Not a fan of dry-hopping

[TheZymurgist]

I think that Nelson Sauvin may not be a great choice for a dry hop

Exactly. I think there's a lot of misinformation in this thread.

First, if you want to transfer to a secondary, there's nothing wrong with it. It's not always necessary, however. I only transfer when I'm washing the yeast. That way I get a much cleaner yeast cake and don't have to deal with the hop junk.

Second, the length of time depends on the type of hop and the temperature. Warmer temperatures, and certain hops will tend to give more grassy flavors. I dry hop my IPA (5 gallon batch) with 2oz each of Citra, Cascade, and Amarillo for two weeks. That's right, 6oz of hops for two weeks in 5 gallons. No grassy flavors. I keep the temperature between 70* and 72* and it has incredible flavor. Now, I just did the exact same recipe, except I had to substitute Galaxy for the Citra. That batch did have a slight grassy flavor, but then Galaxy is a little more earthy than Citra.

My point is, your mileage WILL vary, depending on ingredients and conditions. You can't say "Two weeks is absolutely too long to dry hop." That's crap. Try different hops, and different lengths of time and you'll find a combination that you like.

 

[Yooper]

Ouch, yeah. That should be required reading for first-time dry hoppers: use a hop bag or put some kind of straining material over the siphon when racking.

It's funny, but I never use hops bags. Ever. But I'm pretty proficient with racking, as an old winemaker.

Some hops taste better than others, and I really love dryhopping with the traditional hops used. I love the flavor of simcoe, cascade, centennial, amarillo, and even chinook for American pale ales and IPAs.

 

[TyTanium]

...You can't say "Two weeks is absolutely too long to dry hop." That's crap. Try different hops, and different lengths of time and you'll find a combination that you like.

100% agree. I get great hopness after 3-5 days, but I've gone as long as a month w/out issues too. Try varying temp too - it does different things. I'm usually hesitant to blame the grassy boogyman...usually something else is going on.

I have noticed dry hopping in a bag, my results are better if I don't squeeze it upon removal. Yes, I lose more beer, but the stuff I squeeze out doesn't taste all that good. It's vegetal & harsh.

Holy hops, Batman! If that's 5 gallons, I think you'll be able to smell that IPA a mile away.

3oz in 5g seems pretty normal to me. I typically use 4-6oz dry depending on gravity & kettle additions.

 

[metanoia]

It's funny, but I never use hops bags. Ever. But I'm pretty proficient with racking, as an old winemaker.

How do you keep the siphon from getting stuck with hop sediment? Some kind of straining? Or some way to get the hops to settle? I do remember reading about your proficiency with a regular siphon from winemaking, I'm guessing your method stems from that.

 

[freisste]

How do you keep the siphon from getting stuck with hop sediment? Some kind of straining? Or some way to get the hops to settle? I do remember reading about your proficiency with a regular siphon from winemaking, I'm guessing your method stems from that.

I'm pretty new and I wouldn't call myself skilled, but after cold crashing and being careful not to disturb the trub, I racked out of my carboy and sucked up almost no hop gunk. There was probably a good inch of trub on the bottom and I left a mark in it about an inch in diameter and a half inch thick. That left me with a film on the bottom of my bottling bucket.

Try holding the siphon in the middle of your wort (top to bottom) and slowly lower it to stay in the middle. Between that, cold crashing (which seems to make the trub denser), and just being really careful not to disturb the trub, you should be alright.

Note: I used pellet hops.

 

[Yooper]

How do you keep the siphon from getting stuck with hop sediment? Some kind of straining? Or some way to get the hops to settle? I do remember reading about your proficiency with a regular siphon from winemaking, I'm guessing your method stems from that.

No straining. I don't know how to explain it. Leaf hops tend to float, but some fall, so I just stick the racking cane under the floating hops, and above the trub (starting in the middle) and then lower the racking cane as the level of the beer drops.

Here's a photo of a couple of different beers:




And here's me racking a different beer (in an ale pail):

 

[metanoia]

All those floating hops makes me happy inside.

I'm guessing this applies to leaf hops too? It looks you've got really nice fresh whole hops in those pics.