Dry Hopping Help Please

[Carboy]

Hi everyone,

I'm after some help re dry hopping please.

I have an Imperial IPA (starting gravity 1.092) that I was going to dry hop during primary fermentation (around the 5-7 day mark) It's been fermenting for 9 days now and I still has over 6 inches of Kraussen on top of the wort which I think is a tad high for the hops to fall through?.

My yeast starter was 2lt and very active, anyway my questions are...

1) Can I toss my hops on top of 6 inches of Kraussen? or should I
2) Wait until I rack the wort to my secondary vessel and then dry hop? or
3) Is there a better alternative?

Thank in advance for any/all advice

Cheers
Carboy :icon_cheers:

 

[Sammus]

1 or 2, I've done both plenty of times just grab a handful of pellets or whatever and chuck em in the fermenter if you don't plan to rack. If you want to rack, do it when you rack.

 

[Ross]

If you are planning to rack to another vessel, dry hop then.

cheers Ross

 

[Carboy]

Thanks guys, that's awesome. on that advice I have more questions please..

1.092 is a lot to chew through and it looks like it make take 2 or more weeks. This being the case, should I?

1) Dry hop in primary, don't rack, and then keg?, or
2) Wait 14 days, then rack to secondary, dry hop, and then keg after another 7 days.


Thanks again
Cheers
C

 

[MattC]

When I dry hop I do so in the keg with either pellets or flowers in decent stocking that wont split and weigh it down with a few marbles. Eventually when the hops expand they raise to the surface. I add gelatine to sanitised keg, rack the beer to a keg, add the hops in the stocking, bleed any O2 out by burping the keg a few times, leave for 3-7 days in your keg fridge depending on your requirements, open up keg and remove stocking, then carbonate and drink. Occasionally the hops have been a little grassy, however after a few weeks, the flavours really smoothed out.

My 2C woth

Cheers

 

[MeLoveBeer]

I'd wait until you're at least 80% through fermentation or preferably until you rack (so option 2). You will loose a lot of aroma if you dry hop any earlier

 

[fraser_john]

When I dry hop I do so in the keg with either pellets or flowers in decent stocking that wont split and weigh it down with a few marbles. Eventually when the hops expand they raise to the surface. I add gelatine to sanitised keg, rack the beer to a keg, add the hops in the stocking, bleed any O2 out by burping the keg a few times, leave for 3-7 days in your keg fridge depending on your requirements, open up keg and remove stocking, then carbonate and drink. Occasionally the hops have been a little grassy, however after a few weeks, the flavours really smoothed out.

My 2C woth

Cheers

I love dry hops in the keg and do it very similar to how MattC describes above. I add 90gm of dissolved sugar to the keg instead of the gelatine though and naturally carbonate. I "usually" gelatine/polyclar prior to putting it in a keg to make sure it is already pretty bright.

Dry hops in the keg develop and change over the time the keg is on draft, which makes it more interesting to drink.