Took my first shot at dry hopping yesterday and I'm having some doubts based on an error on my part.
I was distracted while racking and forgot I had hops for dry hopping, so I didn't throw the hops in first and rack on top of them like I had planned. So I threw the whole leaf Citra on top of the brew and shook the carboy relatively vigorously in order to get all of the hops wet enough to sink. I also added 2 oz of oak chips after boiling them for about a minute.
Now I'm worried that shaking right after racking was a terrible idea and that by doing so I allowed too much oxidation. 8 hours later the hops were still floating on top, and the brew looked darker. So here are my questions:
1. Did I likely over-oxidize the brew by shaking it? The darker color worries me, but it could also be from the oak chips.
2. Is it bad that after 8 hours the hops are still floating? I know it won't hurt, I just really wanted to get that dry hop flavor. Will I get it if they float? And might they still stink after a while?
3. Do I need to worry about the oak chips infecting the beer?
Thanks in advance for your help. I'm just another nervous rookie!
I was distracted while racking and forgot I had hops for dry hopping, so I didn't throw the hops in first and rack on top of them like I had planned. So I threw the whole leaf Citra on top of the brew and shook the carboy relatively vigorously in order to get all of the hops wet enough to sink. I also added 2 oz of oak chips after boiling them for about a minute.
Now I'm worried that shaking right after racking was a terrible idea and that by doing so I allowed too much oxidation. 8 hours later the hops were still floating on top, and the brew looked darker. So here are my questions:
1. Did I likely over-oxidize the brew by shaking it? The darker color worries me, but it could also be from the oak chips.
2. Is it bad that after 8 hours the hops are still floating? I know it won't hurt, I just really wanted to get that dry hop flavor. Will I get it if they float? And might they still stink after a while?
3. Do I need to worry about the oak chips infecting the beer?
Thanks in advance for your help. I'm just another nervous rookie!