Dry Hop - Bucket Fermentor

[virgil1]

Long story short I had the wrong stopper for my glass carboy, so when I did my first BIAB all grain batch yesterday, I had to use my plastic bucket fermentor. Is it ok to open it up in 10 days, and and put hops in(in a bag, with soap stones to weigh it down) and close it back up? Will that let too much Oxygen in? I could siphon it to the glass carboy, but I ended up with only 4.5 gallons and the glass carboy is 6.5 gallons. Is there too much head space anyhow? What's the deal with oxygen, is it just exposing the hops is bad and I am ok if I weigh them down? Or is it exposing any of the beer to oxygen...in which case opening the lid on the fermentor is bad to start with?

 

[Rockn_M]

Carefully adding the hops and weighting it down in the bucket will be fine. I only use a bucket and open it up to take gravity readings or dry hopping. Just make sure that anything that you add is sanitized with Star San or something similar.

 

[justenoughforme]

any exposure of oxygen to beer (after primary slows down) is bad.

"how bad" i personally think people get too carried away... but i don't make fresh aromatic IPA's.

that said yes i think 4.5 gallons in a 6 gallon carboy is too much head space... especially if transferring for what's basically use as a secondary.

so right now it's in a bucket, and you're debating racking when you dry hop, or just adding the hops right into the bucket ?


my vote is keep it in the bucket if you have 4.5 gallons of beer and a 6.5 gallon carboy

 

[Toga]

I dry hop in my fermentation buckets. Works well. I would not use soap stone for the weight however. Soap stone is porous and can harbor critters. I recommend using glass marbles or stainless steel bearings or washers. I use marbles when I use a bag.

 

[justenoughforme]

^^ or just add the hops right in and let the pellets swim.

 

[ChucknBeer]

Yeah, pellets directly to the fermenter, then coldcrash and you are ready to go.

 

[virgil1]

Yeah, pellets directly to the fermenter, then coldcrash and you are ready to go.

Thanks! How important is 'cold crashing'? If I don't have a fridge to put it in, can I just put it in something full of ice? Or is that too cold?

 

[virgil1]

I dry hop in my fermentation buckets. Works well. I would not use soap stone for the weight however. Soap stone is porous and can harbor critters. I recommend using glass marbles or stainless steel bearings or washers. I use marbles when I use a bag.

I was going to use Whiskey Stones. I was guessing they were soapstone, not sure. I keep them in the freezer, I doubt anything is living in them. Point taken though, I'll look for something else(or just dump the pellets in).

 

[aprichman]

I was going to use Whiskey Stones. I was guessing they were soapstone, not sure. I keep them in the freezer, I doubt anything is living in them. Point taken though, I'll look for something else(or just dump the pellets in).

Bacteria and viruses are absolutely "living" (if a virus is living or not is another debate ) there. If any of them could survive in beer or if they would be noticeable is a different story, but there is life crawling over almost every square inch of this earth.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

My $0.02...

I generally have a gallon to a gallon and a half of head space in my primary. I very rarely use a secondary. When dry hopping, I put the hops in a hop bag with a 3/4" socket and drop it in. By the time I dry hop I am not that worried about infection and even less worried about oxygen.

 

[virgil1]

My $0.02...

I generally have a gallon to a gallon and a half of head space in my primary. I very rarely use a secondary. When dry hopping, I put the hops in a hop bag with a 3/4" socket and drop it in. By the time I dry hop I am not that worried about infection and even less worried about oxygen.

Thanks! I guess I have 9 days to decide. I do like the idea of not having to worry about hops getting sucked up when I bottle. I like the idea of cold crashing. Anyone know if I can just throw the bucket in a container with some ice and water and put a blanket over it? Will that work? I don't have a big enough fridge or freezer.

 

[m00ps]

That will only get it 5-7 degrees cooler in my experience. Unless you are like constantly adding ice and its like a 50/50 mixture with water. For cold crashing youve usually got to get at least into the 40s

 

[ChucknBeer]

Thanks! How important is 'cold crashing'? If I don't have a fridge to put it in, can I just put it in something full of ice? Or is that too cold?

Coldcrashing helps in settling down the beer. I don't use gelatin or anything to clear my beers, only coldcrash and it is very effective but alas, not perfect. It is an easy step if you have the space in your fridge and many will recommend it.

Regarding using ice to coldcrash... it might work but I doubt it would be as effective as using a chest cooler or fridge. In my first beer I ask my wife to use the house´s refrigerator as an "one time" deal... it worked nicely, but be aware of suckback!

 

[VonAle]

Coldcrashing helps in settling down the beer. I don't use gelatin or anything to clear my beers, only coldcrash and it is very effective but alas, not perfect. It is an easy step if you have the space in your fridge and many will recommend it.

Regarding using ice to coldcrash... it might work but I doubt it would be as effective as using a chest cooler or fridge. In my first beer I ask my wife to use the house´s refrigerator as an "one time" deal... it worked nicely, but be aware of suckback!

I cold crash in a tub.
Start with adding 10# ice and top up the water.
4 hours later, siphon off some of the water and add another 10# of ice.
After another 3 or 4 hours, add another 10# ice.
The fermenter is now about 40 degrees
This last addition of ice will remain ice cubes for more than 12 hours.
I also cover the tub with a blanket and lay a couple of frozen water bottles on the lid. After the last addition of ice I allow it to warm up till bottling time.
This process is long enough to drop the hop matter to the bottom and I can rack clear beer out.

 

[virgil1]

I cold crash in a tub.
Start with adding 10# ice and top up the water.
4 hours later, siphon off some of the water and add another 10# of ice.
After another 3 or 4 hours, add another 10# ice.
The fermenter is now about 40 degrees
This last addition of ice will remain ice cubes for more than 12 hours.
I also cover the tub with a blanket and lay a couple of frozen water bottles on the lid. After the last addition of ice I allow it to warm up till bottling time.
This process is long enough to drop the hop matter to the bottom and I can rack clear beer out.

Thanks! I think I'll try that this time around(or the next). I have a downstairs bathroom with a tub that's never used. It stays pretty cool down there all day too. Sounds like if I do that a day or two before I bottle, I'll be good to go. I am kind of tempted to try it WITHOUT cold crashing this time, and then do the cold crash on the next batch so I can compare.

 

[ChucknBeer]

I am kind of tempted to try it WITHOUT cold crashing this time, and then do the cold crash on the next batch so I can compare.

I guess you can always "coldcrash" in the bottle, if you want.

 

[VonAle]

Thanks! I think I'll try that this time around(or the next). I have a downstairs bathroom with a tub that's never used. It stays pretty cool down there all day too. Sounds like if I do that a day or two before I bottle, I'll be good to go. I am kind of tempted to try it WITHOUT cold crashing this time, and then do the cold crash on the next batch so I can compare.

The "Tub" I'm referring to is a plastic 20-25 gal tub you find at Lowes, etc.
This pic shows a strip of carpet I wrap around to insulate it.

 

[virgil1]

I decided to dry hop with no cold crash. I put 2.5 oz of hops into a muslin bag that I had sanitized. I weighed it down with a stainless steel beer bottle chiller(sanitized that too). I plan on letting it dry hop for a week. Will bottle next weekend. More details here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=531230
Thanks everyone for their feedback. I might cold crash next time!

 

[tgmartin000]

If you're worried about O2, just dry hop at about day 7, or when there is still some active fermentation. That will help scrub some of the O2 out of the beer. I just tried this fir the first time and got a super fresh session ale out of it.