IPA and Dry Hopping

dhelegda · Mar 16, 2015

I just brewed an IPA with 5 oz of hops. I am going to dry hop it with one more oz., when is the best time to add them. How long do you like yours to sit and do you like to do it with a bag or just throw them in?

Keith · Mar 16, 2015

Whole hop, leaf or pellet?

I've only done whole hops, so I'll speak to that. I've just thrown them in the secondary for 3-4 days. I understand that the longer you leave them in, different flavors will be drawn out. I also use a 6 gallon carboy for a 5 gallon batch. That way the hops float on more of the wort and you get better utilization.

If using pellets, I would put a marble in with the pellets in a hop bag.

ong · Mar 16, 2015

I would do 5 to 7 days. You want to wait until fermentation is basically over and you're at or near FG. Boil a muslin or cheesecloth bag and add a weight you can sanitize (I often use a stainless steel spoon).

smokinop · Mar 17, 2015

I make sure fermentation is over via several hydrometer readings, usually around 10 - 14 days. I ferment in buckets so I drop my pellet hops into the wort & if I'm only adding one round of dry hops, cold crash in 5/7 days. If I am adding a second round of dry hops, add hops 3/4 days after first additions.

Natdavis777 · Mar 17, 2015

I dry hop with pellets in the primary. I too, wait until fermentation has ended because you dont want CO2 purging the aroma you are trying to acquire. I typically go for a week.

Patrick87 · Mar 19, 2015

If you're only going to be dry hopping with 1oz, I'd just throw 'em in.

I'd strongly recommend going with 4-5oz of dry hops is you're really looking for aroma though, in my experience.

Anything more than an ounce of hops I've been putting mine in muslin bags (2 - 2.5oz per bag) so siphoning is easier.

dhelegda · Mar 19, 2015

Patrick have you ever hopped with German hops?

Patrick87 · Mar 20, 2015

No, I've just used American hop varieties so far.

Carusoat · Mar 20, 2015

In the words of John Kimmich, dry hop for no less than 4 days and no more than 5.

Beer-lord · Mar 20, 2015

I try to go 3-5 days then cold crash. But as Patrick87 said, 1 oz isn't really gonna cut it for a true IPA. It's better than nothing but I always use a minimum of 3 oz in my IPA's and often 6-8. It's not cheap but I really enjoy the nose on my brews.