Secondary and dry hopping

[kelsobrewer70]

Just brewing my second extract batch. I am doing a cascadian IPA. It's been in the primary for 8 days. OG was 1.080 and it has now been stable at 1.020 now for a few days. I am going to a secondary just for dry hopping. Is there any gain in waiting any more than 7 days before bottling?

 

[Yooper]

No. When I make IPAs, I wait until the beer is finished and clear, and then dryhop for 3-7 days before packaging. I usually just add the dryhops right to the primary, but you could add them to the secondary a week before bottling if you are using a secondary.

 

[kelsobrewer70]

Thanks. Do you usually use a bag for the hops, or just add them directly?

 

[Yooper]

Thanks. Do you usually use a bag for the hops, or just add them directly?

I add them directly. BUT, I am extremely proficient with racking as an old winemaker. If you're concerned that you may have problems maintaining a siphon and not sucking up huge hops particles, you may want to bag them. Just make sure they are "loose" in the bag so the beer can permeate them.

When I rack, I usually have hops floating and some on the bottom. Pellet hops tend to disintegrate, while whole hops float mostly. I start the siphon in the middle, under the floaters and above the trub, then lower the siphon as the beer level goes down. This works out great for me, but I know others have had problems with clogged siphons.