Dry Hop ?

[capt82]

I'm going to do my first lager and recipe calls to dry hop some Hallertau 7 days in to fermentation. I've always sanitized everything and careful not to bring anything to my beer that will jack it up.

Should I do anything sanitation wise to introduce the dry hops 7 days in to fermenting or just do it and not worry?


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[macbeer43]

No just open her up throw em in there..i brew mr beer batch sizes...if u use a hop bag just sanitize it..

 

[IslandLizard]

You could put the hops in a well sanitized (fine mesh) hop bag weighted down with glass marbles, and put a piece of dental floss on it to retrieve/agitate it. You'll get some fine hop dust going through the mesh bag, but it will sink to the bottom.

Now lagers are not typically dry hopped...

Also dry hopping should not be done until the primary fermentation is totally done. For lagers this is definitely not 7 days, but rather 3-6 weeks at lager temperatures, and after allowing a few additional days for a diacetyl rest. Even 65-70°F ales are not done after 7 days.

 

[Calichusetts]

Many breweries add hops before fermentation is completely done. With that said, you could give it a pop a few days before bringing it up for a d-rest, then use the other half during the d-rest. I agree though, no lager should be that close to finishing at day 7. Take a sample and see where you are at

 

[capt82]

This is a Samuel Adams Boston Lager recipe. I do expect to ferment 3-5 weeks at about 55*. Would it mess with fermentation if added to soon? Should I dry hop to secondary when I bring temp down to 38*?


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[IslandLizard]

This is a Samuel Adams Boston Lager recipe. I do expect to ferment 3-5 weeks at about 55*. Would it mess with fermentation if added to soon? Should I dry hop to secondary when I bring temp down to 38*?

Ah, good, you are fermenting low for a long time. Adding "dry hops" early doesn't mess with fermentation, but fermentation messes with the dry hop aromas by blowing them out of the airlock prematurely. That's why it's usually better to wait until the primary is done, so the CO2 doesn't strip out the volatile aromas.

Also, since you're done with primary, the alcohol level will help to curb spoiled beer from organisms introduced with the dry hops. And hops themselves are an anti-bacterial preservative as well.

If you mean by secondary "lagering period", yes that would be the right time. Low temps but long time (3-6 weeks) will extract flavor and aroma from the dry hops.

This method, to add hop flavor/aroma to a lager, although unconventional, sounds intriguing!

 

[ericbw]

If the recipe says something like "Dry hop @ 7 days," it might mean the last 7 days before you package. So it gets 7 days of dry hopping.

Just like with the boil additions, where @ 60 minutes means 60 minutes before the boil ends. 7 days should mean 7 days before fermentation (and/or lagering) ends.

 

[dcp27]

I would allow your beer to warm back up after the lagering period and dry hop for a week then.

For lagers this is definitely not 7 days, but rather 3-6 weeks at lager temperatures, and after allowing a few additional days for a diacetyl rest. Even 65-70°F ales are not done after 7 days.

I completely disagree with these statements. No lager should ever take 3-6 weeks before it gets to a d-rest. All of my ales are generally done in 2-4 days, and my lagers are done in about 4-7 days. Now that doesn't mean they're necessarily ready then, but fermentation has certainly stopped by then. my beers tend to ferment faster than others, but a lager should take no more than 2 weeks before it reaches about 75% attenuation and is ready for a d-rest. however, just like ales, go by the yeast, not a calendar