# Dry Hop Sock Floating On Wort.



## Truman42 (9/8/12)

I've got a epic pale ale clone in my fermenter which I dry hopped with 35 grams of Amarillo placed into a hop sock with a stainless washer to weigh it down. Dropped this into the fermenter using string to hold it about mid way in the wort. 
But today it's floated up to the surface. 

Will this affect the aroma from the hops at all?

If so is it ok to pull the bag and throw some more weight in there or should I just leave it? Gravity is at 1.011 so almost done.


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## mckenry (9/8/12)

Truman said:


> I've got a epic pale ale clone in my fermenter which I dry hopped with 35 grams of Amarillo placed into a hop sock with a stainless washer to weigh it down. Dropped this into the fermenter using string to hold it about mid way in the wort.
> But today it's floated up to the surface.
> 
> Will this affect the aroma from the hops at all?
> ...



Nope. Aroma will be the same.


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## Truman42 (9/8/12)

Great thanks mate, I thought it had to be below the surface for it to have the aroma come out of the hops properly.


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## Yob (9/8/12)

Why are you using a bag still Truman?

Chuck um in freeball and 1 less thing to wash


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## OneEye (9/8/12)

Did you have a recipe that called for Amarillo? As far as I remember from an interview with the brewer Luke on the BN, Epic is Cascade hops all the way through.

But yeah you should get a nice aroma even if the hops are sitting up on top. Rousing the fermenter once a day will also help pick it up


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## WarmBeer (9/8/12)

I put a stainless teaspoon in my hop bag, and it still usually floats to the top.

A _lot_ of CO2 gets caught up in the hop particles, causing the whole lot to float.

As Ozziyob suggested, you could freeball (snort, cough, ahem!) them in there, but I found that come bottling time I kept clogging up my bottler with little bits'o'hop.

Either add more weight next time, or just do as you're doing, you'll still get the hop oils into solution, and hence the aroma.


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## Truman42 (9/8/12)

Shit my bad..I meant to say Cascade but was just reading that thread about "Is there something wrong with this years Amarillo".  

This is only the second time Ive done a brew with dry hops and the first time I did freeball them in there. However I probably got a bit worried about all the talk of grassy characters if the hops are left in there too long so wanted to hoist the bag after 5 days, then dry hop again when I CC.


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## Nossil (10/8/12)

I never weigh the hop sock down when dry hopping and it always floats around the top of my fermenter. I figured the less things I put in the fermenter the less change of infection.. 

Is there much benefit to having the hop sock fully submerged?


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## Charst (10/8/12)

I free balled once doing the epic clone and with so much hop flowers I found a lot were not getting into contact with the beer. If half your sock is above waterline then half ain't getting in the beer. Waste of hops. I grabbed a few big stainless bolts from bunnings and I use those knee high nylon stockings and sink it. Hop bombs away!


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## Nick JD (10/8/12)

I like the hop sock floating in kegs, so I can remove it. 

Nothing worse than dry hopping a keg and at day 3 sipping and going, fark ... it's getting grassy.

Long BBQ tongs dripping with starsan = easy removal.


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## lukiferj (10/8/12)

I have tried freeballing, dry hopping in a bag, and dry hopping in a weighted bag. I have found that the weighted bag seems to leave the most aroma. I sanitize a bunch of glass marbles and throw them in a hop sock and let them sink. Seems to work pretty well.


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## Nossil (10/8/12)

Problem is it looks like 80% of the hop sock ends up being above the wort -well at least it looks that way when the stocking is blown up like a balloon! 
I'll try sinking the sock in the fermenter with some ballbearing from bunnings. Good tip. 

Or should I just dry hop in the keg as Nick does and leave it floating? Only problem with that is I guess the 2 or 3 longnecks I fill up with the left over beer will be missing some hop aroma.


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## JaseH (10/8/12)

I use pellets and just throw them loose into the fermenter after FG and 5days or so before cold crashing. They sit on the top like a thick green scummy foam for a couple of days and then slowly sink. After CC they are have well and truly settled into the trub in the bottom and I rack the beer off the top via the tap. Never had any hop material make into the bottle.


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## Phoney (10/8/12)

I fill my hop socks with fishing sinkers. Sure I'm putting myself in severe danger of illness or death from lead poisoning but at least I never have the problem of them floating to the top.


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## Yob (10/8/12)

phoneyhuh said:


> I fill my hop socks with fishing sinkers. Sure I'm putting myself in severe danger of illness or death from lead poisoning but at least I never have the problem of them floating to the top.



No effing way!! You cannot be serious :blink:


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## Charst (10/8/12)

phoneyhuh said:


> I fill my hop socks with fishing sinkers. Sure I'm putting myself in severe danger of illness or death from lead poisoning but at least I never have the problem of them floating to the top.




Why risk it for the sake of a couple SS Bolts at the hardware shop.

@ lukiferj: +1 I also have the Big glass Marbles as sometimes the bolts not enough.


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## Bizier (10/8/12)

phoneyhuh said:


> I fill my hop socks with fishing sinkers. Sure I'm putting myself iAwesomen severe danger of illness or death from lead poisoning but at least I never have the problem of them floating to the top.


Awesome!

Is your head retention better than your memory retention?


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## Phoney (10/8/12)

Ahh yeah guys im totally kidding :lol:


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## Brewman_ (10/8/12)

Frothie said:


> I use pellets and just throw them loose into the fermenter after FG and 5days or so before cold crashing. They sit on the top like a thick green scummy foam for a couple of days and then slowly sink. After CC they are have well and truly settled into the trub in the bottom and I rack the beer off the top via the tap. Never had any hop material make into the bottle.



Yeh I am with you on this one. Easy and efficient. Sweet as a nut.

Fear_n_loath


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## Wolfy (10/8/12)

Tea strainers make hop socks obsolete (and they don't float).


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## hamsy (11/8/12)

I had a batch of pale ale ready to be racked to secondary today, but after reading this thread decided to keg up and dry hop!

I dry hop in the keg for a few reasons... 
Firstly the keg is full to the lid and under pressure so it eliminates hops floating completely.
Secondly the volatile oils are released slower so a cleaner aroma and flavour is achieved. Also the slow release of the oils means that I have a better chance of catching the beer right where I want it, just before it goes grassy...
Finally, kegging allows me to taste the beer in exact serving conditions, in my opinion the hop character changes with carbonation..

That's just my opinion, and not everyone kegs their beer either.. If that's the case I would at least get your fermenter as cold as you can (in a fridge possibly) before you dry hop.


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