Dry Hopping- Late in Primary vs. In the Keg

[Whisler85]

i made a maris otter/amarillo SMaSH on the recommendation of Deathbrewer

i used 15 pounds MO, and 1 oz amarillo at 60, an oz at 30 min, 2 oz at 10 min, and 2 oz at knockout

i wanted to follow suit and dry hop with 2 oz

i have decided to do one of two things: add dry hops to the primary once it has settled down a little, or add them to the keg when it is racking time

which do y'all think would be best? and do i have to use whole leaf in the keg, or will pellet hops in a nylon hop bag be ok?

 

[Warped04]

I think it's a matter of personal preference. Personally, After dry hopping was complete, I would crash cool and rack, so I think it's a matter of preference from where you'd like to rack from.

 

[Bob]

A definitive answer depends on too many factors.

If you think you'll kick the keg in a couple of weeks, it might be interesting to dry-hop in the keg and appreciate how the dry-hops impact changes over time. If it's going to take months to kick the keg, I don't recommend this method, because after a couple of weeks you'll end up with hops tea that'll give off green vapors and strip the enamel off your teeth. Blech. As for technique, you can use either type of hops. Either way, use a bag.

Were I you, I'd crash-cool it, then rack it to a clearing vessel, hit it with gelatin or Isinglass finings, and dry hop it in that vessel for a week. Then I'd rack it to the keg. If you're going to do this, you can simply add the pellets to the carboy. They'll break up and sink. If you're going to use whole-flower - and I recommend it - use a bag and a couple of sanitized marbles or stainless-steel ball bearings as weights to make the bag sink. You can also get neat stainless-steel hops infusers specifically designed for this application. Search the online supply houses.

Cheers!

Bob

 

[david_42]

I always bag the hops & dry hop in the keg AFTER the conditioning is done. That gives me the most hop nose. Many times, I'll re-hop after a couple months.