Dry hop floaters

[henkyjenky]

Second time I've dry hopped. Using pellets and done when racking to the secondary. Hops first, rack on top.

A layer of hops forms on the surface.

What can be done to prevent this? Or is it normal/ok?

I read somewhere that I can rock the carboy/better bottle gently to settle them. Pros, cons? How gently?

Thanks!

 

[bob1852]

It's normal and happens all of the time....

Don't bother rocking your carboy - you can add some air into it which could lead to oxidation.

Many people dry hop directly into their primary after fermentation is complete (I've done it a couple times and don't like it personally because of excess trub & hop sludge, but it does work).

 

[jalgayer]

Hey -

You could also throw the hops into a "hop bag" (a fine mesh bag) that will greatly help the floaters. So say it diminishes the hops effectiveness - but if you are worried about that, just add a little more, I guess.

 

[tamoore]

Will cold crashing help drop the floaters from suspension? How about racking from 'in between' the yeast cake and the top surface?

I used a hop bag once, and I wasn't really happy with the results. The brew that I'm going to keg on Thursday night was dry hopped right in the primary by just tossing them in on top, so this thread is relevant to my interests...

 

[henkyjenky]

Thanks AZ and Jal!

How about racking from 'in between' the yeast cake and the top surface?

What do you mean by that?

 

[Grimm]

you could also add hops to the keg?