Dry Hop Question....

[Hawgbranch]

I got an IPA in the primary, today is 7 days. The recipe calls for dry hopping and I have a question. I wasn't sure the best time to add them and how. I do not have anything other than hose to use as a bag but I am wary of putting that hose in my beer. Kind of has a perfume smell to it.
My beer still has a bit of airlock activity.
What is the difference in dry hopping in the fermenter and in the keg? Can I just add the hops to my keg?

 

[EvilTOJ]

Don't use the hose if it's got a perfume smell. It WILL soak into the beer. Go buy some new pantyhose, or paint strainer bags from Home Depot work well. You certainly can dryhop in the keg instead of the fermenter.

 

[Travel_mon]

Greetings,

When I dry hop my beer, I typically rack into my secondary right around 7 days. I prefer to have a small amount of activity in the airlock before I transfer. This will, in my mind, ensure that after the transfer any residual O2 will be pushed back out by the CO2.

As for the dry hopping, I always buy fresh, nude knee highs from my local pharmacy and put SS nuts in the 'hose to keep them inside the beer. Plus, the SS can be sanitized. I also dip the 'hose into a bucket of iodophor before stuffing them with the nut,hops and tying it off.

I typically dry hop for a full 7 days before racking to bottles/keg.


Hope this helps.

Cheers
Brooks

 

[Hawgbranch]

Thanks for the replies and the advise.
Thinking I was being terribly efficient, I pre-hosed all my hops prior to brew. So my dry-hop addition has been waiting patiently in the fridge. It was when I took it out that I noticed a fragrance to the hose.
So what now? Do I remove the hops from the hose and just toss in the fermenter for the remaining 7 days?

 

[LuvMyRedDog]

So what now? Do I remove the hops from the hose and just toss in the fermenter for the remaining 7 days?

Not if your hops smell at all like perfume.

 

[digunderground]

I have dry hoped in both the secondary and in the keg, but have had the best experience hoping in the secondary. I have found that the aroma / flavor contribution from dry hoping in the secondary is always better. Also sometimes hoping in the keg I have ended up with small hop flakes in the served beer, so if its a clear beer it is noticeable and unwanted.

The only time I dry hop in the keg is if I am serving a really big... no I mean REALLY BIG IPA and I need that fresh hop kick!

I am building a inline dry hop-er to serve with so I wont have to dry hop the keg directly..

-DIG

 

[LuvMyRedDog]

I am building a inline dry hop-er to serve with so I wont have to dry hop the keg directly..

-DIG

I have seen designs for those in-line dry hoppers and am skeptical. My thinking is that they would lead to inconsistent flavor out of the keg. Beer at the start is more hoppy than beer at the end. Any thoughts on this?

 

[jpuf]

I agree, but if you drink the whole batch in one night you probably won't notice.

 

[digunderground]

ROFL.. I drink fast, but not that fast.. I assume this design would take quite a bit of work to maintain. I would probably have to change out the hops etc.. But for us hop heads, the first glass off tap after sitting for a while would probably be heaven. I agree it wouldn't be consistent, but it would be cool and thats all I want.. lol

Sorry for the hijack!!

-DIG