Secondary Fermentation - To Rack or Not to Rack

[AnOldUR]

. . . flavor of Equinox/ Cascade/Simcoe . . .

Average gravity hop forward beer? IMO, even with a dry hop, should be in bottle / keg in less than 3 weeks. Probably two.

 

[Hezpae]

Average gravity hop forward beer? IMO, even with a dry hop, should be in bottle / keg in less than 3 weeks. Probably two.

Yes, I've brew an American IPA, hoppy, fruity with balanced IBU around 70, and high gravity (OG was 1.070) (balancing the BU : GU ratio to around 1).

Does it changes something concerning primary duration? I haven't dry hopped yet, I was planning on doing it 5 to 3 days before conditioning, whatever the total primary length.

Why would you advice to reduce primary? Afraid that the hops aroma would leave?

 

[AnOldUR]

Why would you advice to reduce primary? Afraid that the hops aroma would leave?

You can't really reduce primary fermentation. It's done when it's done and only a gravity reading (or experience) will tell you that. With good technique (proper pitch, temperature control . . .), a beer that size should be done fermenting and cleaned up in around 10 days. At that point it's safe to dry hop either in a secondary or your primary vessel. A 3-5 day dry hop is good. Get it carbonated (bottle or keg) and start drinking. Hops aroma and flavor does fade. As long as you don't have off flavors that need conditioning out, drink up.

 

[Hezpae]

You can't really reduce primary fermentation.

Sure... I was talking about "extra time" of primary, once FG is reached.
So fr IPA related styles I'll just do ~10days of primary (and make sure FG is reached), then 3-5 days dry hop; and 2 days of cold crashing before conditioning.

Does this seem more appropriate to you than 3-4 weeks of primary, followed by the same schedule?

Ps : I understand the concerned about hop flavor volatility, but I've recently drink an "old" bottle from a similar beer I brewed 9 month ago, stored cool since then, and I found it very nice, maybe less harsh in bitterness, but the fruity flavor was still there. But perhaps the bottle keeps it better than the fermentor does.

 

[AnOldUR]

Does this seem more appropriate to you than 3-4 weeks of primary, followed by the same schedule?

It does to me.

But if you're seeing and improvement in your American IPA's after 9 months, you're doing something different than I am (in a good way) and should continue doing it. In my hop forward beers, I find that hop bitterness persists, but flavor and aroma fade over that period of time.

 

[Hezpae]

It does to me.

But if you're seeing and improvement in your American IPA's after 9 months

I didn't see a proper improvement, but the flavor of the hops (Mosaic mainly) was definitively there, with a very pleasant nose. I've done massive hop addition at the late of the boil (~2min), then dry hopping for around a week. It was one of my first batches, so I don't think I've made anything very special better than anyone else. Certainly the combination of hop variety (Mosaic is moire oily and more "powerfull" than cascade for example (IMO)), hop quantity (I put a lot of it back then, something like 6-7g/l I let you convert in american units), and bottle conditioning (very cool), made the hop flavor remain even months after.
But all this is of course....

I've dry hop today, after 11 days of primary, I'm planning on bottling/keggin the next weekend (9-10 days), just in time for dry hop and cold crash.
Cheers, and thanks again AnOldUR for the advices