Dry hopping

[brew4allMI]

Attempting an IPA for my next homebrew.. Trying to learn before I go ahead with a batch. Anyone know the best way to dry hop? Pellets? Dried whole hops? How much? What kinda would be best for aroma?

 

[Golddiggie]

Depends on what was in the brew and what you're looking to get. I find that 1oz/3 gallons of finished brew is great. I also find that dry hopping, with whole hops (in a bag) in the keg cannot be beat (IMO). I've dry hopped with both EKG and Fuggles (by themselves and together) with solid results.

 

[jonmohno]

Probably the amount and time more than whole or pellot. In general whole hops are preferred(if fresh or good)for late additions and dry hopping.I would use a muslin sack for whole and a hop bag with marbles for pellot or cold crash the pellot.I had a terrible time racking with loose whole hops and loose pellots(until i started cold crashing for the pellots to settle to the bottem-which worked very well.Im not shure about whole hops and if they sink with cold crashing though. I just feel like you will get the best utilazation with addding them loose,having more hop surface contact,but whole hops float on top.

 

[brew4allMI]

Thanks for the info! Think im leaning towards pellet hops...I'll make a post on how it turned out.

 

[Golddiggie]

I just added 1oz of whole EKG to one keg of my MO SMaSH that I kegged last week. It's now in the brew fridge cooling down. I'll put it on CO2 tomorrow evening to begin carbonating it. About two weeks from then, I'll start pouring pints. IF I can wait that long...

 

[jonmohno]

Do you guys that keg,just leave your hops in it the whole time? Just guessing i would say this is a great way to have your hops with your beer.I mean they are still there,when you are pouring it-like having a hop bag like tea in your beer,which yes ive seen advertised.Im about to get out my small hop bag fill it with some hops and pour a beer over it.And i will try it,sometime im shure.

 

[Golddiggie]

Do you guys that keg,just leave your hops in it the whole time?

Yup... I put them into a nylon bag first, then let them stay in the keg until it kicks. I had the last keg with whole hops in the fridge (with hops in it) for about 4-6 weeks before it kicked. GREAT dry hop addition for the entire time. SO much easier than dealing with it in a fermenter.

 

[DannPM]

I prefer pellets in a hop sack with a few marbles to sink it. Hop sack makes racking so much easier, no hop material at the bottom that could possibly go to the keg/bottle. It won't soak up as much beer as whole hops and is easier to stuff down the bung hole. To each his own though.

 

[brew4allMI]

That is what I have seen in researching ways to dry hop. I have seen the use of paint strainer bags that you can get at home depot or lowes... May be easier to sanitize?

 

[AngerManagement]

I like to go big or go home. I used 4 oz of whole Cascade in my last 5 gal batch of an XPA, and it was incredible. No bag, and most of the hops settled in the cold crash.

 

[brew4allMI]

Would you recommend cold crashing for dry hopping in secondary fermenter? Then bring up temp for bottling?

 

[PitchnGrin]

I dry hopped with 1.5Oz loose pellets then put a sanitized knee high over the end of my racking cane. No cold crash but it wouldn't hurt. Turned out awesome.
I have a second batch bottle conditioning with the exact same dry hop bill, but stuck them in a nylon to soak. I doubt the hops were fully saturated because they swelled in the sock pretty tight. I even tea bagged it before racking and could see hoppy goodness leaching out. Time will tell if they are equal but I will say it didn't seem any more convenient. I will toss them in free next time unless I see a major difference in taste/aroma.

Dry hoping in the keg is a different story. I would use multiple socks or spread out the pellets really well. those buggers swell!

 

[Golddiggie]

I find that a 6x8 inch nylon bag does a real good job holding one ounce of whole hops (in keg). Sure, they grow/expand to pretty much fill it, but that's better than having more bags in the keg, IMO.

I put a 1" diameter chrome ball in the bag this time to add some weight to it. I might need to use a pair in the bag the next time. Yes, my hop sack will have a pair of large chrome balls.