First time dry hopping

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by psnydez86, Apr 30, 2012.

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  1. psnydez86

    psnydez86 Initiate (0) Jan 4, 2012 Pennsylvania

    So I brewed a 1.040 og kit from nb last week and am gonna dry hop for the first time next week sometime when fermentation ends..... I have muslin bags so should I boil one and put the hops in that or just toss em in? Im dry hopping for a week with .5 oz of cascade and .5 oz of liberty.....i put these hops in a zip lock bag after brew day and put in the freezer till I can dry hop....any info I need before dry hopping?
     
  2. OddNotion

    OddNotion Pooh-Bah (1,853) Nov 1, 2009 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society

    All sounds good to me. I prefer using a bag for the hops as it keeps them contained better. I have done both methods, I just find it easier for siphoning purposes.
     
  3. jmw

    jmw Initiate (0) Feb 4, 2009 North Carolina

    Yes boil the bag (by itself, no hops of course) before putting it in.
    Make sure you have enough bag to allow for swellage--you want the hops to have room to get completely soaked and maximize the contact with the beer. Also, you're going to want to weight it because the hops will float. Preferably use something stainless steel, maybe a couple of large nuts or bolts (unused), and boil those weights also. Glass will work too but it's not as heavy--I actually use marbles.
    If you are using a carboy, and unless you're very patient, be prepared to sacrifice your muslin bag after you rack the beer out of it. Getting the swollen bag back through the neck of the carboy is a major pain. If it's a bucket, no worries.
     
  4. HopNuggets

    HopNuggets Initiate (0) Oct 8, 2009 Connecticut

    I just crack the lid of the primary bucket and dump the hops straight in and close it back up. No need for secondary or muslin bags for dryhopping but that is a huge discussion of opinions.
     
  5. MLucky

    MLucky Initiate (0) Jul 31, 2010 California

    You can just toss 'em in, but it makes things easier at bottling time if you use a bag and there's not so much hop matter to have to deal with. You do need to sanitize the bag somehow, and there are lots of different approaches. I usually use paint bags from the hardware store, dunk 'em in no-rinse sanitizer and hang 'em up to drip dry. A couple things you might not have thought of: use a much bigger bag than you think you need, because the hops will swell up considerably. Also, put a spoon or some other sanitized, relatively heavy object in with the hops to make the bag sink. One last thing: a lot of guys think it's a good idea to start the dry hopping at the very tail end of primary, while the krausen is falling. This is on the theory that the still-acive yeast will metabolize whatever oxygen you're introducing. I buy into that one, even though I don't have any "proof"--just seems like a good idea to me.
     
  6. OddNotion

    OddNotion Pooh-Bah (1,853) Nov 1, 2009 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I have read that the yeast floccing out will bring down some hop oils with it and take away some of the purpose of dry hopping, I like to dry hop once my yeast is as out of suspension as it is going to get.
     
    Soonami likes this.
  7. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    To re-enforce what others have stated: I dry hop using a sanitized muslin bag weighed down with marbles. I sanitize the muslin bag and marbles by placing them in water and then bringing the water to a boil. I then let the bag and marbles sit in the hot water for an additional few minutes to ‘increase’ the sanitation effect.

    There are several schools of thought on when is the appropriate time to add the dry hops. For example, in John Palmer’s online book How to Brew he mentions: “It is better to add the hops after bubbling has slowed or stopped and the beer is going through the conditioning phase prior to bottling.” Mark Garetz in a BYO article states: “The right time to add the hops to the fermenter is just as the fermentation starts to slow down. This is usually apparent by the head (or kraeusen) starting to diminish, which usually coincides with a decreased bubbling in the airlock. Typically this will be three to four days after fermentation has begun. If you use a single-stage fermenter, just add the hops. If you use a secondary fermenter, rack the beer now and add the dry hops to the secondary.”

    There are some folks who post on BA who have strong opinions that you shouldn’t add dry hops until the beer has been in the primary for quite some time. The idea being that you want the yeast to completely settle before adding the dry hops.

    The ‘bottom line’ between the two above schools of thought is that you want the primary fermentation to be complete (or pretty much complete) before adding dry hops.

    I personally add my dry hops when the beer is done outgassing CO2 (i.e., the airlock is no longer active). I am off the opinion that you do not want the beer to continue to ‘bubble’ since the outgassing will scrub out the hop aroma. I personally have achieved excellent aroma from dry hopping via this procedure.

    Cheers!

    P.S. A link to the Mark Garetz article on dry hopping: http://www.byo.com/stories/article/indices/37-hops/572-dry-hopping-for-great-aroma
     
    Frank_Pumphandle likes this.
  8. psnydez86

    psnydez86 Initiate (0) Jan 4, 2012 Pennsylvania

    I think I may just throw the hops in cuz being that there pellet hops that aricle says pellet hop paricles will settle down into the sediment so I can siphon about the yeast/hop cake and no worries
     
    HopNuggets likes this.
  9. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Hopefully somebody who does the just throw the pellet hops in procedure will provide you with some feedback on the “no worries” part.

    I have read where some folks have reported that the hop pellet ‘residue’ clogs up their siphon tube and they put something on the end of the siphon tube like a paint strainer bag to keep the residue from clogging the siphon tube.

    Cheers!
     
  10. barfdiggs

    barfdiggs Initiate (0) Mar 22, 2011 California
    Deactivated

    I just throw in the pellets, and have had no problems. One noteworthy thing: I fine after I dry hop, to pull all the yeast out of solution (Pulls hop gunk out as well & forms a tight cake) before racking and force carbing, so I've never had issues with hops clogging.

    If you're using whole hops, stick them in a muslin bag with marbles. Whole hops are a b*tch to rack off of, and regardless of the method I've used (Racking cane alone or with a muslin bag over the bottom, etc.) I've had major clogging and worse, oxidation. I pretty much stick to pellets for everything except Lambics (duh) and for double/triple dry hopping in the keg.
     
  11. jmw

    jmw Initiate (0) Feb 4, 2009 North Carolina

    I wouldn't suggest this unless you were planning on fining as barfdiggs suggests. You're asking for a very imperfect result otherwise.
    Just use a bag and a weight and thank us later.
     
  12. vobr0002

    vobr0002 Initiate (0) May 25, 2011 Minnesota

    I also just throw the pellet hops into the primary. I also cold crash after that and I havent had any problems with the hops. I get great aroma too and recommend this way because there is no worrying about introducing anything into your beer that could infect it.
     
  13. Soonami

    Soonami Initiate (0) Jul 16, 2008 Pennsylvania

    Jamil Zainesheff and many well-respected homebrewers will rank to secondary and then dry hop. The thought is that the yeast cell membranes (made of lipids and proteins) will absorb a lot of the hop resins and oils, which will definitely decrease the hoppiness of the beer. Hops as a preservative for this very reason, the hop resins and oils incorporate into the cell walls of yeast and bacteria(that can spoil beer) and prevents them form effectively budding off or dividing and resealing their cell membranes.

    I thought Better Brewing Podcast did a side-by-side with hops in primary or in secondary-transferred beer.
     
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