Dry Hopping Woes

[Tinga]

So I am working my way through drinking my first IPA. This was my first time dry hopping a batch. The first few bottles I had were amazing if I do say so myself. However there seems to be some bottles in between where the aroma and flavor from dry hopping hasn't come through. It seems like some have that awesome aroma and taste but more of them are missing it than have it. So I was wondering if this is because the hops don't get evenly distributed when they just float to the top or if something else is happening.

Anyone have any idea of what is going on here?

 

[user 84304]

How did you put the hops into the secondary? Also, how much did you dry hop with? Pellet or whole leaf?

 

[unionrdr]

What matters is the fact that each bottle is a mini brew unto itself. And where were they located in the box of beers? Where was the box located? The beers on the outer perimeter near a heat source will carb faster than the ones on the other side. Same goes for conditioning. Also,how long have they been bottled?
They can be rather uneven till they've matured for more than 3weeks. More like 4-6 weeks in my experiences with IPA/APA's before they were evened out & tasting/smelling real good.

 

[724b]

The best tip I have received on dry hopping is... agitation. Regularly agitate when drying hopping to increase dry hop flavor and aroma. This is also going to help spread those flavors evening throughout solution.

 

[Jtd6628]

The best tip I have received on dry hopping is... agitation. Regularly agitate when drying hopping to increase dry hop flavor and aroma. This is also going to help spread those flavors evening throughout solution.

I agree this is what it do once a day I gently tilt the secondary like a 1/2 in. to one side then gently set back down and this is enough to brake the surface tension of the water and a small potion of the hops fall though the beer. I also use pellets and before I open them I crush them up as much as possible so when I put them in they are mostly powder.

Sent from my iPad2 using HB Talk

 

[Tinga]

I poured two oz whole leaf hops into a 5 gallon carboy then racked the beer on top of the hops. They've been in bottles for more than 6 weeks now. I suppose the bottles are kept in boxes stacked on top of each other. The one on the bottom is on the concrete floor so maybe those are a bit colder and take longer to condition.

To be honest I just want justification to build some sort of system to pump wort through a hopback type thing during secondary fermentation. Sort of like SN's Torpedo.

 

[Sacdan]

Try putting the hops in a blender first. I get more flavor and aroma by doing this.

 

[copyright1997]

I poured two oz whole leaf hops into a 5 gallon carboy then racked the beer on top of the hops. They've been in bottles for more than 6 weeks now. I suppose the bottles are kept in boxes stacked on top of each other. The one on the bottom is on the concrete floor so maybe those are a bit colder and take longer to condition.

To be honest I just want justification to build some sort of system to pump wort through a hopback type thing during secondary fermentation. Sort of like SN's Torpedo.

Or justification for a keg. I secondary/condition/ dry hop in a keg. To dry hop, just put hops in a sanitized hop bag and toss in the keg. Seal with co2, vent, seal with co2, then occasionally shake a bit. At end, vent, open and remove hop bag using something sanitized. Re-seal using co2/vent/co2 process.

 

[runningweird]

You cannot achieve proper hop aroma without a hopback style device.

There - now you have the answer you wanted.