Dry hopping pellets

[dodeebryan]

Quick question: going to dry hop for the 1st time this week. The recipe called for whole hops. Just realized LHBS gave me pellets? #1 does this matter? #2 can I just drop them in with no bag

 

[Jayhem]

I don't know for sure if 1oz of pellets are the same effect in a dry hop as 1oz of whole leaf but I always use pellets and just drop them in, no bag.

When I transfer to bottling bucket I use a grain bag wrapped around my siphon to prevent hops from being transferred, works fine but I'm sure a hop bag might make things less messy.

 

[Odin_Brews]

I dry hop pellets all the time, no bag, I just throw em in my primary for 5-7 days and rack off into my bottling bucket.

Im not sure what leaf vs pellet differences would be so Ill wait out some responses to you and learn.

 

[osagedr]

Like a poster above suggested, a grain bag over your siphon should work just fine.

 

[daksin]

I always just toss my pellets in. A bag is fine too, but that's just one more thing for me to sanitize, so I skip it. 1oz whole cones = 1oz pellets.

 

[BryceL]

Another vote for just dumping them in with no bag, they will settle to the bottom along with the yeast. As mentioned above, 1 oz whole hops = 1 oz pellets, the only difference is the volume. An ounce of whole hops will take up a lot more space than an ounce of pellets.

 

[Face Eater]

Dump them in, should settle to the bottom by the time your ready to bottle. I usually don't have any hops getting into my bottling bucket with just a siphon and nothing else. Bag idea around the siphon seems like a good idea if your worried. Also not sure if there would be a difference between leaf and pellet in dry hopping. I have used both and really can't tell the difference.

 

[Pappers_]

And if they stay floating on the top, just rack from underneath them.

 

[matt2778]

Easy way to deal with loose pellets is to just put a sanitized five gallon paint strainer bag in your bucket and siphon away. If you ferment in a carboy or bb you can just put the paint strainer bag in your bottling bucket and rack through it. Pretty easy either way and unlikely to clog.

 

[Jayhem]

Easy way to deal with loose pellets is to just put a sanitized five gallon paint strainer bag in your bucket and siphon away. If you ferment in a carboy or bb you can just put the paint strainer bag in your bottling bucket and rack through it. Pretty easy either way and unlikely to clog.

I'd be concerned with oxidation if I were siphoning through a strainer into my bottling bucket. A strainer that is not submerged is a great aeration tool!

 

[BxBrewer]

I use a infuser. It is built and looks just like a screened hop ball but it is a cylinder shape. Fits into the neck of carboys. Has a small chain and hook to atatch to a bung.

 

[dodeebryan]

Ok good help.... New related question. Dry hopping obviously is beneficial. (People do it all the time) However have any of you ever dry hopped part of a brew and not dry hopped another portion of the same brew and tasted the difference? If so, what if any, was the difference?

 

[matt2778]

I'd be concerned with oxidation if I were siphoning through a strainer into my bottling bucket. A strainer that is not submerged is a great aeration tool!

The bag sits in the bottom of the bucket. Your no more likely to oxides than with any other transfer. I also rarely secondary and ferment in buckets so the paint strainer bag goes in the fermenter in my case. This way I elimate cleaning pellet sludge out of the autosiphon.