Dry hopping timing

[Tiredboy]

I am sure this has been asked before but I'm being lazy (and honest!).

I have a DFH 60 minute clone in my primary. Recipe is from Clone Brews (well a LHBS adaptation of it). Book says primary for 7 days then move into secondary and dry hop until fermentation complete. LHBS says dry hop after 7 days, move into secondary 7 days later and bottle/keg 7 days after that. Now based on the discussions on here (and in other places) I may not transfer to secondary (bit of a dilemma here as I've only transfered 1 of my 3 brews and it turned out the best, then again it was my latest so maybe I'm just getting better!).

So, my question is if I only use a primary, when do I dry hop:

1) After 7 days and leave it dry hopping for 14
2) After 14 days so its only dry hopping for 7 days
3) Some other timing

I don't think it will have any bearing but this will be my first kegged beer and I will be force carbing.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

When I dry hop, I wait til I have a stable FG, and the beer is beginning to fall clear. I dry hop for ~3-10 days, depending on the recipe. Sometimes I dry hop in primary, sometimes in secondary, that really depends on my time and if I need the larger primary for another batch.

 

[Revvy]

If using a long primary and wanting to dry hop it's not difficult to figure...you do it for the last week you intend to leave it in primary.

I do a month in primary usually, so that being the case, on day 21 I add my hops and a week later I bottle.

If you're racking to secondary, and planning to leave it for 2 weeks in secondary, then you'd add hops 1 week before you bottle or keg.

Dry hop schedule is usually simply the last week before bottling or kegging.

 

[unionrdr]

Yup. That way,the beer has settle out clear or slightly misty & FG has been reached. Better to dry hop at that point,as hop oils can coat to settling yeast. I found 7 days works well for dry hoping.

 

[Tiredboy]

If using a long primary and wanting to dry hop it's not difficult to figure...you do it for the last week you intend to leave it in primary.
.......
Dry hop schedule is usually simply the last week before bottling or kegging.

Thanks, its all clear now. Good job I don't have your phone number Revvy or you'd be on speed dial!

Is there any benefit leaving it in primary (no secondary) for more than 3 weeks if fermentation is well and truly done? I read somewhere that IPAs should be moved relatively quickly and not stored as the flavour would reduce.

 

[Revvy]

Is there any benefit leaving it in primary (no secondary) for more than 3 weeks if fermentation is well and truly done? I read somewhere that IPAs should be moved relatively quickly and not stored as the flavour would reduce.

I really don't want to rehash this discussion, it really has been done to death on here. There's plenty of info on here, many of it by me.

I just suggest you read THIS thread and decide for yourself.
To Secondary or Not? John Palmer and Jamil Zainasheff Weigh In .

 

[unionrdr]

Leaving it in primary to dry hop is pretty common now. Less loss by racking,& less likely to get oxygenated from racking to secondary. Good beer,& less lost to all the movement. No need to play mad scientist with my beer. Patience & keeping it simple work better. I use muslin hop sacks when dry hoping to keep it clean too.
And having poured all through a fine mesh strainer into the fermenter to start with added to this makes less trub in the end. So more clear beer is racked off to the bottling bucket after dry hoping.

 

[Tiredboy]

I wasn't questioning the primary versus secondary, it was when any extra time in primary (or secondary if you decide to go that route) for an IPA is pointless. I know there is a lot of posts saying that the week in primary followed by a week in secondary (as listed by many instructions) isn't long enough but 3 weeks allows the flavours to improve. In other words, after three weeks, what is the benefit in leaving it for 4,5 or more weeks before bottling/kegging. I certainly don't want to start the religious debate of whether a secondary is required.

 

[unionrdr]

What I meant was it's fine to dry hop in primary,a secondary isn't really needed unless adding fruit or oaking. Less racking is generally better.
Anyway,I let the beer reach FG (usually 3-3.5 weeks). In that time,it setlles out nicely leaving less yeast in suspension to drag the hop oils dowm with them. So the 4th week would be dry hoping. Then bottle or keg. The beer will be good & hoppy till week 7 or so,in (in bottles) in my experiences. The aroma from dry hopping is the 1st to start fading at 8 weeks or so. That's what they're referring to.

 

[adamjackson]

For me, searching the forums for threads on dry hopping was key. I also don't like most default searches, so I use Google. Here's a link to search HBT in Google:

https://www.google.com/webhp?source...r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1692&bih=1323

You're basically telling google to search only on the domain Homebrewtalk.com. Very fast and easy to use.

So, example is there are over 21,000 threads on dry hopping in HBT history. Safe to say that this has been asked LOADS of times.

----

With that said, I basically take what Revvy says as gospel as he has a wealth of knowledge on these matters. Personally, I've followed his advice for my first Double IPA. Fermented for 3 weeks, dry hopped in a secondary (totally optional as primary is fine) for 1 week then cold crashed 24 hours, transfer to keg doing my best not to aerate the beer too much (no splashing is best) then store in fridge over night, force carb with high PSI CO2 then serve a day later.

Total time, 1 month and 5 days from brew to serve.

 

[Tiredboy]

Sorry for posting a repeated topic. I'm sure I'm not the first (nor the last). All clearer now. Usual 3 weeks for fermentation, dry hopping is an extra step AFTER normal fermentation. 4 weeks makes more sense now. Maybe I'll try cold-crashing too this time.

 

[adamjackson]

Sorry for posting a repeated topic. I'm sure I'm not the first (nor the last). All clearer now. Usual 3 weeks for fermentation, dry hopping is an extra step AFTER normal fermentation. 4 weeks makes more sense now. Maybe I'll try cold-crashing too this time.

If you're like me and kegging, cold-crashing helps tremendously! My first IPA I filtered it twice (from kettle to primary then again primary to keg) and still had a huge issue with hops getting stuck in the dip tube and clogging up the lines. It took about half the keg of pouring to finally get where beer flowed easily.

Cold crashing made the trub into a hard cake and less hops transferred into the keg....good for bottling too I suspect.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,usually 3 or 4 weeks in,the trub in my primary is compacted pretty good. Just a light dusting on top of the trub that is still easily avoided with carefull racking.
I have spigots on both fermenters & bottling bucket. I can use a piece of tubing to rack to secondary or bottling bucket. With just a slight tip of the FV,I can get it all out but a couple ounces. Holding it steady when tipping is important to not stiring up the dusty upper trub layer. Don't tip it any more than needed,which isn't that much. Maybe a couple of degrees.

 

[mikemet]

I really don't want to rehash this discussion, it really has been done to death on here. There's plenty of info on here, many of it by me.

I like the 4 week primary idea- im just 1 week into my first brew. Going to dry hop week 3- for 1 week- and bottle. Ill be ready for that when the time comes. I expect it to come our great because the advice on the boards here.