Dry Hop Amounts

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wobdee

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How much hops do you guys dry hop with to get that HOP BOMB aroma? I just started experimenting with 1/2 oz and 3/4 oz in 2.5 gal batches. The 1/2 oz was barely noticeable, my IPA with 3/4 has an ok aroma but I'd like to see more. How much is too much? I don't want to waste hops or overdue it.
 
first rule: MOAR HOPZ. you can't overdo it :D

for 2.5 gal of average-strength IPA, 1.5 oz of dry hops is fairly standard. if you want a hop bomb, i'd be going 2 oz or more. dry hops only add aroma and a little flavor (but no bitterness), so you can't really do any harm by going big.
 
I too like hop bombs and have found that 3 ounces in a 5 gallon batch of IPA is about right for me.
 
how long are you leaving them for?

+1 to can't over due it. i have done up to 2.5oz for 5 gallons, and that was in an amber ale.
 
Ok, sounds like my next batch I'll try 2 oz and see what happens. I have been dry hopping in the primary for about 7 days before kegging. I've seen various times from 3 days to 2 weeks. Is there any corilation between the amount and the time?
 
So far, my favorite IPA recipe takes 5 oz for 5 days in 5 gallons. It also has 4 ounces added at different points in the last 10 minutes of the boil. This is with a combination of Simcoe, Centenial, and Columbus.
 
For a pale ale or an IPA I usually go about 3/4 to 1 oz./gal. for 7 days +/-. I always transfer to secondary after hitting my FG then dry hop there to avoid having hop aroma blown off by active fermentation.
 
first rule: MOAR HOPZ. you can't overdo it :D

for 2.5 gal of average-strength IPA, 1.5 oz of dry hops is fairly standard. if you want a hop bomb, i'd be going 2 oz or more. dry hops only add aroma and a little flavor (but no bitterness), so you can't really do any harm by going big.

Hmmm... i'm not shure that it does not impart any bitternes at all.
I tried dryhopping a Rye stout i made with 3oz of Nugget pellets and it surely added some bitternes i believe.
A bet would be that it went from somewhere around 50IBU to quite extreme (mouthfeel close to extreme 100+ IBU IIPAs)... Mikkelers 1000IBU Oak aged IPA seemed mellow compared to.
It did add some kind of bitternes im sure.

My to go to amount for a hop bomb, except with Nugget from now on, is around the 3oz mark for dryhopping.
 
I just dry hopped my IPA with 3 oz in the primary for 7 days, then kegged and dry hopped with another 2 oz. Awesome aroma and flavor. To note, I also did a FWH addition and added a bunch of late hops during boil.
 
I've dry hopped with 10oz on a triple IPA, 4 at end of primary and 6oz split into to bags in the keg. Lets just say 6 months later the aroma is still stronger than any beer I have ever had.
 
Man, some of you guys don't screw around when it comes to dry hops! My next beer is going to be a Big Red IPA and I have 2 oz of Zythos I'm looking to throw in for a dry hop. Also going to steep another oz for 30 min and FWH. Should be an interesting brew.

What about darker beers, do you find you need more dry hops than lighter beers to balance out the malt sweetness?
 
Hmmm... i'm not shure that it does not impart any bitternes at all.
I tried dryhopping a Rye stout i made with 3oz of Nugget pellets and it surely added some bitternes i believe.
A bet would be that it went from somewhere around 50IBU to quite extreme (mouthfeel close to extreme 100+ IBU IIPAs)... Mikkelers 1000IBU Oak aged IPA seemed mellow compared to.
It did add some kind of bitternes im sure.

it doesn't, or at least such a negligible amount that it can be ignored (like under 1 IBU). bitterness is caused by the isomerization of alpha acids which takes heat. dry hopping = no heat = no bitterness.

go to any online recipe calculator and add 3 pounds of dry hops. change in IBUs: zero.
 
it doesn't, or at least such a negligible amount that it can be ignored (like under 1 IBU). bitterness is caused by the isomerization of alpha acids which takes heat. dry hopping = no heat = no bitterness.

go to any online recipe calculator and add 3 pounds of dry hops. change in IBUs: zero.

I’m fully aware that isomerization is needed to give bitterness. That’s the exact reason to why I posted my last message.
I’m not sure whether it’s just the nugget hop that tastes like “bitternes” or it has some other kind of flavor in the harsh end that might be mistaken for perceived bitterness. I don’t know the Nuggets that well, but it sure did something.

And it was not an oxidized or HSA(if this exists) taste/feel. It was definitely different.
 
In my IPA brews I like .5oz/gallon. I have also found that I like pellet hops for dry hops. I feel like I get less oxidation with pellet hops. Maybe I'm crazy, just my interpretation. Just brewed 13 gallons of IIPA that had 6oz for 12 days, and
1.5oz for 5 days and the aroma was fantastic.
 
I usually go with 0.50 oz. pellet dryhops per gallon of IPA or 0.75 oz pellet dry hops per gallon of IIPA. Sometimes I will do a whole ounce per gallon.

But for your particular beer, it all depends on what you're looking for.

Here are a couple things to consider:

Are you using tossing leaf hops in loose? Even at the above prescribed ratios you may have a lot of wasted leaf dryhops sitting above the beer and not penetrating the wort.

Are you focusing on juicy/fruity dryhops like Citra or Amarillo? You can get away with a lesser amount of these highly fragrant dryhops. Overdoing it won't necessarily be a bad thing, but you'll have something more like hop juice than beer.

The OG/FG ratio, % of sweet specialty malts used, and location/amount of your kettle hops may also matter to some extent.
 
I don’t know the Nuggets that well, but it sure did something.

Could have been. Nugget can be a bit weighty... I like it more as a bittering hop, and prefer to pair it with a finish/aroma hop that isn't so aggressive. I have found Chinook behaves similarly to Nugget in this regard. In fact, I think a great beer could be made using Nugget & Chinook up front for bittering and some flavor additions, then a bunch of Centennial at the end. Or maybe Cluster at the end.

As to the original topic..
I have typically used 1oz - 2oz of dry hop each time, but I have not made any super-dry-hop IIPAs yet. My Vienna-Belma SMaSH used 1.5oz Belma Dry-Hop and came out tasting quite lovely.

My next brew on my list is a West Coast Wheat, I'm using 5 oz at dry-hopping time, over 12oz hops total in the beer, for 5 gallons.
 
If you really like a huge hop flavor you are going to need 3-4 ozs. As far as more bitterness...the addition of large quantities of dry hops does cause a perceived bitterness according to your taste buds though not technically more bitterness. I tend to agree with my taste buds over the technical aspects. If it tastes bitter...it is.

I've found (and learned on this site) that when using lots-o-hops it seems to work out better with low cohumulone% and high oil% hops to lessen this perceived bitterness and sharp off flavors caused by high levels of dry hopping.

I'm really into HUGE hoppy IPA's like Pliny and my own which is not as bitter Pliny. I learned to adjust my hop additions resulting in hop bursting which is the addition of less early hops, but many more late hops to get the flavor and aroma much, much more intense. I use a lot more hops to achieve this, but it's worth it. I just buy my hops in bulk from the vendors on this site like Steelers77. I bet I have 30 lbs of hops in the freezer.
 
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