is there a good time line to follow with big beers?

[basilchef]

My iipa came out to 22 brix. How long should I keep this on the cake before dry hopping it?

 

[Calder]

That's a big beer. No reason to change your normal process. Dry hop after it reaches FG and you are good.

The biggest problem is that generally beers in the 9% range are not session beers and will be stored for a long time. Dry hopping will fade and my not be present if not dunk relatively quickly. Is it really necessary to dry hop the beer?

 

[jro238]

+1 for not dry hopping something that will be stored for any amount of time. I guess you'll just have some beer to drink

 

[nukebrewer]

That's a big beer. No reason to change your normal process. Dry hop after it reaches FG and you are good.

The biggest problem is that generally beers in the 9% range are not session beers and will be stored for a long time. Dry hopping will fade and my not be present if not dunk relatively quickly. Is it really necessary to dry hop the beer?

Generally, you're right, big beers will be stored for a long time, but in the specific case of a IIPA it will (or at least should) be consumed as fresh as possible. It may not be technically required, but dry hopping has pretty much become the de facto standard for any hop forward beer, at least among American styles.

To the OP: I would give it a full two weeks before checking the FG and then, if it's there, add the dry hops. If not, just wait longer. If your pitch rate was good I don't see any reason why the typical ale fermentation schedule shouldn't work.

 

[basilchef]

Generally, you're right, big beers will be stored for a long time, but in the specific case of a IIPA it will (or at least should) be consumed as fresh as possible. It may not be technically required, but dry hopping has pretty much become the de facto standard for any hop forward beer, at least among American styles.

To the OP: I would give it a full two weeks before checking the FG and then, if it's there, add the dry hops. If not, just wait longer. If your pitch rate was good I don't see any reason why the typical ale fermentation schedule shouldn't work.

Thanks a bunch. Two weeks tmro,

 

[pjj2ba]

My iipa came out to 22 brix. How long should I keep this on the cake before dry hopping it?

Once the fermentation is over (check by hydrometer), you can go ahead and dry hop. For the record, you don't need the cake for fermentation. The cake is the yeast that got tired of playing the game and are now sitting on the bench - never to return to the game. It is the players still on the field (in suspension) that are doing the job. The cake does influence the flavor a little bit though. Many folks like this, others do not.

 

[Calder]

Once the fermentation is over (check by hydrometer), you can go ahead and dry hop. For the record, you don't need the cake for fermentation. The cake is the yeast that got tired of playing the game and are now sitting on the bench - never to return to the game. It is the players still on the field (in suspension) that are doing the job. The cake does influence the flavor a little bit though. Many folks like this, others do not.

It is my understanding that the guys on the ground are still working; to reduce diecetyl and acetalhedyde,, some of the undesirable products of fermentation. Taking it off the cake slows or halts this process.

 

[pjj2ba]

It is my understanding that the guys on the ground are still working; to reduce diecetyl and acetalhedyde,, some of the undesirable products of fermentation. Taking it off the cake slows or halts this process.

Nope, the yeast in the cake are pretty much dormant. The cake plays very little role, if any, in the clean up of fermentation byproducts - that is the job of the yeast still in suspension. There are reasons one might want to leave the beer on the yeast cake, but clean up is not one of them.

 

[Calder]

Nope, the yeast in the cake are pretty much dormant. The cake plays very little role, if any, in the clean up of fermentation byproducts - that is the job of the yeast still in suspension. There are reasons one might want to leave the beer on the yeast cake, but clean up is not one of them.

I am no expert on the subject, but I would certainly take the advice of White and Zainasheff over yours. In their book 'Yeast' they say, "Separating the yeast from the beer too soon or cooling the beer early can leave a considerable amount of diacetyl and diacetly precursors", Page 113. I believe it is also mentioned in other places in the book.

Just because the yeast has dropped out, does not mean it is dormant.

 

[Yooper]

I am no expert on the subject, but I would certainly take the advice of White and Zainasheff over yours. In their book 'Yeast' they say, "Separating the yeast from the beer too soon or cooling the beer early can leave a considerable amount of diacetyl and diacetly precursors", Page 113. I believe it is also mentioned in other places in the book.

Just because the yeast has dropped out, does not mean it is dormant.

Ah,but- define "too soon"! I would say something like 4 days would be too soon- but after the beer is at FG for at least 24 hours, the yeast's work is done. There is no advantage from a "clean up" standpoint to keep the beer on the yeast cake after fermentation is finished and the beer is clearing.

 

[pjj2ba]

I am no expert on the subject, but I would certainly take the advice of White and Zainasheff over yours. In their book 'Yeast' they say, "Separating the yeast from the beer too soon or cooling the beer early can leave a considerable amount of diacetyl and diacetly precursors", Page 113. I believe it is also mentioned in other places in the book.

Just because the yeast has dropped out, does not mean it is dormant.

As Yooper said, the crux of their statement is to define "too soon". They are talking about moving a beer before fermentation is complete, or removing the yeast in suspension by doing a cold crash to early (which highlights the role of yeast in suspension).

Also in "Yeast " they highly recommend the best time for harvesting yeast is during the most active phase of fermentation. Preferred over waiting for fermentation to finish and harvesting the yeast that has settled out.

I suspect White and Zainasheff would agree and I know the consensus among brewing scientists is that the yeast in the cake are dormant (to clarify, I'm talking POST fermentation here, NOT during active fermentation). I'll dig up the references in a bit