Time crunch clarifying advice

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by shredder83, Dec 22, 2015.

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  1. shredder83

    shredder83 Initiate (0) Feb 21, 2013 Illinois

    The situation is as follows: I have an apa that's terminal that needs to be ready in 23 days for a competition and i bottle condition. I have a substantial dry hop charge that needs to go in tonight but the sample i pulled was not as clear as I was hoping it would be. It doesn't need to be perfectly clear, but better than it is now. I'm in a bucket now with several empty glad 2 carboys available. I need some advice about my options asap please!

    1. Leave in primary, dry hop (pellets in a bag) for 7 days while cold crashing during the final 3 days leaving me about 15 or 16 days for conditioning/carbonating.

    2. Transfer to secondary, dry hop for 7 days without crashing, 15-16 days for conditioning/carbonation.

    3. Transfer to secondary, dry hop for 7 days while cold crashing during the final 3 days, 15-16 days for conditioning/ carbonation.

    4. Any other idea that involves my beer being dry hopped, a bit clearer and carbonated in 23 days from now.

    Any advice is appreciated, I'm in a pinch for time. This is the first round of the competition and while this doesn't need to be the best beer I've ever brewed I still don't want to compromise quality. My practices are sound and its already shaping up to be a good apa, i just want it a bit clearer and I'm crunched for time. Thanks in advance!
     
    #1 shredder83, Dec 22, 2015
  2. premierpro

    premierpro Savant (1,060) Mar 21, 2009 Michigan

    If your beer has finished you can dry hop and cold crash at the same time. Maybe only dry hop for five days to give you a couple more days to carbonate. Good luck!
     
    #2 premierpro, Dec 22, 2015
  3. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    I would probably go with #1.

    But I have to say that your desire to not compromise quality may not be necessarily be consistent with your desire to meet a deadline. In my own competition experience, I've noticed that the beers I had been brewing to meet a submission deadline tended to not do as well as beers that I just happened to have ready when a competition rolled around.
     
    #3 VikeMan, Dec 22, 2015
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  4. Slatetank

    Slatetank Grand Pooh-Bah (3,713) Oct 9, 2006 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    I agree for the most part, but I had one highly hopped wheat beer that I got BOS for that I brewed late and was in a hurry to finish for the submission deadline
     
    #4 Slatetank, Dec 22, 2015
  5. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    One other thing occurred to me. Are you counting the days between submission and judging in your carbonation time estimate? If so, keep in mind that entries are often (usually, I'd say) refrigerated.
     
    #5 VikeMan, Dec 22, 2015
  6. shredder83

    shredder83 Initiate (0) Feb 21, 2013 Illinois

    Honestly I'm not sure when the judging will be, I'd have to contact the organizer to find out when they'll be judged and how they'll be stored. I think my 2 concerns really are being too cloudy, undercarbed and maybe too "green" from lack of time. As of last night the sample tasted good, simple grist of 2-row and C-40.

    I was counting total days between today and when the entries are due, not between now and judging.
     
    #6 shredder83, Dec 22, 2015
    Last edited: Dec 22, 2015
  7. inchrisin

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

    #1 would be fine.
     
    #7 inchrisin, Dec 23, 2015
  8. FeDUBBELFIST

    FeDUBBELFIST Pooh-Bah (1,765) Oct 31, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Can you replace pellet hops with whole flower hops for the dry hop? That would help a little.
     
    #8 FeDUBBELFIST, Dec 23, 2015
  9. scottakelly

    scottakelly Maven (1,487) May 9, 2007 Ohio

    Any thoughts of adding some gelatin to the bottling bucket? I've never used gelatin in this manner before, and I'm not sure if it would work since the bottles would be warm for bottle conditioning versus cold.
     
    #9 scottakelly, Dec 23, 2015
  10. brightcloud

    brightcloud Initiate (0) Feb 17, 2015 Michigan

    #1, except no hop bag. Let em swim free. I think there has been some discussion that the hop material falling through the beer can help with clarity also?

    IMO, you should be able to get a similar or better dry hopping result by adding them loose and providing some GENTLE agitation each day for 3 days prior to cold crashing as you would in a hop bag in 4 or 5 days. That could free up an extra day of dry hopping, cold crashing or carbing... depending where you think you need the time.

    Anyways, guessing you already pulled the trigger on this. Goodluck, make sure you end up with 5+ gallons of beer you like instead of 4 bottles a judge will take a few sips of.
     
    #10 brightcloud, Dec 23, 2015
  11. shredder83

    shredder83 Initiate (0) Feb 21, 2013 Illinois

    I have to use the pellet hops, they're huell melon and I've yet to see them whole anywhere.
     
    #11 shredder83, Dec 23, 2015
  12. shredder83

    shredder83 Initiate (0) Feb 21, 2013 Illinois

    I think fit for that to work I'd have to chill all the bottles right away, then unfortunately they wouldn't carbonate. But i like your outside the box thinking, and maybe it would still help after carbonation when bottles were cooled for serving. It sounds like an interesting experiment if nothing else.
     
    #12 shredder83, Dec 23, 2015
  13. shredder83

    shredder83 Initiate (0) Feb 21, 2013 Illinois

    Yeah i had to pull the trigger yesterday evening, the dryhops had to get in there last night. It was 5.3 ounces of pellets so i opted for a bag in the primary. I will probably gently agitate them anyway, and will leave them for 3 days then cold crash for 4 (with the bag still in there) before bottling.

    The beer tasted good from the sample but missing the hop aroma it needed, fully attenuated without any diacetyl or noticeable off flavors. Looks like it'll be a good beer no matter how it fares in the competition.
     
    #13 shredder83, Dec 23, 2015
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  14. shredder83

    shredder83 Initiate (0) Feb 21, 2013 Illinois

    Thank you all for your input and ideas, i appreciate it!

    I should have explained before that besides the competition this beer is the product of a goose island homebrewers club competition, the ingredients were provided by g.i. and the recipe scaled from their 2bbl pilot system. Us members compete against each other with the same recipe and ingredients so really it comes down to how good a brewer you are. So basically anyone that competes has the same timeline i do, except those that keg have a slight advantage. 4 rounds, winner after 4 gets a very expensive single tier brewing system that i really want to win. 2 other good prizes, but I'm gunning for the big show. Cheers!
     
    #14 shredder83, Dec 23, 2015
  15. jslot38

    jslot38 Pundit (947) Apr 18, 2005 New Hampshire

    Don't worry about clarifying it and put "New England" in front of it. I'll be here all week...
     
    #15 jslot38, Dec 23, 2015
  16. Brew_Betty

    Brew_Betty Initiate (0) Jan 5, 2015 Wisconsin

    Biofine at bottling time works well. Can't speak for gelatin.
     
    #16 Brew_Betty, Dec 23, 2015
  17. ssam

    ssam Pundit (997) Dec 2, 2008 California

    Never heard of this, and it seems contrary to my experience and common sense.

    One thing I do with my no bag dry hopping is put the siphon in a grain bag as I rack to the bottling bucket. Never had a clog or any problem doing that and while the beers don't come out perfectly clear, they are noticeably better.

    You should be careful with that. Every time you open it up to GENTLY agitate you are introducing more oxygen.
     
    #17 ssam, Dec 24, 2015
  18. jslot38

    jslot38 Pundit (947) Apr 18, 2005 New Hampshire

    He is likely doing this under pressure in a keg by using the out post to trickle in some co2 from the bottom and not opening the top.
     
    #18 jslot38, Dec 24, 2015
  19. brightcloud

    brightcloud Initiate (0) Feb 17, 2015 Michigan

    I might be missing something here, can you elaborate? Why does this contradict common sense?

    Why would you open it up to agitate the beer? A gentle swirling motion of the carboy or bucket will suffice. At a larger level, you can run co2 through the bottom the tank to churn up the dry hops. I do not suggest you dip a spoon in there to swirl everything around.
     
    #19 brightcloud, Dec 25, 2015
  20. ssam

    ssam Pundit (997) Dec 2, 2008 California

    Well, you are adding lots of hop material when you dry hop and since the hops don't drop out without some help or stay behind without a bag or something along those lines, at least some of that hop material ends up in your final product. So that would make it cloudier, not clearer, that's why I think common sense would suggest it doesn't help clear your beer.
    What you are suggesting is that hops act like finings. I've never heard of that. I've only had hops make a beer cloudier, not clearer. So, that's why I said its contrary to my experience.

    Re: the agitation. That makes more sense. The way I imagined it wouldn't help your beer at all.
     
    #20 ssam, Dec 30, 2015
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