Cold crashing timing and dry hopping

[rtracer]

Ok, so I plan on cold crashing my first batch I made up last Sunday.

Here is what I gather, please correct me...

I do not plan on racking to a secondary.

I can cold crash as soon as fermentation is complete, confirmed by three days of even FG.
Lets just say that is this coming Sunday, one week after racking to carboy that fermentation is complete.
If that is the case, I plan on kegging the following Sunday.


My recipe calls for 3-5 days of dry hopping.

Would a good plan of action be to plan on tossing in the hops on say...Tue or Wed, then placing the carboy in my keezer until I plan to Keg on Sunday?
Or should dry hopping be done at room temperature?

 

[beskone]

Ok, so I plan on cold crashing my first batch I made up last Sunday.

Here is what I gather, please correct me...

I do not plan on racking to a secondary.

I can cold crash as soon as fermentation is complete, confirmed by three days of even FG.
Lets just say that is this coming Sunday, one week after racking to carboy that fermentation is complete.
If that is the case, I plan on kegging the following Sunday.


My recipe calls for 3-5 days of dry hopping.

Would a good plan of action be to plan on tossing in the hops on say...Tue or Wed, then placing the carboy in my keezer until I plan to Keg on Sunday?
Or should dry hopping be done at room temperature?

I personally dry hop warm. After I reach FG I bump the temp in my fermentation chamber to 72º to let the yeast clean up so it's a handy time to dry hop for 3 days then cold crash.

Here's a link to a xbeeriment where he tested cold vs warm

http://brulosophy.com/2016/01/18/dry-hop-temperature-warm-vs-cool-exbeeriment-results/

 

[rtracer]

I personally dry hop warm. After I reach FG I bump the temp in my fermentation chamber to 72º to let the yeast clean up so it's a handy time to dry hop for 3 days then cold crash.

Here's a link to a xbeeriment where he tested cold vs warm

http://brulosophy.com/2016/01/18/dry-hop-temperature-warm-vs-cool-exbeeriment-results/

Interesting read, maybe I could dry hop Tuesday, cold crash Friday and Keg Sunday or Monday. Get some benefit from the warm dry hopping and the benefits of cold crashing.

 

[Gibberoni]

I always dry hop for 5-7 days after primary fermentation is done, maintaining temp based on yeast type, usually toward the warmer side of its zone. Once the 7 days are up, I cold crash for 48 hours at 40*. After the 48 hours, I rack to the keg and we are ready to drink the next week!

 

[McKnuckle]

I think a good rule of thumb is to wait for the yeast to be on its way down, but it doesn't have to be cold crashed in order to dry hop.

Wait for primary to finish. Keep the beer at room temp and watch for the krausen to begin falling (top quarter to third of the fermenter should be mostly clear). Toss in dry hops. After your dry hop period, cold crash. This will make the hops fall on top of the yeast, and everything will end up sitting on the bottom for racking/packaging.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Add my vote to dry hopping warm for 5-7 days before cold crashing. It sounds like you may be rushing your schedule a little, though. Even though the krausen may fall and the airlock may stop after a week, that doesn't mean fermentation is done. The yeast still have clean-up work to do. I usually give my beers a minimum of 10 days before dry hopping, 5 days for dry hopping and at least 2 days to cold crash. As with most things, patience is rewarded

 

[rtracer]

I think a good rule of thumb is to wait for the yeast to be on its way down, but it doesn't have to be cold crashed in order to dry hop.

Wait for primary to finish. Keep the beer at room temp and watch for the krausen to begin falling (top quarter to third of the fermenter should be mostly clear). Toss in dry hops. After your dry hop period, cold crash. This will make the hops fall on top of the yeast, and everything will end up sitting on the bottom for racking/packaging.

Add my vote to dry hopping warm for 5-7 days before cold crashing. It sounds like you may be rushing your schedule a little, though. Even though the krausen may fall and the airlock may stop after a week, that doesn't mean fermentation is done. The yeast still have clean-up work to do. I usually give my beers a minimum of 10 days before dry hopping, 5 days for dry hopping and at least 2 days to cold crash. As with most things, patience is rewarded

Thanks guys, I'll just dryhop for 5 or so days then crash.
And you remember how hard it was to wait for your first brew? haha
Using a PET carboy, bad the hops or just throw in there?

 

[whovous]

I've read that dry hopping much more than 3-4 days does not add much to the final flavor proflie. The OP may still be rushing things in other respects, but i don't think he needs a full week of dry hopping.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

And you remember how hard it was to wait for your first brew? haha
Using a PET carboy, bad the hops or just throw in there?

The reason we know about bottling too early is because we did the same thing in our first brews But I still had to say it. As for the hops, either way is fine. I use a nylon hop bag but there are plenty of people who just drop them in. The cold crashing will help drop the hops out, too.