Dry hopping in primary

[chaindriven]

Sooo, I just brewed my summer IPA a couple weeks ago and am ready to dry hop it with the pellets... I wanted to come here for opinions on doing it because I want the best possible aroma and flavor as I can get out of it.. It's going to stay in the primary and I was going to sanitize some marbles and throw them in a hop bag with the hops and let them sit for 4-5 days and then throw in the second batch for another 4 days... Sound good?? Also, I keep hearing people say to slowly stir the hops around? Maybe on day three and day six to get the hops to touch all the beer.. Does that sound like a good idea or will that stirr up all the trun and set me back extra time for bottling it.?
Thanks for any info!!

 

[m00ps]

Definitely do not sitr the beer, this will just introduce oxygen into your IPA and strip away hop character. I just toss the pellets in without weights in a muslin sanitized bag. But I've seen others forgoing the bag entirely. anywhere 3-10 days is typical to keep dry hops in. If I were you, id stick to a single addition to minimize oxygen exposure to the IPA though

 

[MikeSkril]

Dont worry and throw it in! I just finished a DIPA with the below hop schedule.
I dont cold crash but the hop is all settled out when I bottle and my beer is very clear. I even harvested the yeast from this batch. I dry hopped all my beers in primary without a bag and never had a problem.

1.2 oz		Citra [12.0%] - Dry Hop 12 days
0.5 oz		Amarillo Gold [8.5%] - Dry Hop 12 days
0.7 oz		Citra [12.0%] - Dry Hop 9 days
0.9 oz		Amarillo Gold [8.5%] - Dry Hop 6 days
1.1 oz		Citra [12.0%] - Dry Hop 3 days

Brew on!

 

[chaindriven]

Rock on. Thanks guys.. I am using the same hops in my IPA.. Citra and amerillo.. Can't wait to see how they go with each other....

 

[justenoughforme]

i just dry hopped citra hops in my last batch, and put the pellets directly into the beer, no bag, no muss.

 

[chaindriven]

I did that last time, it was a true pain to rack into my bottling bucket...

 

[MikeSkril]

I did that last time, it was a true pain to rack into my bottling bucket...

I do that all the time without any issue. All the hops are at the bottom and I keep the racking can just underneath the surface.

 

[brewmeister13]

I like to toss them straight in without the bag either. I like the plan for two additions and short contact time. I find it gives the best aroma and complexity. If you can, purge the fermenter with CO2 after additions to minimize O2 pickup.

 

[MikeSkril]

I like to toss them straight in without the bag either. I like the plan for two additions and short contact time. I find it gives the best aroma and complexity. If you can, purge the fermenter with CO2 after additions to minimize O2 pickup.

I would not worry about O2. The top of the carboy should still be filled with CO2. It wont fly out when you open up the carboy. The C02 is heavier than O2.

 

[dilbone]

not heavier...but more dense...

 

[MikeSkril]

not heavier...but more dense...

agree.

 

[chaindriven]

Thanks for all the info guys! Stoked to throw them in, took my first sample today and it already tastes awesome...

 

[AlCophile]

Survival Doc is misleading. I bought 35# CO2 from AirGas, Dover, NH for $30. True the cyl(not tank) costs ~$130, but you exchange it for full ones and do not pay again.
CO2 density is 1.5x that of air, but air currents will soon mix the gasses. Prob'ly what helps him is fact that expanding gas takes away energy from the CYLINDER, becoming cooler in the process. Until it warms up.
Finally, Dry Ice is FILTHY!!! It was made in a compressor and may impart to your beer the wonderful flavor of 100W oil, how nice! You don't smell it at first, but let some evaporate away, and smell the place it was on. Ugh.
And......how many DI purchases do you think it will take to equal the ONE TIME purchase of 35# DI plus cyl., which is returnable. No matter where you are in your brewing 'career' having a cyl. of CO2 on hand will save you immeasurable aggravation.
Here is some math: 35# = 15890grams CO2; Div by 44 gives 361 moles of CO2. A mole occupies 22.4 liters of volume,
for a total vol of 8,086 liters. With 3.78liters/cu ft, that's 2139 cu ft of CO2 for $30. What did he say about being ripped off?

 

[GCPHomebrew]

If you shake a carboy that is sealed why would O2 get in. I dry hopped in the primary on my most recent ipa(per the fire walker brewery discussion on hear) great flavor. I do swirl every day to make sure all the hops get to the beer(pellets no bag).

 

[chaindriven]

So, I took a gravity sample today and it was very bitter... Very bitter... Do you guys think that will mellow..?

 

[brewmeister13]

I would not worry about O2. The top of the carboy should still be filled with CO2. It wont fly out when you open up the carboy. The C02 is heavier than O2.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFRlidbpmTk

Next time I burry my firearms for the zombie apocalypse I'll keep that in mind, but when it comes to beer I'll still waste a touch of CO2 to top off. The CO2 won't come flying out by opening the carboy itself, but dumping a bunch of hops in will pull air in and mix the gases. With that said, I wouldn't run out and get CO2 just for this purpose, but if you have it, it can't hurt.

 

[chaindriven]

No co2 here...

 

[AlCophile]

I made a math error in my post of 6/19: I think the actual wt. of CO2 was 30#; converting liters to cu ft is: liters x 0.0351, so the true answer is 244.8 cu ft, or a volume 15.6 ft on an edge, one foot deep.

 

[reuliss]

Dont worry and throw it in! I just finished a DIPA with the below hop schedule.

I dont cold crash but the hop is all settled out when I bottle and my beer is very clear. I even harvested the yeast from this batch. I dry hopped all my beers in primary without a bag and never had a problem.

1.2 ozCitra [12.0%] - Dry Hop 12 days

0.5 ozAmarillo Gold [8.5%] - Dry Hop 12 days

0.7 ozCitra [12.0%] - Dry Hop 9 days

0.9 ozAmarillo Gold [8.5%] - Dry Hop 6 days

1.1 ozCitra [12.0%] - Dry Hop 3 days

Brew on!

I wish I could do this. Every time I just toss the pellets in, they never sink for me.