Dry Hopping In Secondary Fermentor

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by MaizeandBrew_ChicagoTrue, Feb 14, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. MaizeandBrew_ChicagoTrue

    MaizeandBrew_ChicagoTrue Initiate (0) Mar 26, 2015 Illinois
    Trader

    I've seen a number of answers to similar questions, but I wanted to know if the answer was different given that I'm using a secondary fermentor that already has a spigot (the big mouth bubbler).

    I'm working with the grapefruit pulpin' NB extract kit. I racked my beer to a secondary fermentor ~10 days after brew day and I will be dry hopping tomorrow (~14 days after racking) and plan to bottle on Sunday.

    Tomorrow, I'll be adding 2 oz of hops (pellet) + a grapefruit peel/vodka mixture. I've read that people often experience problems with bottling due to the hop pellets and/or the grapefruit peel clogging up the autosiphon. Based on my thoughts below, what would you recommend to avoid this?

    Can I just bottle directly out of the big mouth bubbler? If so, do I need to worry about the grapefruit peel and/or hops clogging up the siphon. I've read about using mesh bag when dry-hopping to avoid this.

    If people recommend transferring from big mouth bubbler to a separate bottling bucket, should I use something like a home depot paint strainer on the receiving end of the autosiphon when transferring the beer?

    Cheers!
     
    #1 MaizeandBrew_ChicagoTrue, Feb 14, 2017
  2. inchrisin

    inchrisin Pooh-Bah (2,013) Sep 25, 2008 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah

    My only question is how are you going to to be priming your beer for bottling? If you're using priming tabs, then you'd be ok to rack from the fermenter spigot. I'd put your hop pellets in a paint straining bag and try to tie it up to the top of the fermenter. This can be done at the beginning or end of dry hopping. If you can let it drip dry as you bottle the splashing would be minimized.

    If you are mixing a simple syrup you may as well rack to a bottling bucket so that you can make a whirlpool with your racking cane. You can add your priming sugar to the bottling bucket early on without having to splash or stir.
     
    #2 inchrisin, Feb 14, 2017
    GormBrewhouse likes this.
  3. GormBrewhouse

    GormBrewhouse Pooh-Bah (2,111) Jun 24, 2015 Vermont
    Pooh-Bah

    Also, if you are adding auger to the spigot fermenter you might rile up some yeast thus mixing up the dry hop material or at least that happened to me once.
    Now I use that style of fermenter to secondary any beer that s not dry hopped or fruited. Nibs, wood and coconut and coffee seem to settle out and not make their way into the bottles. I also tilt the fermenter slightly away from the spigot so I can bottle with the debris away. It should be noted I place the fermenter where I will not move it till the bottleing is done, i.e. Cellar.
     
    #3 GormBrewhouse, Feb 14, 2017
  4. MaizeandBrew_ChicagoTrue

    MaizeandBrew_ChicagoTrue Initiate (0) Mar 26, 2015 Illinois
    Trader

    Thanks for your thoughts.

    I plan to make a simple syrup so it sounds like racking it to a separate bottling bucket might be a good idea.

    How do I make sure the autosiphon doesn't get clogged up? I'm less worried about the hop pellets and more worried about the grapefruit peel. Do you think I can skip the autosiphon and just use the spigot hoping that it won't clog?

    I've heard of people using a mesh muslin bag as a filter on the receiving end of the siphon to prevent clogging.
     
    #4 MaizeandBrew_ChicagoTrue, Feb 14, 2017
  5. GormBrewhouse

    GormBrewhouse Pooh-Bah (2,111) Jun 24, 2015 Vermont
    Pooh-Bah

    If you want super clear beer use a bag, otherwise not
     
    #5 GormBrewhouse, Feb 14, 2017
  6. inchrisin

    inchrisin Pooh-Bah (2,013) Sep 25, 2008 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah

    Dip a paint straining into StarSan. Put it into the fermenter and make sure you secure the elastic band around the OUTSIDE of the fermenter. Dip your autosiphon into the beer and draw from the inside of the paint straining bag.
     
    #6 inchrisin, Feb 14, 2017
    GormBrewhouse likes this.
  7. MaizeandBrew_ChicagoTrue

    MaizeandBrew_ChicagoTrue Initiate (0) Mar 26, 2015 Illinois
    Trader

    I really like that idea!

    I ended up using cheesecloth to make a make a bag for dry hopping. I'm not sure if I'll need the paint straining bag anymore, but we'll see.

    Thanks again!
     
    #7 MaizeandBrew_ChicagoTrue, Feb 14, 2017
  8. Mohican88

    Mohican88 Initiate (0) Jan 20, 2010 Ohio

    My only comment would be to consider using nylon pantyhose for the bag instead of cheese cloth or muslin. I've been doing this for years now and get almost no hop debris in the secondary or keg.
     
    #8 Mohican88, Feb 14, 2017
  9. inchrisin

    inchrisin Pooh-Bah (2,013) Sep 25, 2008 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah

    If the hops stay put in the cheesecloth you should be ok and won't need the paint straining bag. It'd just be one more thing to clean. Just rack above the trub at the bottom and you'll be fine. A little trub never hurt anyone anyway.
     
    #9 inchrisin, Feb 15, 2017
    GormBrewhouse likes this.
  10. Jaguar10301

    Jaguar10301 Crusader (423) Mar 1, 2010 Maine

    I always used paint straining bags for both hops in the boil and dry hopping. I never needed to put anything over my siphon because of this.
     
    #10 Jaguar10301, Feb 15, 2017
  11. brchapman

    brchapman Initiate (0) Nov 18, 2014 Georgia

    #11 brchapman, Feb 16, 2017
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.