# Dry hopping in Kits



## BURGO817 (11/1/18)

Hi AHB,

I want to try Dry Hopping for the first time & dont know much about it.

I have everything I need but am unsure if the hops need to be added while the fermentation is still active? (Bubbling)

It’s ready for bottling now.


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## DrewCarey82 (11/1/18)

Hey mate are you near a home brew shop?

Best thing to do initially is to buy pre packed bags that come there(like a teabag). You steep for 15 mins in boiling water, then add into fermenter once you've mixed all your ingredients and pitched your yeast. Costs about $4.50.

Home brew shop can advise which type of hop to use for which brew your doing.


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## TwoCrows (11/1/18)

If your wort is still bubbling / fermenting then it is not ready for bottling!!

Yes , you want to add ( Dry Hops) while the wort is still fermenting, but towards the end of fermentation. Around day 4-5 if temp controlled and wort is an ale.
This helps to ensure that Co2 is still being produced to help prevent oxygenation of the wort.

When the fermentation is complete the (wort) is now beer!


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## barls (11/1/18)

DrewCarey82 said:


> Hey mate are you near a home brew shop?
> 
> Best thing to do initially is to buy pre packed bags that come there(like a teabag). You steep for 15 mins in boiling water, then add into fermenter once you've mixed all your ingredients and pitched your yeast. Costs about $4.50.
> 
> Home brew shop can advise which type of hop to use for which brew your doing.


this is not dry hopping.
this is steeping hops for flavour. dry hopping add more aroma with a hint of flavour.
dry hopping is simple as adding hops (pellet or flower form) to beer thats ether nearly finished or has finished fermenting beer.


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## TwoCrows (11/1/18)

If you are going to cold crash your beer, just add your dry hops directly to your fermenter.
Cold crashing will allow the hops to settle on the bottom with the fermented (trub) , (settled yeast and cold break).

Or sanitize a piece of stocking and add the hops, throw it in. Remove before bottling or kegging.


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## pnorkle (11/1/18)

Have to disagree with DrewCarey on a couple of points - as per @barls - that's not dry hopping - throw some dry hops in toward the end of the ferment, and I'd advise against using the "teabags" - the bags are generally too small and once the hops have expanded due to the ingress of liquid the bags become swollen and the hops aren't utilised to their fullest. You can throw them in loose, but that could add hop matter to your finished product, I normally put them loosely in a nylon bag.

Edit: or what TwoCrows said.


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## mtb (11/1/18)

One further note about those "teabags" - if your LHBS is anything like mine, they have a bunch of these sitting on a shelf at room temperature. F&ck knows how old they are.
If you want good aroma, buy cold stored hops with the harvest date advertised.


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## BURGO817 (11/1/18)

Ok.

It’s def. stopped fermenting & is ready for bottling.
I have 10,000 micron hop bags that I’m going to use for the steeping.

Is steeping out of the question now that the fermentation is complete?


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## pnorkle (11/1/18)

BURGO817 said:


> Ok.
> 
> It’s def. stopped fermenting & is ready for bottling.
> I have 10,000 micron hop bags that I’m going to use for the steeping.
> ...


Hang on a mo - steeping? or dry hopping?. You want to dry hop, yes? I'd go for it - leave em in for 3 days or so. Also, if you put a *sterilized* marble or two, or something else in the bag to keep it from floating will help.


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## TwoCrows (11/1/18)

Kit beers are quick and easy. These can be used as time poor brew days.

Some all grain brewers still fall back on these kits when they need beer in a hurry.

I quiet like some kits, If you incorporate quality yeast and adjuncts. Temp control ( brew in a fridge) and hops to suit the style of beer, and some times just mixing it up and see what happens. You can end up with a drinkable beer that you can share with others , as they are not to bad.


It all comes down to what you put in the wort, dictates what you get out.


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## TwoCrows (11/1/18)

BURGO817 Stepping is a term for extracting ,grain or hops at the beginning, before fermentation.


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## Hillsey (11/1/18)

So when is the best time to "dry hop"? After 3 or 4 days or after the wort has fermented? What's everyone's thoughts? What are the advantages and disadvantages?


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## koshari (12/1/18)

conventional wisdom states a few days before the end of the primary, my anecdotal evidence says put em in at the start, ie pitch with the yeast. YMMV.

whatever way you choose just do it because it make the beer a lovely fresh taste and fragrant aroma. Cascades are a great dry hop choice.


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## DrewCarey82 (12/1/18)

barls said:


> this is not dry hopping.
> this is steeping hops for flavour. dry hopping add more aroma with a hint of flavour.
> dry hopping is simple as adding hops (pellet or flower form) to beer thats ether nearly finished or has finished fermenting beer.



OP wasn't aware of it and was just referencing a simple method to get more flavour and aroma, which is what they were after.


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## mtb (12/1/18)

DrewCarey82 said:


> OP wasn't aware of it and was just referencing a simple method to get more flavour and aroma, which is what they were after.


No, they were after a method of dry hopping.


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## barls (12/1/18)

DrewCarey82 said:


> OP wasn't aware of it and was just referencing a simple method to get more flavour and aroma, which is what they were after.


actually its a way of getting flavour and bitterness with a tiny portion of aroma.
dont confuse the newbies with wrong info please. his question was about dry hopping not what you posted.
I'm going to suggest yo go back and have a read of how to brew and the use of hops.
http://howtobrew.com/book/section-1/hops/how-are-they-used


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## DrewCarey82 (12/1/18)

barls said:


> actually its a way of getting flavour and bitterness with a tiny portion of aroma.
> dont confuse the newbies with wrong info please. his question was about dry hopping not what you posted.
> I'm going to suggest yo go back and have a read of how to brew and the use of hops.
> http://howtobrew.com/book/section-1/hops/how-are-they-used



Wasn't exactly deliberate mate. Thanks for the heads up I'll clam up in future.


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## hirschb (12/1/18)

As stated earlier, dry hop near the end of fermentation. If you dry hop at the beginning much of the aroma will be "scrubbed" out/ lost during fermentation. While this is a common method for NEIPA's, it's not ideal to ONLY dry hop near the beginning of the ferment. This also leads to hop haze. I personally dry hop after fermentation then immediately cold crash. This doesn't cause many issues with O2 ingress, and the quick chill sinks the hops down through the beer instead of leaving them floating at the top to be oxidized. 
Using a hop bag is fine. I'd boil the bag, potentially add some weights like marbles, add hops, and throw the bag/hops/weight in the beer. Everyone has their own opinion on the length of time a beer needs to be dry hopped, but it generally ranges from 1-5 days. 
In general: 
When cold crashing with dry hops, the dry hopped beer can be left a few days longer. 
Certain hops that have a reputation for harshness in dry hopping (Nelson, etc..) should be given shorter dry hop schedules (maybe 1-3 days).
Big dry hop additions (>100g) may be more prone to off-flavors if dry-hopped too long compared to small dry hop additions.
Use of bags, mesh, etc.. may decrease the amount of oils extracted compared to throwing the hops straight in the beer. For leaf hops, floating hops may lead to lower extraction rates compared to pellets, so bags, mesh, etc.. may be preferred when using whole flowers. .


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## koshari (25/1/18)

Just pulled my first glass off a batch of safeway homebrew lager with lme and dry hopped with cascade. Tastes lovely. Prolly one of the easiest and nicest summer style beers and sooo easy to do.

Honestly dry hopping can turn the ordinary into something very sexy.

.


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## Brewnicorn (25/1/18)

This step opened up the world of brewing to me. Many years ago, but I get a buzz seeing it acknowledged now. Good luck. Hope your beers are magic!


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