First time dry hopping and cold crashing

[Redpappy]

i hope I’m in the right spot.. so as stated, I’m going to be doing my first dry hop and cold crashing, and wanting to see if my thinking is right...

So I will start my 4 day dry hop on Sunday. I plan on using my hop bag from wilsner. ( not sure if I should throw the hops in in the bag and then throw in fermentor, or if I should throw the hops in, do a small knot in the bag then throw in( of course after I have sanitized the bag)). Then I was think 2 days later dropping the temp to 34F for 2 days. From there transfer to keg( first time kegging as well). Setting pressure to 14psi and leaving for 2 weeks.
Not sure if I should only leave it at 34 degrees for 1 day, and then bring up to 60 degrees for the 1 day, then transfer.

 

[TandemTails]

You can leave the beer sitting at 34'F for two days. there's no need to ramp it back up to 60 before kegging.

As for the hop sack, sani the entire bag, add the hops and tie it off then throw it in the carboy (assuming you have a widemouth lid, or else it can be a huge pain in the ass to get the hop sack back out). If you have anything you can sanitize and put in the sack to weigh it down, that would help a lot too. I use some sanitized 100% glass marbles that were marketed specifically toward brewers so they don't have lead or other crap.

 

[IslandLizard]

A few observations and recommendations:
Whatever you do, prevent air (oxygen) ingress, it kills beer flavor and aroma, hoppy ones even faster.
You also need to insure the beer can extract hop compounds. If you need to use a bag (many of us prefer tossing them in loose) keep a few things in mind:

• That bag will be filled with air, then you drop it into the headspace, replacing all the (good) CO2 with (bad) air.
• Hops need to be able to 'swim' in the beer so the beer can extract the goodness.
• Hops expand enormously when wet, so make sure there is enough room inside the bag once expanded.
• A bag should be roomy, not constrictive (being too small, too tight) for beer to enter and thoroughly soak the hops, in order to obtain good extraction.
• A bag will restrict beer flow in and out, limiting extraction potential.
• Therefore, some form of intermittent agitation is recommended. Stir, swirl, etc. so hop enriched beer gets replaced with fresh beer to extract more. Just relying on natural diffusion is not efficient, incomplete, taking much too long.
• 3-5 days of dry hopping at room temps, giving the beer good hop access and exposure, free flow through, with some periodic agitation should get you decent extraction.

I now stream CO2 at a low rate into the headspace through the airlock when working with fermenters. I drilled a 1" hole in my bucket lids, opposite the airlock hole. A regular 1" solid bung keeps it plugged up. I use that as my 'access port' to add dry hops, syrups, and other stuff. Also used for taking samples and when transferring to keg. That way air (O2) can't get in. I may purge the headspace a few times afterward, but is probably overkill.

 

[Redpappy]

A few observations and recommendations:
Whatever you do, prevent air (oxygen) ingress, it kills beer flavor and aroma, hoppy ones even faster.
You also need to insure the beer can extract hop compounds. If you need to use a bag (many of us prefer tossing them in loose) keep a few things in mind:

• That bag will be filled with air, then you drop it into the headspace, replacing all the (good) CO2 with (bad) air.
• Hops need to be able to 'swim' in the beer so the beer can extract the goodness.
• Hops expand enormously when wet, so make sure there is enough room inside the bag once expanded.
• A bag should be roomy, not constrictive (being too small, too tight) for beer to enter and thoroughly soak the hops, in order to obtain good extraction.
• A bag will restrict beer flow in and out, limiting extraction potential.
• Therefore, some form of intermittent agitation is recommended. Stir, swirl, etc. so hop enriched beer gets replaced with fresh beer to extract more. Just relying on natural diffusion is not efficient, incomplete, taking much too long.
• 3-5 days of dry hopping at room temps, giving the beer good hop access and exposure, free flow through, with some periodic agitation should get you decent extraction.

I now stream CO2 at a low rate into the headspace through the airlock when working with fermenters. I drilled a 1" hole in my bucket lids, opposite the airlock hole. A regular 1" solid bung keeps it plugged up. I use that as my 'access port' to add dry hops, syrups, and other stuff. Also used for taking samples and when transferring to keg. That way air (O2) can't get in. I may purge the headspace a few times afterward, but is probably overkill.

Thanks for the info on the lid. I may have to do that to 1 of mine.

I read on another post where someone adds 2 oz of sugar when they dry hop, just so that the yeast can replease some of the co2.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I have been having good luck dry hopping loose pellets. They will settle out fairly nicely in 3-4 days. I feel like I can add them quickly and not introduce oxygen, were I feel like a bag is bound to pull more oxygen into the beer. I did my first cold crash recently. I dry hopped on Sunday evening, then started the cold crash on Thursday evening and kegged today. It worked well. I would have cold crashed on Wednesday evening but I was away. I crashed to 36 F and noticed that the jar of StarSan in the bottom of the freezer had some ice in it.

 

[Jag75]

I dont understand when people say the hops settle in a few days . For my second dry hop addition I used about 5 ounces roughly . Put them in a large bag with 2 shot glasses . The bag sunk . I dry hopped for 4 days . Guess what , those pellets swell so much it floated to the top ! With 2 shot glasses inside . It was about the size of a softball lol. I cant see hops falling in 3 to 4 days , maybe 7 idk.

 

[IslandLizard]

I dont understand when people say the hops settle in a few days . For my second dry hop addition I used about 5 ounces roughly . Put them in a large bag with 2 shot glasses . The bag sunk . I dry hopped for 4 days . Guess what , those pellets swell so much it floated to the top ! With 2 shot glasses inside . It was about the size of a softball lol. I cant see hops falling in 3 to 4 days , maybe 7 idk.

Maybe it's the bag that causes it to float?

I toss them in loose. First they float, then after a few days they've sunken. I give them a gentle stir 2x a day, agitation is key to extraction. Maybe the agitation helps with the settling process?

Due to an equipment failure a NEIPA (New Belgium Accumulation Clone) I brewed last August went from grain to glass in 5 days:

• Brewed Saturday morning
• Dry hopped Sunday + Monday (stirred every few hours under CO2)
• Cold crashed Tuesday
• Kegged and forced carbonated (rolling) Wednesday morning
  • I used a filter over the racking cane
  • but very little hop matter was still in suspension, 99% had settled
• Took to an event later that day.
• Tapped Thursday around noon.
• Friggin' Perfect!

 

[Jag75]

Island Lizard, so your talking cold crashing dropped the hops? Will hops fall on their own without cold crashing , and how long does it take ?

I use a paint strainer bag .

 

[IslandLizard]

Island Lizard, so your talking cold crashing dropped the hops? Will hops fall on their own without cold crashing , and how long does it take ?

I use a paint strainer bag .

Dry hop particles (from pellets) do drop by themselves, but I think stirring speeds it up, as they get more thoroughly hydrated. Good hydration is exactly what you want, as that facilitates extraction/migration of the aromatic oils from the hop pulp to the beer. Just lying half wet on top doesn't achieve that or as much.

Once they're suspended in the beer, they seem to make it to the bottom rather quickly (hence the intermittent stirring), within a few days, the heavier particles first, the finer dust will stay suspended much longer.

Colder temps (crashing) speeds up precipitation of everything suspended. Maybe they cling to the yeast and other suspended stuff?

I've dry hopped in kegs, using bags, adding a handful of glass marbles for weight. They sink. I always suspend them around the center with a piece of wire, and agitate by swirling, shaking or rolling.

 

[Jag75]

@IslandLizard , I like the cut of your jib .

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I dont understand when people say the hops settle in a few days . For my second dry hop addition I used about 5 ounces roughly . Put them in a large bag with 2 shot glasses . The bag sunk . I dry hopped for 4 days . Guess what , those pellets swell so much it floated to the top ! With 2 shot glasses inside . It was about the size of a softball lol. I cant see hops falling in 3 to 4 days , maybe 7 idk.

I suspect your hops in the bag were never able to get fully saturated. I throw in loose pellets. They form a blanket over the top of the wort and after a few days they start to drop to the bottom. I don't swirl or agitate the fermenter. Until last week, I never cold crashed. I am not positive if my method provides the best extraction of the hop flavors and aroma, but it seems to be working for me. The NEIPA that I just kegged (that was cold crashed) may have been my first beer with more than a 3 oz to 5 gal ratio (it was a 5 oz ratio...most my IPAs and Pale Ales get 1 or 2 oz of dry hops), but even then the hops seemed to be settling out fine before I started the cold crash.

 

[Jag75]

When I pulled out the softball sized swollen bag of hops I ripped it open in the trash . The pellets were no longer individuall pellets . It was a ball of hop mash . So I would say they were soaked as much as could be . It's possible that using a bag might hold back some of the hop flavors but I got a pretty good aroma and taste of the hops . Next time I will toss in without a bag and see how it goes. I'm just not wanting hop particles because I dont cold crash .

 

[Redpappy]

I just throw my hops, since I have nothing to weigh them down, in.would it be suggested that I wait 4 days before I drop the temp, or would 2 days be good?

 

[IslandLizard]

I just throw my hops, since I have nothing to weigh them down, in.would it be suggested that I wait 4 days before I drop the temp, or would 2 days be good?

4-5 days at room temps (~68-72F).