Best Time To Dry Hop/differences?

[Brent_in_Sydney]

Hi all,
Making K&Ks, onto my 5th batch. Loving the help on the forums here. Giving me an edge over my mates...

Dry hopping: I've seen a few recipes that call for adding your aroma hops AFTER the primary fermentation has slowed down, say the 3-4 day mark?

I've only got the one fermenter (not racking/secondary fermenting) and trying to keep it as clean and sanitized as possible, minimise contact with external germs etc.

Wouldn't taking the lid off to drop hop 3-4 days later add a chance of infection to your brew?

Up until now I've been throwing the usual pair of tea bags (both having steeped in a mug of hot water, the lot going in) into the brew just before pitching the yeast, then locking that barrel for 2-3 weeks.

I'm guessing adding it post primary fermentation will leave more of the aroma intact? Is that the idea?

Oh wise gurus of the brew, what is your learned advice?

 

[kalbarluke]

There is a lot of advice on here about dry hopping.

In my experience, wait until about day 4 or 5. Opening the lid for a few seconds is okay - don't fret. I used to worry about infection and dry hopping but it is pretty safe - just don't leave the lid open for an hour. Throwing the pellets straight into the fermenter is fine but some people like to use a hop sock or stocking to minimise the green floaty bits in their beer. Just make sure you have sterilised the sock/stocking before you chuck it in, just to be safe.

I assume you are bottling rather than using kegs. I use kegs and put my hops in a hop sock into the keg when it is being filled and that seems to do the same thing.

 

[B1n0ry]

Wouldn't taking the lid off to drop hop 3-4 days later add a chance of infection to your brew?

There is very little risk just lifting the lid to drop in some hops. The fermenting process leaves a layer of CO2 which protects it somewhat.
That is why you drop it in ALMOST at the end of fermentation. Lifting the lid might blow away some of the CO2, but the continuing work of the yeast will create a new layer to protect the beer until you bottle.

 

[Mikedub]

+1 for dry hopping around the 3-4 days period. A couple of brews back I dry hopped after 10 days just at the start of crash chilling, it produced bugger all aroma IMO

 

[Fourstar]

Rather than waiting days dry hop when your beer is a couple of points away from terminal gravity. e.g. for a 1.050OG pale ale hop it at around 1.016-1.020

Easy way to work this out? assume all of your yeasts attenuate to around 75-70%, take that figure and add 2-4 points to it.

That way you reduce oxidation as the still fermenting beer will help scrub/drive off any oxygen you introduce by dry hopping.

 

[loikar]

The idea of Dry hopping is to have the alcohol strip the oils from the lupin glands in the hops which then produce the aroma you're after.
Dry hopping should happen after the primary ferment (when the alcohol is there) and ideally should be done while the beer is cold to help avoid any harsh bitterness\vegetal flavour being extracted and imparting into the beer.

If you cant chill your fermenter, dry hopping via a teabag in the keg is an option (you can pull it out when it's how you like it).
If you bottle, wait until the primary ferment is over and dry hop in the fermenter.
Personally, I would do this for probably a maximum of 5-7 days taking into account potential cohumulone levels and the hop I was using.

Opening the lid to your fermenter does pose a risk, but that is variable to where your fermenter is, where you live, the time of year and what flora\fauna is around you.

No need to steep your hops prior to dry hopping, just chuck them in.

My $1.50

Cheers,

BF

 

[Parks]

No need to steep your hops prior to dry hopping, just chuck them in.

This is something I have always done simply as it made sense to me to help sanitise the hops. Seems like a lot of people like yourself don't worry about it...

 

[loikar]

This is something I have always done simply as it made sense to me to help sanitise the hops. Seems like a lot of people like yourself don't worry about it...

There's a reason they used hops to preserve beer back on the Boats from The Mother country to Punjabi.
Hops have Alpha and Beta acids that inhibit the growth of bacteria.

Don't go filling your footy socks full of galaxy and lobbing it into your brew though.
Just chuck them in loose (the hops, not the socks).

BF

 

[Parks]

There's a reason they used hops to preserve beer back on the Boats from The Mother country to Punjabi.
Hops have Alpha and Beta acids that inhibit the growth of bacteria.

Don't go filling your footy socks full of galaxy and lobbing it into your brew though.
Just chuck them in loose (the hops, not the socks).

BF

There's more than one piece of sound advice in that statement

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Or Goa in the case of my forebears.

 

[sponge]

I normally just chuck some hops in during CC'ing for a week or so. Normally takes a little longer at the lower temps to get the same effect, but less chance of grassy notes from leaving them in there for longer which is why ive chosen to do it during CCing.

And as others have said, dont worry about boiling them first, just chuck them in. With the alcohol, CO2 and hop acids, there's not much chance of nasties growing...



Sponge