Dry Hop in Secondary, Any Real Benefit?

[Hoppocrates]

So I know everyone recommends to dry hop in a secondary with the reason being that the excess yeast in the primary may bind and sequester hop oils. Has anyone done both (dry hop in primary and secondary) and noticed any real differences? I am lazy so simply dry hop in the primary but am wondering what yall have experienced first hand.

 

[ajwillys]

I always dry hop in the primary. It seems to work fine for me but I'm interested to see what others say on this topic.

 

[samc]

I see no real difference with dry hop in primary after fermentation final gravity is reached. I never use a secondary anymore. However I have switched to mostly dry hopping in serving keg as I think it works the best. Obviously not going to work if you bottle only.

 

[Hoppocrates]

Do you keg hop with leaf or pellet? Any problem using pellets in the keg?

 

[Memorex88]

If you plan on keeping the yeast slurry, then you go for the secondary or if you need the primary for another batch. I've done both using the same recipe and couldn't see a difference.

 

[Malticulous]

There is a difference. Some of your hop goodness will go into the trub. It's like a sponge. It takes more than it's fair share. Add 10% more hops.

 

[samc]

I only use leaf in my kegs. Too much sludge for me with Pellets, but I only tried once because that came in a kit before I stopped buying them.

 

[Zeppman]

Not to hijack, but I plan on dry hopping this weekend. The recipe recommends I use a hop bag with 2 oz of leaf hops. Is there any advantage to using a hop bag? Do you all use a bag or just toss them in there?

 

[Brew-boy]

I dry hops all my beers in primary or keg. No use for secondaries for me.

 

[shortyjacobs]

Primaries work awesome for me, never done a secondary, but I can say that I get plenty of aroma by dry hopping after 2 weeks in the primary, leaving it for 1 more week, (3 weeks total), and kegging.

Zeppman, are you dry hopping in a fermenter or keg? Fermenter, toss them right in, they'll settle out in a few days. Keg, you need a hop bag...they will clog the shizzle out of your dip tube.

 

[Memorex88]

What I found helps (got it from The Jamil Show CYBI) is to give the carboy a little swirl once a day. It helps settle the hops and get into the beer.

 

[Zeppman]

I was going to transfer to a secondary after 1 week of fermentation in the primary. This is a carboy, not a keg. I plan on transferring to a keg 1 week post-dry hop.

 

[Revvy]

I'm a late comer to the dryhop in primary camp, DHing WAS one of the last few reasons I'd use a secondary, but for the last year or so I've been hopping in primary for a week after week three.

AND I've had no more difficulty washing the yeast slurry from a beer I primary hopped, then when I didn't. You wash the yeast the same way and it will layer it self. You may need one more slurry wash but who cares?

 

[Memorex88]

I was going to transfer to a secondary after 1 week of fermentation in the primary. This is a carboy, not a keg. I plan on transferring to a keg 1 week post-dry hop.

Give it at least another week for the yeast to finish cleaning up.

 

[MW66]

Since I keg, I only dry hop with pellets in those 3" stainless mesh tea balls. For bigger beers, I daisy chain two SS balls each with 1 ounce of hops. I let it sit at basement temperature for about 1 week to 10 days. Remove the hops and pressurize and place into fridge. I no longer do exclusive secondary fermentations. This works very well and it's simple with great results, no hops particles in keg. I just had a glass of my IIPA that I did AG with 10 total ounces, 2 of which were in DH. One of my best beers ever!

 

[Zeppman]

Give it at least another week for the yeast to finish cleaning up.

An extra week before I add the hops? Or an extra week in the secondary after adding the hops?

 

[ThickHead]

An extra week before I add the hops? Or an extra week in the secondary after adding the hops?

In the primary before you add any hops. Most experienced brewers here will recommend 3-weeks in primary for fermentation before beginning dry-hopping of transferring.

 

[Memorex88]

An extra week before I add the hops? Or an extra week in the secondary after adding the hops?

Yup, what ThickHead said.

 

[prosper]

add them after active fermentation is over. There are a few reasons given, but the ones that resonate with me are: very little co2 production to scrub the aromatics out, and pH and alcohol levels high enough by that point to prevent any bugs that might be on the hops from multiplying. Hops are an agricultural product, so they're definitely NOT sanitary, they're covered in dust, spend time on the floor in the baling house, etc.

 

[Zeppman]

Thanks guys! Really appreciate it.

 

[MacGruber]

Will swirling the secondary with the dry hops cause off flavors in the beer? Right now, I have a thicker layer of hops floating on the top of my pils. Some has settled to the bottom of the carboy, but I'm worried about the layer on the top. Should I swirl?

 

[MacGruber]

They're pellets that have expanded and spread.