To dry hop or to not dry hop

[Whattawort]

Looks like I'm going to break a personal brewing rule and do an IPA. I've never been a big enough IPA drinker to warrant making 5 gal, but since it's not one I've ever brewed, I figure it's time to give it the ole college try. Truth be told, I have a lot of hops in the freezer that are closing in on their expiration dates and I want to buy more. Gotta get rid of these buggers first to make room. Now my question is (as the title of the thread indicates) do I dry hop or don't I? I have limited space, very rarely (if ever) use a secondary, and my other bucket is currently full. I can transfer that to a keg soon if need be, but I'd rather let it go longer if I can. Can I still create a tasty IPA without dry hopping, or is that a crucial part of the style? I can tell you pretty much anything you need to know when it comes to doing most British and German styles, but I'm a total newb to this style.

 

[BigRedHopHead]

IMO you need to dry hop IPA's. Especially if it is a west coast style IPA. I think you could do a bunch of late additions with a big flame out addition and hop stand/whirlpool. Depends on the hops you will use though. Any ideas on the types of hops?

 

[Jayhem]

Most brewers dry hop IPA's right in the primary fermenter. Let it ferment for 21 days and then dry hop 2-4 oz / 5 gallons for 7 days and then rack and package! You can dry hop in a sanitized hop bag or just toss in pellets whole and then use a grain bag or paint strainer over your racking cane when you transfer for bottling/kegging.

 

[unionrdr]

Many of us dry hop in primary. Just let it reach FG 1st,& settle out fairly clear. That way,the hop oils won't coat all that settling yeast & go to the bottom to see old hob. And yes,dry hopping is a big part of the style. I make a sessionable IPA with 4.5oz of hops in the boil,1.5oz dry hop.
I dry hop with the same hops in the boil for big aroma & flavor. I always felt matching boil hops & aroma hops makes them seem bigger at drinking time.
With a one week dry hop,you can smell it as soon as you pop the cap.

 

[Whattawort]

Most brewers dry hop IPA's right in the primary fermenter. Let it ferment for 21 days and then dry hop 2-4 oz / 5 gallons for 7 days and then rack and package! You can dry hop in a sanitized hop bag or just toss in pellets whole and then use a grain bag or paint strainer over your racking cane when you transfer for bottling/kegging.

Brilliant! One of my biggest fears was the possible contamination by transferring the wort into another fermenter if it really wasn't necessary. That and the fact that I REALLY didn't want to keg the other beer yet. To answer the question on hops, it going to be a 4Cs IPA. Nothing too special. Centennial, Cascade, Chinook, and Columbus. More Centennial and Cascade than anything else though. I'll probably do the additions much like you would a DFH 90.

 

[HighGrav]

I have an IPA in the keg now that I did not dry hop and it is great. It is not necessary for an IPA but it has become a common practice.

BTW, you can dry hop in the primary after fermentation is complete. You could also put the dry hops in a bag and put them in the keg. People usually do this bc the hops flavor of an IPA tends to fade over time and a hops bag in the keg helps keep the flavor around longer.

 

[Jayhem]

I love C-hops! My next brew is a C-hop APA (Centennial, Columbus, Cascade and Citra!) I can almost taste it....:rockin:

 

[Whattawort]

I'm not looking for a full frontal olfactory assault from the hops, so I'll probably stick to just dry hopping 1.5oz of columbus/cascade. I'm not messing with hops in my keg though. Buddy of mine made a huge mess out of his by doing that. I'm ok with it mellowing out a little. Like I said, I like the style, but it's never been my absolute style. Thanks for the suggestions and tips guys. I knew ya wouldn't let me down.

 

[Jayhem]

I'm not looking for a full frontal olfactory assault from the hops, so I'll probably stick to just dry hopping 1.5oz of columbus/cascade. I'm not messing with hops in my keg though. Buddy of mine made a huge mess out of his by doing that. I'm ok with it mellowing out a little. Like I said, I like the style, but it's never been my absolute style. Thanks for the suggestions and tips guys. I knew ya wouldn't let me down.

Just as a matter of preference, I would dry hop with the Cascade and Chinook if I were you.
Columbus, while a good bittering C-hop is described as "dank" to many brewers. It has a harsher hop flavor than the others. I have dry hopped an IPA with Columbus before and vowed to never do that again. I always save the more citrusy hops for dry hop but again, just my preference.

 

[Whattawort]

Dank sounds no bueno. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[unionrdr]

I used columbus,nugget,& cascade in my IPA's boil & dry hop. Tasted really good at the times they were added. No dank anything. gunna replace the nugget with amarillo though.

 

[BigRedHopHead]

I always dry hop in the keg. I find it very easy. Get a muslin bag, boil it. Fill with your dry hop addition. Tie a knot at the top of bag. Then take some teflon tape and tie it around the muslin bag knot. Spray with star san the teflon tape. Drop bag into keg with beer. Keep a couple of inches of the teflon tape out of the keg lid. Close keg lid and hook up gas. The pressure will force the lid to flatten the teflon tape and seal without issues. This way you can suspend your dry hop bag inside the keg without worries of the bag clogging the dip tube at the bottom of the keg. When your done dry hopping just open the lid and pull bag from keg.

I have kept dry hops in the keg and in kegerator for 2-3 weeks without developing grassy off flavors. This is my favorite method and seems to keep that dry hop aroma around for longer.