Dry hopping cider

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I'm currently fermenting an apple cider using Mangrove Jack's cider yeast. I'm considering dry hopping this batch, can anyone suggest a suitable hops variety?
 
Go with what you like. I’ve used Citra before and really enjoyed it. I’ve also used Saaz and it was equally good but slightly different.
When dry hopping I wouldn’t go more than a week. I’ve gotten grassy, vegetal flavors when going longer. With cider, there is nothing to hide flaws.
 
I used Citra, it was good, but gave too much of a "beer" taste for me. I drink cider because I like cider, the combo was OK, but I prefer to keep my ciders as ciders. That said, a friend who is a beer drinking connoisseur really liked the one dry hopped with Citra.
 
I used 2016 crop Pekko hops in a cider and there were wonderful apricot notes. Nobody guessed that hops were added and not apricots! I did not like Citra in my relatively acidic and tannic cider.
 
To the OP-
Please let us know how your cider comes out.

I’m a huge fan of Mangrove Jack cider yeast. Seems like it’s not that popular on this forum. I’ve tried at least 8 other yeasts and was not satisfied with results.
 
Good to hear, I have some M02 cider yeast to try this year and compare to my current favorites, wine yeasts R4600 and QA23.
 
For those that enjoy dry hopping - how much do you use per gal?

Cheers [emoji111]
 
I have a batch of cider where I used Cascade hops because it was a bit bland needed "something". Hopping worked well. Citra also frequently gets a mention in the "literature" and I have some vacuum sealed Galaxy to try next time. I dry hopped with a few teaspoons of pellets tied in muslin (a bit like a tea bag) at the end of secondary. Just suspended the hops in the carboy for a few days and gave it a jiggle every now and then. The best advice I can give is taste, taste, taste because the hop flavour is taken up quite quickly, so a small amount of hops for a longer time is better than a large amount for a short time. It is easy to over do it if you don't taste frequently. Even after a couple of days the hops were noticable. I used 3g/L and it was ready to bottle after six days.

The other clue if you use the "teabag" method is to include a couple of marbles to make it sink (hops float).
 
I will use about 1/4 to 1/2 oz per gallon. I stick with the more traditional hops like Saaz or EKG. And, only for about 3 to 5 days.
 
For a 5-gallon batch I usually add 1 oz for light body ciders, 2 oz for my graffs. Cascade and Pekko have worked well to impart some light hoppyness. Simcoe was excessively grassy and astringent the one time I used it. Centennial was too pine/spruce forward.

I let the hops float around for about a week, then rack off to a keg using a stainless screen over my racking cane end to keep hop bits out.
 
For those considering hopping ciders-

If using hop pellets, I find that it takes less contact time in cider. I’ll usually check taste after 3 days and be ready to rack off etc. With pellets I’ll also use a stainless hop cylinder.

If using whole hops, I’ll use a mesh bag and let it soak for a couple more days. I’ll taste at day 5-7.

Also use slightly more whole hops (maybe 10%).
I’m still using about 2-4 oz of whole hops per 5 gallons.
 
One thing I will mention is that its a real pain to get a mesh bag out of a carboy after its empty when using whole hops, What I will suggest is to split up the hops up into smaller portions so when It comes time to clean the carboy, you're not wrestling with the bag of hops to get it out. I used 54g for 5 gallons and let steep for 5-7 days.

One thing I have noticed though is that the hops flavor diminishes over time. I've even had hopped commercial ciders at the local cider house that really didn't have much hops flavor at all. I wonder if the temperature of the cider at the time it's consumed would make a difference. I wonder at this because I have also noticed that cider between 50F and room temp have more flavor, aroma, and mouthfeel than when straight out of the fridge. The other day, this really became evident when I tasted some that was 54F and later after it was in the fridge. The cider tasted quite different after it had been refrigerated, the richness sort of disappeared.

I like citra and cascade, and plan to use saaz at some point. I like hopped cider as it gives it another dimension, but i definitely prefer my ciders as ciders, unadulterated ;) I think if I hop a cider again, I may just pull out a gallon and hop that, more for variation than anything else.
 
For those considering hopping ciders-

If using hop pellets, I find that it takes less contact time in cider. I’ll usually check taste after 3 days and be ready to rack off etc. With pellets I’ll also use a stainless hop cylinder.

If using whole hops, I’ll use a mesh bag and let it soak for a couple more days. I’ll taste at day 5-7.

Also use slightly more whole hops (maybe 10%).
I’m still using about 2-4 oz of whole hops per 5 gallons.
Does the hop cylinder work for whole hops as well? I hate wrestling with the mesh bags full of hops when its time to clean the carboy! Like I suggested below, I'm going to split up the batch of hops into smaller portions next time, but a cylinder sounds a helluva lot easier
 
Does the hop cylinder work for whole hops as well? I hate wrestling with the mesh bags full of hops when its time to clean the carboy! Like I suggested below, I'm going to split up the batch of hops into smaller portions next time, but a cylinder sounds a helluva lot easier
I shoulda mentioned that the cylinder is for kegging. The diameter is way too big for a glass carboy.
But yes it does work for whole hops as well.
 
Citra, 2oz leaf in 5 gallons for 5 to 7 days. Use a small mesh bag and fish it out with a wire hook.

Temperature at serving definately makes a difference in flavor.
 

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