Multiple Dry Hop Additions?

[petrolSpice]

I will be attempting an IPA here soon, and most recipes I've found for it call for two separate dry hoppings of 3-4 days each. However, I was just going to toss pellet hops straight into the carboy and then strain the beer when rack it to the bottling bucket. Seems easier than trying to fit a hop bag in the carboy.

Is it okay for the first dry hop to stay in the beer for 6-8 days? Or must it be removed before adding the second dry hop? Or should I just add all of the dry hops at once?

Here's a couple recipes I'm trying to match with extract.
http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2013/02/ipa-clone-series-firestone-walker-union.html
http://www.theferm.org/2012/02/firestone-walker-union-jack-ipa-clone.html

 

[petrolSpice]

Anyone?

 

[Donutz]

I did something similar to what you are doing. I just dumped the first set of hops in and the second set 3 days later... some people said I would lose the potency of the first set... but it all seemed to turn out good. I didn't even strain, I was just very careful and when I started to get to the "mud" I stopped.

 

[Gutpunch]

Is it "okay" for the first dry hop to stay in the beer for 6-8 days? You betcha. I've seen some people say you might get a weird grassy flavor after seven days, but I like to split my dry hops evenly between two additions at 8 days and 4 days, and I'm happy enough with the results that I keep doing it.

 

[beinert]

I just dump the pellets into the primary after the active fermentation is done ( plus a few days) and leave them for 3-5 days, then chill the fermenter to get the hops to settle out before racking to a keg. I've been dry hopping for shorter periods of time lately and haven't really noticed any less aroma or flavor.
I've tried multiple additions a couple of times and really didn't notice any difference. I just dump them all in at once now, often three or four ounces.

Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[petrolSpice]

What is the purpose of doing two separate dry hoppings? Why not dry hop everything all at once?

 

[Evan_L]

there's a great BN podcast on this, google it. The debate may rival primary vs secondary but has great info for you to conclude for yourself.

 

[tooblue02]

I just did a dry hop for 8 days and then bottled (Super Bowl got in the way of bottling!) Beer tasted great with an amazing aroma. Can't wait for it to carb up!

 

[kombat]

OP, when you say you're going to "strain" the beer, what do you mean? If you mean rack it with an autosiphon with a mesh bag over the end, that's fine - but if you're planning on pouring it through some sort of strainer to filter out the hops, I'd be very concerned about oxidizing the beer. After fermentation, it's crucial that you not splash or otherwise aerate the beer.

As for the thread question, I've had hops impart a grassy flavour when left in the beer for more than a week, so that's what I'd be concerned about regarding just adding the second round of dry hops right on top of the first round. I'm actually brewing a beer at the moment that calls for 3 rounds of dry hops (of 3.25 oz each!), with the previous dry hops to be removed each time.

 

[petrolSpice]

OP, when you say you're going to "strain" the beer, what do you mean? If you mean rack it with an autosiphon with a mesh bag over the end, that's fine - but if you're planning on pouring it through some sort of strainer to filter out the hops, I'd be very concerned about oxidizing the beer. After fermentation, it's crucial that you not splash or otherwise aerate the beer.

Yes, I'm planning on putting a paint strainer bag over the end of the autosiphon hose.