Dry hopping newbie question

[AndyJR81]

Hi all - first time poster.

I'm doing a Youngs American IPA kit at the moment. This came with a huge bag of hops which were to be slipped in toward the end of the primary fermentation, which I duly did. Just checked on the wort to take an SG reading (which incidentally came out as 1.000?!? OG = 1.050), and there is a kind of mulchy greenish 'carpet' sitting on top of the liquid.

Probably a daft question but is this just the hop pellets that have dispersed over the top of the brew - rather than some kind of spoilage? If so do I need to skim it off before transferring to my bottling bucket or should the siphon gizmo do the job?

Thanks in advance!

Andy

 

[TheCADJockey]

Its just the hop pellets. Often when you dry hop with pellets, they will disperse across the top right away.
Just rack as usual. You shouldn't get much of it and if you do it's not a big deal.

 

[AndyJR81]

Fab - that's put my mind at rest, thanks very much

 

[TheCADJockey]

Fab - that's put my mind at rest, thanks very much

No problem guy. Good luck!

 

[craigermcgyver]

I just went through this with a Pliny the Elder Clone. I had a large amount of hops still floating on the top after the dry hopping. I put a small clean hop bag at the end of the racking tube in my bottle bucket when I racked it off to catch any remnants from the secondary. Worked like a charm.

 

[Gustatorian]

Hi all - first time poster.

I'm doing a Youngs American IPA kit at the moment. This came with a huge bag of hops which were to be slipped in toward the end of the primary fermentation, which I duly did. Just checked on the wort to take an SG reading (which incidentally came out as 1.000?!? OG = 1.050), and there is a kind of mulchy greenish 'carpet' sitting on top of the liquid.

Probably a daft question but is this just the hop pellets that have dispersed over the top of the brew - rather than some kind of spoilage? If so do I need to skim it off before transferring to my bottling bucket or should the siphon gizmo do the job?

Thanks in advance!

Andy

Your gravity after primary is reading straight zeros? What yeast did you use? I'd be worried about contamination...

 

[AndyJR81]

Your gravity after primary is reading straight zeros? What yeast did you use? I'd be worried about contamination...

It's the one that came in the kit - US West Coast Ale yeast (dry). I thought the same re: contamination, but there is no funky taste at all - in fact it tastes pretty damn good! Will just rack it and see I guess.

It did have an excessively violent ferment - the froth was crawling up out of the airlock so who knows. To tell the truth I was surprised the OG was only 1.050 when the approximate finishing ABV was supposed to be 6.5%. An FG of 1.000 gives bang on 6.5% so maybe I've just got a crocked hydrometer - -I'll check it with some water later on.

 

[AndyJR81]

It's the one that came in the kit - US West Coast Ale yeast (dry). I thought the same re: contamination, but there is no funky taste at all - in fact it tastes pretty damn good! Will just rack it and see I guess.

It did have an excessively violent ferment - the froth was crawling up out of the airlock so who knows. To tell the truth I was surprised the OG was only 1.050 when the approximate finishing ABV was supposed to be 6.5%. An FG of 1.000 gives bang on 6.5% so maybe I've just got a crocked hydrometer - -I'll check it with some water later on.

Yup - duff hydrometer, reading 0.992 with water at 20 celcius, so adjusting I get an OG of 1.058 and an FG of 1.008 - precisely what the target from the kit specified. Looks like a perfect strong brew, and if the initial taster is anything to go by it's going to be a good Christmas