Techniques for dry hopping in primary

[EMahn]

My next batch of beer will be my first time dry-hopping (black IPA). I plan to hop in the primary (3 weeks ferment + 1 week for dry hop). I have a 6.5 gallon glass carboy for primary. I haven’t shopped for ingredients yet, but assume the hops are pellets.

Any tips and techniques you can suggest to me?

• Mesh bag for hops or just dump them in? My experience with mesh bags and pellet hops in the brew kettle is that much of the hops material is finer than the mesh and exits the bag. Will it be similar in the fermentor?
• Fishing a mesh bag out of the neck of the carboy at cleaning time sounds like it could be frustrating experience. True?
• I’ve read some people put weights (SS bolts) in the bag to sink it. How much weight (bolts) would be required? Is this necessary?
• How challenging is racking cleanly to keg going to be with the hops in the primary? Any preferred techniques?

Thanks.
-E

 

[knyland]

Well for what its worth i just tossed the hop pellets in. 2 1/2 ounces. I let them set for a couple days then I am cold crashing for 5 days then right to the bottle. Alot of debri settled out in the first 24 hrs. I have a feeling it is going to be very clear when I bottle Thurs.

 

[unionrdr]

Getting bags of hops,wood chips,etc is a pita to get in & out of carboys & better bottles. I had to split 2oz of wood chips between two bags to get them through the neck of the BB. Might be easier to just dump the hops in & use the sanitized hop sack over the end of the auto siphon. This is why I do dry hopping in a bucket primary.

 

[andy6026]

I put mine directly into the primary (either pellets or leaf hops). However, I've gotten stuck siphons as well as hop debris in my bottling bucket that has then clogged up the bottling wand.

For me, racking to secondary for a day or two (and cold crashing) before bottling significantly alleviates this problem, however as you probably know it does increase the risk of oxidization and introducing infection.

I plan on trying the mesh bag route at some point but haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

[mtnagel]

I don't cold crash, so I do use a hop bag (1 gallon paint strainer bags work very well), but I use buckets for primary, so getting them out is easy. You are right that getting a bag out of a carboy is a pain in the butt.

 

[unionrdr]

The thing is,with muslin hop sacks,an ounce of hop pellets isn't much volume-wise putting them in. But taking them out is a pain because now that ounce is swollen to the size of a grapefruit.

 

[EMahn]

Side question on cold crashing - I've never cold crashed before. I might have enough room in the kegerator to fit the fermenter.

If I cold crash, I will need to move the fermentor before I rack to the keg (in order to get it high enough and in a location that I can rack). Thing is, that journey from kegerator to kitchen counter will cause some degree of sloshing, no matter how careful I am. Does that defeat the purpose of cold crashing because I am going to kick up all the trub?

 

[thrashandburn]

I would say cold crashing, if you can will always be better than not in this case, even if you have to move the fermentor. Just do it gently, i'm sure you'll still benefit from it greatly.

I've dry hopped in the primary a few times and haven't had a problems just dumping the pellets in. But if you do this, sanitize a hop bag and a rubberband and secure the hop bag to the end of your racking cane when you go to rack the beer. This will filter out the hop bits and help keep things from clogging. If you really want to go overkill, sanitize two hop bags and two rubberbands and put one on the racking cane and one on the end of your siphon hose. Doing this, you really shouldn't have a problem with hop debris in the bottling bucket.

 

[MB331]

I did what unionrdr suggests and worked out perfectly. Just get a paint strainer nylon bag and tie it around the siphon. Little to no hops in the bottling bucket.

 

[JohnSand]

Thank you all. I'm also planning to start dry hopping in primary.

 

[Yooper]

I don't bag my hops, but I'm an old winemaker and proficient with racking. The thing to remember is that it's hard to get a bag of hops in a carboy, but it's harder to get it out! It may be possible with pellet hops, but not leaf hops.

I dryhop in the primary all the time, and often I am using a bucket (but not always!).

I use alot of leaf hops, as I grow 8 varieties and I love to use them. I get pounds and pounds each year of homegrown, and I dryhop with them often.

Here are some photos of racking out of those fermenters:

 

[brewbama]

This topic is right on time for me as well. For the Big Brew I am doing the Regal Pale Ale. It calls for dry hopping after nine days. I plan to use a muslin sock in a bucket fermenter so don't anticipate issues getting it back out.


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[TrickyDick]

When I brewed a Stone Enjoy By clone, I added two doses of dry hops free into the primary. When time to rack to kegs, I cold crashed and all the hops dropped out. No finings needed. When I have previously used bags in the primary or a carboy or keg with pellet hops, I sanitize the bag by steaming for 5-10 minutes in a steamer on the stove. I also use a Tri Clover 1/1.5" cover or else the SS bolts/nuts that came with my boilermaker for plugging the thermometer hole as weights. I bought a dry hopper for keg dry hopping from SS brewing works I think it's called. Haven't tried using it yet. Of all the ways to do it, by far in the primary is best and easiest.

TD


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[chewse]

You may want to try a mesh tube for your dry hops. The mesh tube holds approximately 2 ozs of hop pellets (manufacturer recommendation). I use two tubes in secondary to help lower the trub/junk in the beer. I had problems cleaning the tubes with 2 ozs of hops per tube so I would recommend no more than 1 oz per tube.

http://www.homebrewing.org/Glass-carboy-dry-hopping-tube_p_3587.html

 

[EMahn]

Lots of good input here.

I would say cold crashing, if you can will always be better than not in this case, even if you have to move the fermentor. Just do it gently, i'm sure you'll still benefit from it greatly.

I've dry hopped in the primary a few times and haven't had a problems just dumping the pellets in. But if you do this, sanitize a hop bag and a rubberband and secure the hop bag to the end of your racking cane when you go to rack the beer. This will filter out the hop bits and help keep things from clogging. If you really want to go overkill, sanitize two hop bags and two rubberbands and put one on the racking cane and one on the end of your siphon hose. Doing this, you really shouldn't have a problem with hop debris in the bottling bucket.

Great suggestions. Thanks.

I don't bag my hops, but I'm an old winemaker and proficient with racking. The thing to remember is that it's hard to get a bag of hops in a carboy, but it's harder to get it out! It may be possible with pellet hops, but not leaf hops.

I dryhop in the primary all the time, and often I am using a bucket (but not always!).

I use alot of leaf hops, as I grow 8 varieties and I love to use them. I get pounds and pounds each year of homegrown, and I dryhop with them often.

Nice pics. And wait...over 58,000 posts. Holy sh*t. <whips out a calculator> I guess that is only 1.4 posts per day since June 2006.

This topic is right on time for me as well. For the Big Brew I am doing the Regal Pale Ale. It calls for dry hopping after nine days. I plan to use a muslin sock in a bucket fermenter so don't anticipate issues getting it back out.

Yeah, I might have to break down and bucket. But it will be disappointing since I get a lot of enjoyment watching the beer in the glass carboy, especially when the yeast is really active and motorboating around.

You may want to try a mesh tube for your dry hops. The mesh tube holds approximately 2 ozs of hop pellets (manufacturer recommendation). I use two tubes in secondary to help lower the trub/junk in the beer. I had problems cleaning the tubes with 2 ozs of hops per tube so I would recommend no more than 1 oz per tube.

http://www.homebrewing.org/Glass-carboy-dry-hopping-tube_p_3587.html

I really like the tube concept. I really don't like the tube cost. My recipe calls for 2.5 oz of dry hops, so 2 or 3 x $25...yikes.

 

[jfk69]

I put pellet hops in a muslim sack. I've tried weighing it down with bolts/marbles and letting it float. I didn't taste/smell a difference either way. In a carboy, I sanitize the bag in starsan, slip it into and through the neck of the carboy. I then put weights in if desired, pour the pellets in, and tie it off in a knot. I then just let it drop in. I guess I'm a backward individual, but I don't find getting the bags out all that difficult. After racking the beer, I start cleaning the carboy. I swish some water around and start to dump it, which brings the bag to the mouth of the carboy. I get hold of the bag with a small piece of coat hanger that I bent a small hook on the end and start to pull it through the mouth. Take a pair of scissors, snip as long of a cut in the bag as I can get, and start rinsing the carboy out. A little shaking helps speed it up. The hop trub will start pouring out of the bag and I rinse it out. Takes a minute or two and the bag is easily empty enough to come right out of the top.

 

[hunter_le five]

I put pellet hops in a muslim sack.

That hardly seems sanitary



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[Queequeg]

ss tea infuser ball = best

Tried lose, tried muslin and nylon bags. All a pain in the ass, infuser ball easy to clean, santize, sinks by itself.

You can't use them in a narrow neck container but thats about it.

 

[TrickyDick]

If you want to try dry hopping in the keg, try this.

http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/Dry-Hopper-with-twist-cap_p_155.html

And this on the dip tube. I bought a different on than this with a flat bottom though. Kinda pricey to fit on all your kegs, plus a bit tricky to install.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/surescreen.html

I've also done the SS worm clamp, sanitized hop bag, and weights (Tri clover cover plates work well) plus hops. Thread the drawstring through the clamp and clamp it around the base of either the gas dip tube, or more easily, the pressure release valve.

TD


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[jfk69]

That hardly seems sanitary



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LOL. No worries, they come pre-wrapped.:fro: