Dry hop

[FoundersBrew]

Hey guys,
I am going to dry-hop for the first time and was wondering if I can throw hop pellets into my secondary without a hop sack? Also is there any sanitation I need to do to the hops?

Any help will be great!

 

[Golddiggie]

You can toss them right into the primary if you wanted to...

I'll be dry hoppin an ESB I brewed almost two weeks ago (in about another week, for a week)... Going to toss the whole hops right into the primary...

 

[PVH]

You do not need to sanitize the hops. As to the hop bag, a lot of people will say just go ahead and throw them in without a bag. Personally, I think that is a PITA. I much prefer keeping the hops in a bag, sinking the bag, and easily removing all of the hops after racking.

 

[Golddiggie]

Guess it really depends on how much hops we're talking about... I'll be using a total of 1oz here... I'm also using my 6 gallon carboy, so space isn't an issue. I'd rather be sure they had plenty of saturation/contact with the wort, than worry about it. If I was to use hop bags, I'd probably want to use a few. They'll also be more difficult (in my experience) to remove through the carboy neck than whole hops.

I do agree that there's no need to sanitize the hops, or anything. If you use a hop bag, you could give it a quick dunk in StarSan if you're ultra paranoid. Or a short dip into boiling water... I think it's going over the top though. The alcohol level of the brew should be sufficient to take care of anything that tries to hitch a ride. That is, IF anything can hitch a ride on hops.

 

[rjwhite41]

The hops are fine, no need to sanitize there. Hops in beer actually protect against spoilage, that's why IPA's came about. Sanitize a bag if you use one and anything you use to weigh it down. Boiling water would be the easiest way to do that. I never use a bag and I don't think it's a PITA at all. When using pellets they just fall to the bottom by the time you're ready to keg or bottle anyway. Now whole hops, that's a different story. I hate them.

Everyone has different opinions though, some like whole hops, some like pellets, some like to throw them straight in, and some like to put them in a bag. You'll just have to see what works best for you on your system.

 

[Golddiggie]

rjwhite41 This going to be the first batch I dry hop... So, I will have to see how I like leaving them loose... Sort of like going commando for some people I suppose. Or the whole: boxers, briefs, boxer-briefs thing... :rockin:

I'm sure if you use a bucket, it's easier to pull the bags out... If it's anything like when I used oak chips in a carboy, though, I'll not be bagging my hops when dry hopping...

 

[skyebrewing]

I use pellets that float on top. I cold crash and they all sink into the cake making racking easy and clear. You will be fine however you do it and even if a piece gets into a bottle, its just something to snack on while you enjoy your homebrew

 

[ThePearsonFam]

I go commando all the time...

oh, my bad... I took that totally in the wrong direction...

 

[Golddiggie]

I use pellets that float on top. I cold crash and they all sink into the cake making racking easy and clear. You will be fine however you do it and even if a piece gets into a bottle, its just something to snack on while you enjoy your homebrew

mmmmm... chunky brew...

I'm sure if you chill the bottle down long enough, that will settle with the rest, and compact nicely...

I go commando all the time...

oh, my bad... I took that totally in the wrong direction...

I was wondering how long it would be before someone took the bait... :rockin:

 

[Hex]

I've never used a hop sack, just drop 'em in. Pellets will settle to the bottom within a week, whole hops look like this, and you might want to make one of these to retrieve your beer.

 

[HoppyGus]

I've never used a hop sack, just drop 'em in. Pellets will settle to the bottom within a week, whole hops look like this, and you might want to make one of these to retrieve your beer.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who occasionally kisses a caraboy!