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Satokad

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Sep 26, 2018
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Hey Folks,

I dry hopped a Chinook IPA yesterday afternoon after two weeks in primary. There was zero airlock activity at 2 weeks, but now it is bubbling a little.
Does dry hopping create more CO2 or is this activity just from disturbing the wort?
Thanks.
 
Hops do contain enzymes that can break down complex carbohydrates which provide a bit of sugar that yeast can turn into CO2. However this effect is not great, so what you're likely seeing is just the effect of disturbing wort that's saturated with CO2, and adding nucleation points in the form of solid material.
 
Those enzymes are the reason I dry hop at diacetyl rest temps for 3-5 days before I cold crash. That way no butter beers!

What temperature range is that? Mid 50s? Also, do you go straight from that to the cold crash or do you bring the temperature back up first.
Thanks.
 
You will get much better aroma if you can dry hop after pulling yeast. If you do a forced diacetyl test and your beer is negative then there is very very little chance that you will develop diacetyl after adding dry hops. If you ferment in a Conical and can dump yeast and maintain head pressure while crashing it’s best to do a soft crash with head pressure to say 55 or 60 after beer passes a forced diacetyl test. Keep it there for a day or two. This slight drop in temp should be enough to get most yeast to flocculate (depends on the yeast strain). Pull as much yeast as possible and add dry hops. If the hop variety you’re using is known for restarting fermentation (mosaic, centennial, etc) then keep it below 60. After desire dry hopping time, slowly crash to as low as you can go and transfer to a serving vessel.
 
The Chinook is still presenting a slower, yet steady, bubble. I'm thinking that the trub was fairly disturbed as we put the hops in a stainless steel tea diffuser. I'm guessing it dropped down like a depth charge and got those yeast dudes agitated.
One question about that would be if it's still got the bubbling going at the end of the week, do I still move forward with the bottling, or do I wait?
Thanks.
 
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