question about dry hopping

[slicksmix]

Hey guys and gals, this is my first time doing a hoppy beer and dry hopping. I added 2 oz of cascade to my first ipa when fermentation was almost complete and most of the krauesen fell to the bottom. Its been in there about five days, and most of the hops have fallen to the bottom. my question is, should i rack off of the hops when they all fall, and into another secondary to settle further, or just let the hops sit at the bottom until the beer clears (up to 10 days) then rack into bottling bucket.

 

[Tiber_Brew]

Personally, I like to add dry hops in the secondary, then rack into a tertiary after about 7 days, then keg/bottle.

In your situation, I'd probably rack into a secondary and let that settle for about 5-7 days, then rack off that into a bottling bucket/keg.

One time I put 3 oz. of hops in a hop sock (hop sock was pre-boiled) into my bottling bucket and racked onto that, stirred gently, waited about 30 minutes, then bottled. That was some fresh hoppy flavor, let me tell ya. Not sure if that was worth it, but it was good!

Hope it turns out!
TB

 

[dcp27]

typically you'd just wait til the week or so before you bottle to dry hop to retain as much of the aroma as possible. you can just leave it in the primary til you're ready to bottle, the extended time on the hops won't be a problem

 

[slicksmix]

sorry, i forgot to mention that my ipa is in the secondary right now dry hopping.

 

[Tiber_Brew]

...the extended time on the hops won't be a problem...

In my experience, that's not true. I've dry hopped before for over 3 weeks and the beer ended up with an unpleasant "grassy" flavor. It didn't even smell as good. Instead of citrousy, piney, etc., it was more leafy or "grass clipping" which was hard to palate. I wouldn't recommend dry hopping for too long to anyone if they can help it. I've had good success with 5-10 days max.

TB

 

[slicksmix]

Tiber brew: I think ill take your advise and rack off the hops when they all fall to the bottom. Next question is should I rack into another carboy for further clarity or into bottling bucket and bottle immediately? Thanks for the advice

 

[dcp27]

In my experience, that's not true. I've dry hopped before for over 3 weeks and the beer ended up with an unpleasant "grassy" flavor. It didn't even smell as good. Instead of citrousy, piney, etc., it was more leafy or "grass clipping" which was hard to palate. I wouldn't recommend dry hopping for too long to anyone if they can help it. I've had good success with 5-10 days max.

TB

In general I like to do 5-10 days as well, but I recently did one for 4 weeks with no off-flavors and have had a friends that was for 6+ weeks without any off-flavors. I know others here have done extended periods without a problem either. I'm not recommending longer dry hopping times, I'm just saying in my experience, 15 days isn't gunna be a problem.

 

[Tiber_Brew]

In general I like to do 5-10 days as well, but I recently did one for 4 weeks with no off-flavors and have had a friends that was for 6+ weeks without any off-flavors. I know others here have done extended periods without a problem either. I'm not recommending longer dry hopping times, I'm just saying in my experience, 15 days isn't gunna be a problem.

Yeah, 15 days might not be a problem typically, and it also might depend on the hops. I used Centennial and Chinook when I did the 3 week dry hop, and I can assure you, it was not a desired effect. I've used those hops before with good results, so I narrowed it down to the extended dry hop causing the beer to taste like the underside of a lawnmower. Not sure what else it could've been. Perhaps, stay away from Centennial and Chinook for long dry hop durations?

TB

 

[slicksmix]

I used 2 oz of cascade. 13 aa I think.

 

[Tiber_Brew]

I used 2 oz of cascade. 13 aa I think.

If it were me, I'd rack to another carboy to reduce the hops in suspension. That stuff can clog keg fittings, or settle in the bottle and pour into the glass, which isn't very presentable. It's totally up to you though.

TB