How to dry hop???

[pa-in-utah]

I undertsand the concept of dry hopping. My question is-- do you steralize the hops first or just drop them in the secondary?

I love a hoppy IPA, so please advise.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Either or.

 

[pa-in-utah]

I remember reading something about the acid in hops. It kills any bacteria or something like that. Does that Sound right?

How would you steralize the hops prior to dry hopping?

 

[Yooper]

I just chuck them in, unless I'm using a hops bag. If I use a bag, I sanitize the bag then put the hops in that. The problem with the bag- it's hard to get in a carboy and even harder to get out. But if I'm using alot of hops, I'd rather use a couple of bags. One time I dryhopped with an ounce and a half of leaf hops and lost quite a bit of beer to the hops when I racked. Right now, I'm dryhopping the 777 with two ounces of leaf hops and I have those in bags.

If I was using pellet hops, I'd just toss them in.

 

[pa-in-utah]

Thanks yooper. If you were using a bag, how would you seal the carboy? Wouldn't the string keep the stopper from sealing?

 

[Yooper]

No, I tied it up then dropped the whole thing in (string and all) and then used the stopper. Remember, though- it's a bugger to get out of the carboy!

 

[brewt00l]

http://byo.com/departments/1105.html

The truth is that hops do not provide a supportive environment for most types of bacteria. On top of that, if the hops are added to the primary fermenter after the start of fermentation, any bacteria on them will have a difficult time competing with the vigorously active yeast in the wort. If the hops are added to the secondary fermenter then the alcohol content and the low pH of the beer will suppress bacterial growth. Keeping this in mind, it’s safe to say that bacterial contaminations caused by dry hopping are extremely rare and not worth worrying over.
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Also, while the hops are naturally resistant to bacteria, the bag is not. Because of this, you should always boil the bag to sanitize it before
putting hops in it.

 

[Rhoobarb]

Just toss 'em in. I never use a bag. I use a funnel to funnel them in and I sterilize the funnel.

 

[hoplobster]

Agreed, there's little to no risk by just throwing them in, the acid content alone should ward off any baddies.

I guess my theory is, after fermentation is complete and you now have alcohol in the brew, it's pretty hard to infect the batch... but I certainly wouldn't sugguest spitting in it to see what happens

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

If using whole hops though.. check for mold.

 

[vasie]

I would suggest always using a hop bag, even with pellet hops. I gave drying hopping a try and just tossed the pellets in. I had a hard time getting the small hop bits out. If you are not careful when racking your beer, there is a good chance Some of the debris will get sucked up and find its way into the bottle. And that's just not good eats.

 

[DeathBrewer]

yeah, use a bag. it's no fun to fish stuff out of your beer or have gunkiness in your bottle.