maximizing dry hop impact

[keke]

Hi everyone, I just ordered 4 pounds of hops (Amarillo, Mosaic, Citra, Kohatu) and I am thinking about making a very hop forward style such as a NEIPA.

So this is my recipe so far:

Batch size - 5.5 gallons

Malt:

Marris Otter - 6.5 lbs
Vienna - 2 lbs
Wheat - 2 lbs
Flaked Barley - 10 oz
Munich - 8 oz
Carapils - 8 oz

Hops:

0.5 oz Kohatu, 0.5 oz Amarillo, 0.5 oz Citra, 0.5 oz Mosaic at 10,5,0 (6 oz)

Dry hop:

1.5 oz Kohatu, 1.5 oz Amarillo, 1.5 oz Citra, 1.5 oz Mosaic (6 oz)

I want the beer to be quite sessionable so looking for 5%-6% ABV.
Anyway the reason I am posting here is because I really want to maximize the dry hopping stage to where I get as much flavor & aroma I can possibly get.
The options are:

1. dry hop in primary:
Here I am afraid to lose some of the hop aroma because Iv'e read that the yeast binds with the hop particles and we usually dont want a whole lot of yeast in our finished beer. So a lot of the aroma will stay in the fermentor with the yeast that I dont rack in to the keg.

2. dry hop in secondary:
I know that secondary isn't necessary in homebrewing, I actually almost never did so. Although, because of the reason I mentioned above, I am thinking of seperating the yeast from the beer so all the hop aroma will stay in the actual beer and not be taken away by the yeast.
And here as well i have a concern, Oxidation. I really want to minimize the amount of oxigen introduced to the beer.

3. dry hopping half in primary & half in keg:
I was thinking to try and make this kinda close to the classic NEIPA style and dry hop while still in active fermenation. And on top of that, adding some more hops into the keg. This excites me the most, allthough of course here I have a concern as well
I want to use a muslin bag to add in the keg before I even have the beer in it. But I dont want to leave the hops in there until the keg is done, because I am afraid of the "grassy" notes I have read that hops add to a beer if left too long in dry hops. And also I know that when I come to take the bag out it will be soaked in wet hops that will take a lot of the beer with it, and yes, also of introducing oxigen to the beer yet again.

4. dry hopping all of the 12 oz in keg:
My concern here is similar to the 3rd option, but even worse haha.

I know a lot of people will probably say I am overthinking this but I actually have a dream of opening a brewery one day and would like to know the most optimum way to using dry hops.
I would be very happy for any comments, ideas or from personal experience.

Thank you all very much for taking the time to read what I had to say

 

[Azura]

#3 is probably the most common for homebrew NEIPA.

 

[jpakstis]

I do #3 and have no "grassy" flavors or aroma. Its the process that gets me closest to beers like Heady Topper.

 

[keke]

I do #3 and have no "grassy" flavors or aroma. Its the process that gets me closest to beers like Heady Topper.

So you would leave the muslin bag in the keg or take it out after a week or so?

 

[Azura]

Leave the bag in, but use a fine mesh nylon hop sack unless you want to drink hop particulate (not pleasant). Muslin sacks are for grain. Fine mesh bags produce a result that is similar to dry hopping using no bags in the keg and a floating dip tube with a hop filter.

 

[ESBrewer]

Nr 3 because in a NEIPA, you are probably looking for some biotransformation of hop oils. So you want to incubate yeast together with hop oils. Adding some hops to keg will ensure the fresh and strong hop aroma.

 

[Azura]

Nr 3 because in a NEIPA, you are probably looking for some biotransformation of hop oils. So you want to incubate yeast together with hop oils. Adding some hops to keg will ensure the fresh and strong hop aroma.

Biotransformation also occurs with kettle hops during fermentation. BT hasn't been studied much, but the best study that I know of had no dry hops and the observed biotransformation was geraniol to citronol. Floral to citrus. The results of this study make BT sound a lot less cool than it is right now in NEIPA circles...

 

[ESBrewer]

Yes, it may be important or not, but I think that is how they brew many NEIPAs so it is probably the best bet here.

 

[Azura]

It's the currently most vocal process for homebrewing NEIPAs. There are many pro breweries that dry hop the primary and secondary that do not make low bitterness, hazy hop juice, milkshake beer. Not many of them tout the alleged benefits of biotransformation.

I've tried several dry hop methods. Dry hopping the primary during fermentation is more likely to create more haze. That is something juicebros want. However, it's less likely to produce an impressive hoppy beer for my taste. That's probably because I don't want my hop bomb to taste similar to a fruit smoothie.

Regardless of my taste, I still think #3 is what the OP wants. Cheers!

 

[Azura]

Hop oil biotransformation is a real thing. It sounds REALLY cool. Biotransformation, is that even a word? It's a niche homebrew process justification right now. What it actually does is rob floral notes and replaces them with common citrus notes that where already abundant in 100% of NEIPA hop bills without biotransformation.

Subtle floral notes are welcome in any hoppy beer. They are an elusive and ephemeral quality that deserves respect.

 

[keke]

Leave the bag in, but use a fine mesh nylon hop sack unless you want to drink hop particulate (not pleasant). Muslin sacks are for grain. Fine mesh bags produce a result that is similar to dry hopping using no bags in the keg and a floating dip tube with a hop filter.

Even if I only finish the keg after maybe 2 months or so?

 

[Azura]

Yes, it's safe to leave at least 6oz of hops in the keg for 2 months. If you really like hoppy beer, leaving dry hops in the keg will never likely be a problem. Just do it until you find some dryhop combination that is offensive to your taste. Then wait a week to reevaluate your taste. An offensive long term keg dry hop has never happened to me. There are some dry hops that I suspect would not produce inoffensive results at the same rate.