dry hop question

[Brew]

pretty new to the brewing process........only done extract brews and have never deviated from the recipe...............making a blond ale and was thinking of dry hopping the ale with citra hops.......was hoping to add a citris flavor for the summer.....is this a bad idea or what are others thoughts

 

[TheManes]

I've done some dry hopping lately with success in a few brews, but I'd like to know too, what can really go wrong? Can the dry hopping ruin the beer if you over-do it or use the wrong hops? When is it a bad idea to dry hop?

 

[daveooph131]

Certain styles are good for dry hopping or even require it. I don't know if I would dry hop a blond ale. I guess you could, but if you want something kind of citrusy why not just brew a pale ale?

 

[Hang Glider]

American-Style IPAs require dry hopping to achieve the hop aroma and flavor. You can certainly over-do it, that is if you have a specific level of tolerance for hops. Me, I can eat them right out of the bag....so, no, there's no such thing as too much or too long for dry hopping (for me).

However, if you dry hop and don't like the result, time will lessen the "impact." So, if you like your IPAs hoppy and flavorful, you have to drink them younger.

A good starting point is a couple of ounces for a week. Very noticeable, very pleasant, but not overpowering.

 

[OrCoastBrew]

pretty new to the brewing process........only done extract brews and have never deviated from the recipe...............making a blond ale and was thinking of dry hopping the ale with citra hops.......was hoping to add a citris flavor for the summer.....is this a bad idea or what are others thoughts

I dry hop all IPA's and Pale Ales. Dry hoping will not significantly affect the bitterness of the beer but rather the Aroma. IMO. I think if it is flavors you are trying to pick up then maybe a late boil addition is more appropriate.

 

[halite]

you could try splitting the batch and dry hopping one half and not the other, this will give you a very good feel for what dry hopping can add to the beer.

 

[slowjeep]

pretty new to the brewing process........only done extract brews and have never deviated from the recipe...............making a blond ale and was thinking of dry hopping the ale with citra hops.......was hoping to add a citris flavor for the summer.....is this a bad idea or what are others thoughts

Tomorrow I will be brewing my 3rd batch of beer using citra hops. The very helpful people at my local homebrew store warned me about using too much of that type of hops. So far I have taken their advice and only used .5oz at the last 15 mins of boil and have had good results. I know this is not really referring to your question, its just my 2 cents about the citra hops.

 

[marcmittelsteadt]

1/2 ounce dry hop for a 5 gallon batch in secondary fermenter for 7-10 days at around 60 degrees farenheit will give you a nice aroma. Dry hopping brings out hop aroma not much flavor. if you are looking to get a citrus aroma I would reccomend using centennial, cascade, or amarillo. Whole leaf or pellet hops work best, agitate the hops the second day of dry hopping to resuspend the hops. You can achieve the same results at higher temperatures but you would dry hop for 3-5 days at 70 degrees farenheit. There are many differnt techniques out there for dry hopping, Im just letting you know what has worked best for me.

 

[Rage]

On a similar note with dry hopping-

Typically with dry hopping I have used dried hops in bags, but for my next batch I was only able to obtain pellet hops. Is there a particular way I should go about dry hopping with them?

 

[marcmittelsteadt]

Just pitch em in and let them sink.

 

[Rage]

Sounds good. And for using them while boiling the wort, while I generally bag up the hops during the boil, am I SOL for entrapping the pellets?

 

[marcmittelsteadt]

I used a hop bag once. I didn't get the usual hop aroma I notice when I just pitch them in, so I cut open the hop bag. I guess it all comes down to personal preference. As far as hop utilization goes, I usually do a 60 minute boil. For bittering first wort hops are awesome. The 30 minute flavor addition, I add at the last 15 minutes of the boil because you have to account for the time it takes to chill the wort which for me usually takes about 15 minutes. The aroma or finishing hops go in at flame out. I usually do this and have better results with hop utilization.