First dry hop

[yesjenks]

Hello,

Dry hopping for the first time tonight. I'll be adding 2oz of cascade to an amber ale. Anything I should know? I was going to just dump em in without a sock. That ok?

 

[slym2none]

Yes, it's fine. It's also known as "going commando." They should eventually drop out of solution and end up in the trub. Cold-crashing after fermentation will help that process.

If you do decide to use a sock, make sure it's sanitized first. Going commando, you have no worries, as hops are pretty antiseptic themselves.

 

[mdindy]

that is fine just make sure they drop out of suspension, or it will clog your siphon tubing, and I wouldn't leave them in there longer than 7-8 days tops.

 

[JustLooking]

Yes, it's fine. I call it "going commando."

Fixed that for you.

He either just made that up, or believed it when someone else made a joke.

But on topic, just toss them in loose. Better utilization.

 

[Remmy]

My only advice is to try and chill it somehow to as many hop particles drop-out as possible. As others have said, just throw the hops in.

 

[yesjenks]

Thanks for all the feedback!

Why can I only leave the in for 7-8 days?

 

[slym2none]

Fixed that for you.

He either just made that up, or believed it when someone else made a joke.

But on topic, just toss them in loose. Better utilization.

Yeah, I didn't think they were joking.

It does fit well, though...

:fro:

 

[mdindy]

you can get a grassy flavor if you leave it in for too long, I did a 2 week dry hop once and got nasty off flavors.

 

[Yesfan]

Thanks for all the feedback!

Why can I only leave the in for 7-8 days?

Because you could have some grassy notes in the taste if the hops are left in there longer than a week. I did a dead ringer where I dry hopped for about 2 weeks and didn't notice any off flavors from leaving the hops in that long. I guess it's a "your mileage may vary" kinda thing, so for safe measure, I dry-hop for a week, then keg it.

 

[ChucknBeer]

I also want to dry hopping my American IPA, but I'm afraid of adding too much total hops, since the recipe does not include this step and (I guess) it already contains all the hops required for it to be an IPA.

Galena, Brewers Gold and Willamette, right now I don't know the specific oz for each one.

Also, which variety from the above would you choose to dry hop?

 

[mdindy]

willamette, galena and brewers gold are better for bittering and will not give you the aroma you are looking for, and you will not ruin your beer by dry hopping it never be afraid to add more hops, esp since its just for aroma and will not add any bitterness to your beer.

 

[slym2none]

I want to try Galena hops, so that's my quite un-informed answer.

 

[peterj]

I also want to dry hopping my American IPA, but I'm afraid of adding too much total hops, since the recipe does not include this step and (I guess) it already contains all the hops required for it to be an IPA.

Galena, Brewers Gold and Willamette, right now I don't know the specific oz for each one.

Also, which variety from the above would you choose to dry hop?

Yeah I guess those are all technically American hops, but they are probably the most non-American tasting American hops I can think of. I would definitely dry hop it, but try using a more typically American hop. Like one of the C hops or something. Think Cascade, Centennial, Columbus, Citra, Chinook, Simcoe, Amarillo, etc.

 

[ChucknBeer]

Yeah I guess those are all technically American hops, but they are probably the most non-American tasting American hops I can think of. I would definitely dry hop it, but try using a more typically American hop. Like one of the C hops or something. Think Cascade, Centennial, Columbus, Citra, Chinook, Simcoe, Amarillo, etc.

Haha, good to know that the hops are american but NOT

I still buy my recipes "pre-made", this weekend I will do my third and fourth batch... soon I will start researching to create my own recipes.

I will add more hops after fermentation ends. Any specific suggestion from the ones you mentioned?

 

[Yesfan]

If you're still not sure about dry-hopping, then maybe split the batch. Batch one will be what the recipe calls for so go ahead and keg/bottle as usual. Batch two could be sent to a secondary fermenter where you would dry hop with your hops of choice. You don't have to split the batch evenly either. If it's a 5 gallon batch, maybe keg/bottle 4 of the 5 gallons and dry hop one gallon for experimentation. One of the great things about home brewing is experimentation.

I done this with the last brown ale I made to see if I could tell the difference if nothing was changed but the yeast. I split it evenly so the first batch was the control with the yeast the recipe called for while batch two I used US-05. Both beers were different, but I liked both.