Muff
Just having fun
I dry hopped my first IPA 6 days ago and was planning on bottling tomorrow. Problem is my hops are still floating on top. Any way to get them to settle without cold crashing?
Floating hops
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thehaze
Well-Known Member
I never had pellet hops that floated after a few days, so I am guessing you used hop cones?
I am afraid, that without cold crashing, they will continue to float, if they did not sink by now. Why don't you want to cold crash?
I am afraid, that without cold crashing, they will continue to float, if they did not sink by now. Why don't you want to cold crash?
ESBrewer
Well-Known Member
Is there some problem bottling when the hops are floating on top? Generally, you can put them in a weighted (hop) sock so they remain submerged and can be removed easily. Or remove them completely before bottling with some sort of scoop. If those are pellet hops they may drop when you agitate or push them with a spoon to submerge them. But this may also introduce oxygen if there is head space in the (primary) vessel.
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Wrap a fine mesh bag around the end of the siphon, hold it in place with a rubber band, and start siphoning your beer. It will filter out all but the tiniest particles and those will settle out in the bottling bucket or in the bottle. RDWHAHB
Renegade Brewer
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Please do not put a spoon or any other foreign object into your fermenter while you are in fermentation. I typically advocate not opening the fermenter at all after pitching the yeast and keeping it under pressure, but this can be difficult while dry hoping.
Dry hoping for 6 days is quite a long time. Usually we are looking for the fresh hop aroma and flavor that dry hops provide, so we want that character to be as fresh as possible. I’m usually looking at 3 days for a dry hop before going to a brite tank or keg. The longer you dry hop the more of that aroma will dissipate and be muted by the time you drink the beer. A good example is a Dog fish head IPA purchased on the west coast or a stone purchased on the east coast. Both of these beers change dramatically compared to having it on tap at the tap room. This is exactly why you won’t find pliney outside of Napa. Vinney will not allow that beer to deteriorate due to being mishandled or not fresh.
The same thing happens when we dry hop too long. Those hops fade and it becomes not a good representations the style. Mike mcdole speaks of this when entering an ipa or pale into comp. you should have brewed that beer 2 weeks before the comp to ensure freshness.
As for floating hops, whole hops will absolutely float. Using a hopback or using a hop bag that’s weighted will help with this. Pellet hops will sometimes hang out at the top of the fermenter, but it’s rare.
Dry hoping for 6 days is quite a long time. Usually we are looking for the fresh hop aroma and flavor that dry hops provide, so we want that character to be as fresh as possible. I’m usually looking at 3 days for a dry hop before going to a brite tank or keg. The longer you dry hop the more of that aroma will dissipate and be muted by the time you drink the beer. A good example is a Dog fish head IPA purchased on the west coast or a stone purchased on the east coast. Both of these beers change dramatically compared to having it on tap at the tap room. This is exactly why you won’t find pliney outside of Napa. Vinney will not allow that beer to deteriorate due to being mishandled or not fresh.
The same thing happens when we dry hop too long. Those hops fade and it becomes not a good representations the style. Mike mcdole speaks of this when entering an ipa or pale into comp. you should have brewed that beer 2 weeks before the comp to ensure freshness.
As for floating hops, whole hops will absolutely float. Using a hopback or using a hop bag that’s weighted will help with this. Pellet hops will sometimes hang out at the top of the fermenter, but it’s rare.
OP
OP
Muff
Just having fun
Thanks for the reply’s. I was able to lightly tap on the sides and most dropped. I was then able to fit it in my fridge for 6 hrs and that helped ALOT.
