Dry hopping a stout

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

SMOKEU

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 27, 2009
Messages
370
Reaction score
23
Location
NZ
Is it common for people to dry hop stouts, or will that introuduce unwanted fruity flavours that are more desired in pale beers?
 
What kind of stout?

In a Dry Irish Stout, dry-hopping would be out of sorts as the style isn't known for any discernible hop aroma. In an American or Russian Imperial Stout, hop aroma can be quite aggressive.
 
In that case, I'd leave the decision up to you; according to a Google search, the Coopers Stout is nigh 70 IBUs which puts it well out of Dry Stout standards. A dry-hop might work well. What variety were you considering?
 
Sweetwater's Happy Ending is dry-hopped like crazy, and it's delicious.

Sweetwater's Happy Ending is an inspiringly hoppy stout. One of the best stouts I've had in fact. I'm considering dry-hopping my Bell's Chocolate Porter clone I currently have fermenting to move in the direction of the Happy Ending :rockin:
On this topic, anyone have experience dry-hopping a porter?
 
On this topic, anyone have experience dry-hopping a porter?

my beer brewing guide mentions that the stout style came about when patrons at english pubs would ask for pints mixed of whatever barrels were open (usually a bitters and a porter were somewhere in the mix). so IMHO hopping up a porter would be a tribute to its origins.
 
i never dry-hop my stouts, even though i love hops. i just get them up to around 40 ibu with bittering, flavor, and aroma hops, and leave it alone
 
my beer brewing guide mentions that the stout style came about when patrons at english pubs would ask for pints mixed of whatever barrels were open (usually a bitters and a porter were somewhere in the mix). so IMHO hopping up a porter would be a tribute to its origins.

I'd heard the same thing about the origins of a porter. I'd also heard that it is derivative of the stronger brown ales in 1700's England:
Porter is first mentioned in writings in the early 1700′s, and the name Porter is derived from its popularity with London’s river and street porters. There are many stories surrounding the origins of Porter, such as one about it being a blend of three other beers, but more likely Porter was derived from strong brown ales of the period. Original porters were substantially stronger than modern versions. Wikipedia mentions that hydrometer measurements on 18th century Porters indicate original gravities near 1.071, or 6.6% ABV – about twice the alcohol of a modern beer.​
(source)

But who knows. There's probably truth to both stories.
Yeah, it should be interesting to dry hop it. Again, the Sweet Water Happy Ending came out so well, albeit unusual, for a strong dark ale dry hopped, I think it could work with a porter. So long as the hops are chosen well. Like perhaps a Fuggles, or Columbus maybe...
 
Found this thread, so as to delight the Mods for being a quick to learn noob I will ask my question here and not start a new thread about the same topic.;)

I am going to dry hop a chocolate coffee stout, and my question is transfer to secondary or do it in the primary? I am thinking primary because I dont want to filter out all the stout goodness in the process. Opinions?

Thanks!
 
I say secondary. And there's nothing wrong with letting the stout sediment out; you'll purify the beer but you won't lose flavor. Heck, I racked my recent double chocolate oatmeal stout 3 times to sediment out the particulate matter.
What are you planning on dry-hopping it with?
Let us know how it goes, and good luck!
 
I thought Stout was just a strong porter. Higher alc porters were called stout porter and eventually the porter designation fell off and they were just called stouts. I read that on the interwebs so it MUST be true...right!?!? ::smile::

Sent by my Android using Home Brew Talk
 
I dry hopped a stout inspired by Founder's Breakfast Stout and it was delicious. I used Williamette and also some lightly crushed Sumatra beans and even after only three days there was a noticeable difference in taste and aroma. I did it in the primary, and everything was fine. But as some others have said, it really depends on what style of stout you're going for.

Happy brewing! :mug:
 
I had about a 1/2oz of some cascade left over from a previous batch, so I said WTF and dropped it the day I posted the question on here. Did a hydro reading this weekend and it is right on the money. Gave it a taste and this is going to be one excellent stout. Bottling it on Saturday!
 
Back
Top