Dry hop in secondary

[dannyl]

I'm brewing my first ipa and i plan using a secondary fermenter. When should I rack it to the secondary? The primary is bubbling about 1 time per minute right now (7 days in). I also plan on dry hoping in the secondary. I know I shouldn't dry hop too long or you get a grassy flavor. Can I rack it now, wait a few days, and then throw the hops in the secondary?

 

[theck]

You could forgo the 2ndary and just dry hop in your primary. Take a gravity reading and see if it's finished, if it has then transfer, if you want, and then add. If you can't take a reading I'd wait at least 2 weeks myself, the longer the better IMO. I find that 3 days is my limit for dry hopping seems to do well between 3 and 5 personally.

 

[sompls]

You could forgo the 2ndary and just dry hop in your primary. Take a gravity reading and see if it's finished, if it has then transfer, if you want, and then add. If you can't take a reading I'd wait at least 2 weeks myself, the longer the better IMO. I find that 3 days is my limit for dry hopping seems to do well between 3 and 5 personally.

+1 to this
You will hear a ton of pros and cons regarding transferring to secondary...lots of ways to get the job done. Personally, I haven't transferred since my second batch (followed the directions that came with the kit just like everybody else does on their first batch). Wait until you get two same hydrometer readings a couple of days apart (I don't even think about checking until 2 weeks, usually end up checking at 3 weeks if life gets in the way). If the readings are the same that's when I would dry hop right in the primary, just throw the hops in there for 3-5 days or so then cold crash and bottle. There really is no benefit to rushing things and often times things turn out better, I believe, if you wait and let the beer do it's thing.
Whichever way you decide to do things though, it will be beer!

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

+1 what theck said. You don't need to bother with secondary unless you need the primary for your next brew. Either way, you don't want to add your dry hops until fermentation is done. I usually do 5 - 7 days. I've done as long as 10 days (when life got in the way). It may depend on the hops but I didn't get any grassy flavors.

 

[theck]

+1 what theck said. You don't need to bother with secondary unless you need the primary for your next brew. Either way, you don't want to add your dry hops until fermentation is done. I usually do 5 - 7 days. I've done as long as 10 days (when life got in the way). It may depend on the hops but I didn't get any grassy flavors.

It kinda depends on temps too... I think if it's hotter the more flavor? Who knows I just try to do things the same each time but end up doing it all the way it comes out which varies a lot each time... any way you look at it it's beer so....

 

[mrgrimm101]

As the others have said, you can easily dry hop in primary and not bother with a secondary. I dry hop between 7-10 days and have always gotten good results. Take your gravity samples to be sure that it is done then add dry hops.

 

[mrphillips]

If you like fooling around with your beer like I do (and it's honestly a bad habit), then I wouldn't do a secondary until she's sat in the primary for 2 weeks. You'd be fine with staying with the primary, and since I've started running short on time, I've done just that with my last 5 batches.

I like to dry hop for 7 days. I've dry hoped for 2 days, gotten impatient and bottled...and I didn't have the aroma that I wanted.

Something that has worked well for me before is dry hoping with an ounce or two for three days, then toss in another ounce or two of a different hop on top of that for the remaining 4 days.

Just in case you're curious (since this is your 1st IPA), hops are antibacterial by their very nature, so you don't have to worry about sanitizing when you toss those delicious greenies in.

Happy Brewing! What hops are you using?

 

[m00ps]

Ill echo the NO SECONDARY advice. I would especially advise this for IPAs since they are the most vulnerable to the oxidation which can occur during the transfer

 

[unionrdr]

Whether you decide to secondary or not, the beer should be at a stable Fg regardless, as stated. But give it 3-7 days to clean up & settle out first. Otherwise, the hop oils from the dry hop can coat the settling yeast, etc & go to the bottom. Patience is key. I dry hop 7 days myself for good aroma.

 

[Natdavis777]

I dry hop in the primary. I used to transfer to a corney and dry hop in that as my secondary, but I get the same results with less work (and less oxidation risk) by dry hopping in the primary. When I am ready to keg, I cold crash the carboy for a few days so everything drops out, then rack as usual.

I never take gravity readings to see if the beer is done. I always aerate and pitch healthy yeast starters. I wait for the krausen to fall completely (usually 7 days or less) and then dry hop. This way it doesnt purge any of the hop aroma out. I also keep it at room temp. Hop oils extract better at warmer temps. Ive experienced this first hand by trying to dry hop in a cold keg.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

I guess I will be the dissenting vote here. A great advantage of a conical fermenter is the ability to drop the yeast before dry hopping. I'm going to guess that you do not have a conical. The next best thing for a homebrewer is to rack the beer to a keg and dry hop in the keg. The keg can be co2 purged for minimal o2 exposure. When neither of these options are available the next best thing is a secondary fermenter that is size so that your beer + hops takes up nearly all of the available volume. You can co2 purge this vessel with dry ice. Taking the finished beer off the yeast and dry hopping will be more effective.

The posters above that said to dry hop at room temp are right. The warmer it is the faster the oils move into the beer. But there is a limit. Too warm and you get grassy, vegetal notes that detract from the quality of the beer.

If the gravity of the beer has settled down to a final number then you are ready to move to dry hopping.

 

[mrgrimm101]

I never take gravity readings to see if the beer is done. I always aerate and pitch healthy yeast starters.

I usually don't either..I just give it enough time so that I know it's done. I rehydrate dry yeast and add that after I aerate and have never had a problem. I've only used the "take FG readings 2 days apart" method twice and either way it was done when I would have bottled.

 

[mrgrimm101]

I guess I will be the dissenting vote here. A great advantage of a conical fermenter is the ability to drop the yeast before dry hopping. I'm going to guess that you do not have a conical.

Indeed conicals are ideal, but what new brewer starts out with a conical fermenting vessel? I'm assuming the OP is fairly green, as this is their first IPA..I apologize to the OP if my assumption is wrong.

I'm no expert, but it is said that it is an older mindset that the beer needs to be removed from the yeast/trub that settles in the primary vessel by means of transferring to a secondary. This was done so because the yeast would impart off-flavors if it sat for too long. This used to be a common practice, but with the quality ingredients that we have now, there is minimal if any side effects to single stage fermentation.

 

[dannyl]

I used cascade/columbus for my bittering addition and a late centennial addition. Because I'm going for a citrusy beer, I'm thinking about dry hoping with citra and galaxy but i've never used those hops.... any thoughts?

 

[mrgrimm101]

That sounds really good. I've done an all galaxy IPA (warrior for bittering) and it turned out fantastic. I've had several all citra IPAs as well. Citra is a bit more tropical. Galaxy is tropical as well, more like passionfruit.

 

[stuknkrvl]

I'm also working on my first IPA. I think I'm ready to dry hop it now (five gallon batch, gonna use an ounce of whole Willamette). Does the volume of beer you're working with make a difference for how long you dry hop? For instance, would I dry hop longer for a 10 gallon batch than I would for a 5 gallon batch?

(Sorry for jumping my question in to your thread, but this is interesting and I'm learning a lot, so thanks!)

 

[theck]

I'm also working on my first IPA. I think I'm ready to dry hop it now (five gallon batch, gonna use an ounce of whole Willamette). Does the volume of beer you're working with make a difference for how long you dry hop? For instance, would I dry hop longer for a 10 gallon batch than I would for a 5 gallon batch?

(Sorry for jumping my question in to your thread, but this is interesting and I'm learning a lot, so thanks!)

You just use more hops in a 10 gallon. So, if you're hopping 1oz in 5 gallons you're hopping 2oz in 10.

 

[mrgrimm101]

I'm also working on my first IPA. I think I'm ready to dry hop it now (five gallon batch, gonna use an ounce of whole Willamette). Does the volume of beer you're working with make a difference for how long you dry hop? For instance, would I dry hop longer for a 10 gallon batch than I would for a 5 gallon batch?

(Sorry for jumping my question in to your thread, but this is interesting and I'm learning a lot, so thanks!)

It shouldn't change the time..just the quantity.

 

[unionrdr]

Indeed conicals are ideal, but what new brewer starts out with a conical fermenting vessel? I'm assuming the OP is fairly green, as this is their first IPA..I apologize to the OP if my assumption is wrong.

I'm no expert, but it is said that it is an older mindset that the beer needs to be removed from the yeast/trub that settles in the primary vessel by means of transferring to a secondary. This was done so because the yeast would impart off-flavors if it sat for too long. This used to be a common practice, but with the quality ingredients that we have now, there is minimal if any side effects to single stage fermentation.

They got the beer into secondary asdap back then because the yeast would autolyze (die) easier than the higher quality yeasts now. Dead yeast tastes nasty. On the other hand, I never had much trouble with yeast even in the 70's. But that was wine. Although I did make sparkling wines with brewer's yeast as well. The packets then were at least 11ozs as I remember.

 

[mrgrimm101]

[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

They got the beer into secondary asdap back then because the yeast would autolyze (die) easier than the higher quality yeasts now. Dead yeast tastes nasty. On the other hand, I never had much trouble with yeast even in the 70's. But that was wine. Although I did make sparkling wines with brewer's yeast as well. The packets then were at least 11ozs as I remember.

It all makes sense now!

 

[theck]

I used to secondary back 15 years ago when I got started, took a big break in between, but that's how they taught me. I did some reading and found it that it does little to clarify and could open up contamination issues. Though I never had any infections, recently got 3, back when but I'd rather just leave mine in a bucket for 3 to 4 months and not touch it until I keg. If I have to dry hop I'll do that 3 to 5 days before kegging.

 

[theck]

Besides it more equipment you need, more cleaning, more time, and more money to do a secondary and not sure if the benefits outweigh the hassle.

 

[mrgrimm101]

Besides it more equipment you need, more cleaning, more time, and more money to do a secondary and not sure if the benefits outweigh the hassle.

That's why I don't secondary anymore. I have the equipment, but it's just another step that I don't want to deal with. I spend enough time cleaning equipment as it is!