the first charge. (I will one day keg but for now I can't afford it so unless you want to donate a kegging system + beer fridge - Please don't suggest it)

1) Should I just leave the first charge in?
2) Should I pull it out? If so, what's your method?
A) Secondary
B) Bag it? (what kinda bad do you use)
c) Hop strainer type doodad?
d) some other genius method.

Thanks!!!
 
How far away is your bottling from the start, my last neipa (I'm guessing that's what your doing) went into bottles on day 7. Bio hops at 24 hours in and 2nd charge 72 hours in when fermentation had died down. I used the same nylon mesh bag for both and just opened it up to add the second lot. Thus probably isn't the best to do but if your quick with clean hands it should be fine.
 
I’ve personally never understood people who stand by the vegetal hop flavor idea...I’ve kept dry hops in a keg for the duration it’s consumed and never noticed a thing.
Hopefully you have the ability to regulate temperature because that makes a dramatic difference in clarity and hop aroma preservation. If not, consider the investment as a stepping stone to kegging.
Invest in a CO2 tank and a siphon tool to bottle directly from the fermenter to eliminate any oxygen reuptake.
Use a single charge of hops during active fermentation to scavenge oxygen from the hops. Don’t add any more unless you can purge the head space.
Add fresh yeast and primer at bottling time and purge bottles with CO2, if possible.
Do not use a hop sock. If anything, a small hop screen on your siphon should be sufficient (muslin sock secured by hose clamp will do).
 
How far away is your bottling from the start, my last neipa (I'm guessing that's what your doing) went into bottles on day 7. Bio hops at 24 hours in and 2nd charge 72 hours in when fermentation had died down. I used the same nylon mesh bag for both and just opened it up to add the second lot. Thus probably isn't the best to do but if your quick with clean hands it should be fine.

Bottle in 7 days? I have historically always waited 14 days to bottle even when the fermentation seems complete in 4 or 5 days. Never considered bottling so soon. Yup, this is a NEIPA styled beer.
 
fwiw, my bio-hopped schedule is usually:
- add the bio-hops 48 hours from pitching
- four days later add the dry hop charge
- four days later start cold-crashing
- two days later rack to kegs.

I've never pulled the first charge, and never experienced grassy/woody notes.
That, however, may be the hop strains used, which invariably are high octane citrusy variants.
Outcomes might differ for classic european/noble strains which don't offer enough kick to cover off characters that develop...

Cheers!
 
Bottle in 7 days? I have historically always waited 14 days to bottle even when the fermentation seems complete in 4 or 5 days. Never considered bottling so soon. Yup, this is a NEIPA styled beer.
Thought so.

The yeast are going to do the same cleanup in the bottle that they would do in the fv so no real need to wait that long as far as I can see obviously ymmv.

I had the first taste test of my neipa yesterday which I brewed 14 days ago today. Probably one of the nicest beers I have made a little undercarbed atm but nonetheless tastes amazing. Another thing with neipa if you can cut that week of nothing out you get a week fresher hops which is huge with this style.

However long you wait I'm sure it will be great beer. What's the recipe if you don't mind sharing.
 
Back
Top