How long is too long to "Dry Hop"...

[FxdGrMind]

Ok, I've been busy lately, but it's a good thing for the most part. 3 weeks in Primary... (too busy to rack any earlier)... 1 week in 2ndary then had a moment and added my dry hop addition... now it's 2 weeks later and I ment to rack it off to keg over the w/e but too many chores... oh and the dang F1 race at 0-DARK-30..... (nothing to watch either... processional... arg)

So I'm wondering if I need to rack to keg durring the week or if I can wait until next w/e...?

Alas I haven't even looked at it to see if it's infected... I have a remote temp sensor.. so I have checked temp, but that's because I can do that from the Kitchen while making coffee in the morning by looking at the readout.

What are your thoughts? How long is too long to DH?

 

[maida7]

it depends, how much dry hops. What temps, etc...

I think in general 2 weeks is the limit. If it does go too long you will get a vegetal / grassy off flavor.

 

[Sedge]

Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River did a lot of experiments on dry hopping time and determined that 2 weeks is the upper limit of effectiveness. Not sure if you'll experience many negative effects by going longer, but its unnecessary. I usually do a week or so, dry hopping right into the primary at the tail end of fermentation.

 

[IceFisherChris]

Consider dropping a hop pellet into a beer bottle. I'm always skeptical of the "general consensuses" you find on the internet. So next time I bottle my beer, I am going to drop in a hop pellet in 6 beers and then after 2 weeks, drink 1 of those bottles every week. See if the grassy flavors actually are true.

 

[thesanch]

I dry hop in the keg using a tea ball. I just leave it in there till the keg kicks which could be a couple months. I've never had any grassy/vegetable off flavors that people have suggested.

I know others on this board that do the same. Search around.

 

[peripatetic]

FYI, I just accidentally dry hopped a Pliny The Elder clone for a full SIX (6) weeks, and that was with 6.75 oz of hops, and it turned out AMAZING. No off flavors, vegetals, whatever. I'm not saying that this is good practice, just that it worked this time.

 

[david_42]

2-3 weeks isn't a problem. I've had some odd flavors from leaving the hops in the keg until empty, but that was almost 6 months.

 

[Denny]

Consider dropping a hop pellet into a beer bottle. I'm always skeptical of the "general consensuses" you find on the internet. So next time I bottle my beer, I am going to drop in a hop pellet in 6 beers and then after 2 weeks, drink 1 of those bottles every week. See if the grassy flavors actually are true.

Grassy flavors in general are not true. Making a mess in a bottle by adding a hop pellet is true!

 

[steelerguy]

I dry hopped a Stone Verticle Epic Ale recipe (08.08.08) for a couple months (2 ounces of hops) and had no grassy flavors at all. In fact that beer tasted extremely fruity, people though I put some fruit extract in actually. The fruit flavors have decreased over time, now a year later they are very mellow.

I feel like you lose some aromatics letting a beer dry hop for too long, but taste isn't nearly as effected.

 

[toman8r]

Grassy flavors in general are not true.

Good to know! I have a DIPA that I have just been too busy and too lazy to bottle sitting on dry hops for over a month now... I think I'll throw in another half oz or so just for good measure and bottle in 5 days.

 

[uechikid]

I have never dry hopped, is the purpose for aroma?

 

[toman8r]

Mostly aroma yeah, but also flavor and mouthfeel.