Dry hopping in primary

[Bamsdealer]

So, I intend to use whole hops to dry hop in the primary. Should I use a sanitized hop bag or just dump the hops directly in the bucket? My biggest is getting hops in the bottling bucket when I rack.

 

[Shaneoco1981]

Just dump hops in whole. With whole leaf hops, the auto siphon won't grab them. I would call it good with whole hops.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

You'll be fine. Dump them in with no bag. That's how I do it. Helps to take a big sanitized spoon or something and gently push the hops down to wet them. You'll get more from them that way. You won't pick any up when you siphon.

 

[djc_6508]

I dont want to hi-jack, but Im confused on how this works. You can just pull off the air lock (obviously after vigorous fermentation subsides) and throw stuff in? I've been so paranoid about contamination that I even spray my paper towels with starsand before they touch fill neck of the carboy. I really want to dry hop the batch I have in primary right now, can I just toss some in whenever?

 

[Bamsdealer]

thanks guys.

djc... to answer your question, yes. If you're very paranoid, you can sanitize your hands or the bag, but hops are what help inhibit bacteria from growing in beer.

 

[djc_6508]

thanks guys.

djc... to answer your question, yes. If you're very paranoid, you can sanitize your hands or the bag, but hops are what help inhibit bacteria from growing in beer.

Thanks for the info. Im going to try it out. Sounds like Im over paranoid a bit.

 

[Bamsdealer]

here you go. Good luck.

http://www.brew365.com/technique_dry_hop.php

 

[djc_6508]

Use any hops that you would use in the beer during the last 15 minutes of the boil. This is usually a low alpha aroma type hop (Cascade, Saaz, Fuggle, Hallertau, etc.).

My last addition was 1oz summitt 19% alpha (15min). is this ideal for dry hopping or should I use something less powerfull? My other hops were CTZ (60min) millennium (30min)

 

[BBL_Brewer]

CTZ is great for dry hopping

 

[spenghali]

The alpha percentage doesn't matter much since the brew is cool (compared to the boil) so bitterness will not be extracted. So basically it just comes down to personal preference, most of the time something with stronger aromatic qualities is used.

 

[djc_6508]

My local brew store has some goldings whole leaf, so I grabbed an ounce from him to throw in my secondary. No real bitterness but good floral notes.

 

[AaronBrews]

I was at a local beer shop and ended talking about dry hopping in the primary. The info I got is that you should wait until after active fermentation is over and your krausen has fallen into the beer. Then add your hops and let sit for another 7-10 days and then rack into secondary. He suggested doing it this way so as to keep as much sediment out of your secondary as possible...Im in the middle of this process so I will let you know how it goes. So far there is a strong hop aroma coming from the beer...