Dry Hopping & Infections

[Oatlands Brewer]

went commando yesterday, brew was a couple of gravitys off where i thought it should finished and chucked 30gr of pellets in , and today started the cold conditioning.

we will see how it goes

 

[GOLIATH]

I cant remember of an infection caused by the hop being added "Dry" I dont see much point on making a tea to do it, you may as well add them at the start if you're doing that.

The preservative value of hop is great and id suggest that at anytime during the brew whether cold conditioning or not, we need to think about the relative organism sizes of Bacteria Versus Yeast. If the yeast is good and healthy, it wont let an infection in.

Think about those great English ale breweries brewing in open slate vats with huge krausens that were solid enough for RATS to run over them.

My thinking has always been that you cant sterilise, so dont try. Just be clean and pitch good quantities of healthy yeast. Dont concern yourself with opening the fermenter just do the things you need to.


Some one once said "we need to be doing the right things rather than just doing things right".

Dry hop away friend.

Regards
Dave

 

[Hatchy]

I just dropped my Amarillo pellets in a few minutes ago. I wasn't sure about stirring them in but really didn't enjoy opening my fermenter so I just dropped them in & resealed the lid. I didn't get a gravity reading because my fermenters are in the bath & I couldn't be bothered dragging it out. I'm an amateur I know.

 

[GOLIATH]

Im glad you didnt stir it good on you.
Dave

 

[manticle]

No need to stir. They will dissolve all on their own.

 

[Hatchy]

Cool, that's what I thought. The recipe my mate sent me mentioned "sneakily" dropping in the pellets. I assumed this meant no stirring. The fermenter that batch is in doesn't seal properly so I had a quick smell while the lid was open a crack as I can't sniff the top of the airlock like I can with the other fermenters. There didn't seem to be much of a smell there. I'm glad now that I chucked in 40g more hops.

 

[manticle]

The recipe my mate sent me mentioned "sneakily" dropping in the pellets. I assumed this meant no stirring.

No it means wearing camo fatigues and a balaclava

 

[bum]

Shit, I've been yelling "What's that over there?" and pointing in the other direction right before chucking them in.

 

[manticle]

As long as you throw a pebble first to make a distant sound, you're on the right track.

 

[Hatchy]

Damn, should I have been doing that crawl thing on my elbows? I was standing up where any sober bacteria that were paying attention could see me clearly. Given that we've got white tiles in our bathroom which doubles as my brewery, would cricket whites be the best camouflage to wear? Maybe with zinc cream all over my face instead of the balaclava.

 

[manticle]

Don't worry. Sober anything has no place in your brewery.

As for camouflage - I find dressing up as a fermenter is the best way but friends have got away with hydrometer costumes or simply disguising themselves as bags of malt.

 

[bum]

...friends have got away with...simply disguising themselves as bags...

Finally! BIAB makes sense!!!

 

[Hatchy]

Apologies for taking this thread further off topic than it already was but:

Don't worry. Sober anything has no place in your brewery.

Maybe an open bottle of Bundy near my fermenters with a neon sign saying "Free Bundy for all bacteria" would be an option?

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

 

[Kai]

what if it is already 'open'?

heeheehee

still a risk

 

[Phoney]

If you dont want to open your fermenter you could always just take the airlock out and drop the pellets in one by one through the hole.

 

[Jamieman]

I have always just chucked the hop bag in when mixing the wort and add a little extra for lost aroma during fermentation.
Only just started steeping in a coffee plunger.
Love the idea of squeezing the pellets through the airlock hole :blink:

 

[Phoney]

I was kidding <_<

I dont see the point, personally.

 

[Jamieman]

I know.
Just never thought of it & it made me laugh when i read it.

 

[Hatchy]

** Stupid question alert **

I've just had a look in the fermenter that I'm planning on bottling tomorrow & the majority of my dry hops are still dry, sitting on top of my beer. I used flowers instead of pellets this time, should they have been gently stirred in? I quickly took the lid off my fermenter to get a proper look & there's certainly a hoppy aroma in there. Will that transfer to the bottled beer or should they have been stirred from the start?

 

[jyo]

** Stupid question alert **

I've just had a look in the fermenter that I'm planning on bottling tomorrow & the majority of my dry hops are still dry, sitting on top of my beer. I used flowers instead of pellets this time, should they have been gently stirred in? I quickly took the lid off my fermenter to get a proper look & there's certainly a hoppy aroma in there. Will that transfer to the bottled beer or should they have been stirred from the start?

Hatchy, I haven't dry hopped flowers, but I would assume they would have more bouyancy than pelletised hops.
I would bottle away.