Dry hopping later

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brewtopbeer

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Hey everyone I am reading alot of recipes where Brewers dry hop after 5 to 9 days in of fermentation, my question is lifting the lid up and throwing hops in doesn't that put ur beer at risk of contamination??
 
I believe the theory is if you are adding hops near the end of fermentation then there will still be some co2 production to drive any air out of the fermenter that happens to get in. Minimising the risk of oxidisation.

The trick is to time it right, too early and excessive co2 production can supposedly push out those lovely dry hop aromas.

Hops themselves have anti bacterial qualities so you should be fine if you keep anything else used in the process sanitised.
 
Just make sure you sanitize your hop bag and anything you will use (minus the hops of course :) )
 
I have brewed AG for nine years, learned most of what I know from this forum,however, I have not see what I use for dry hopping which is what I do for most of my beers.
The fermenter lid I have drilled a large hole so that I can insert the hops without opening the lid, this is sealed during fermentation with an appropriate size rubber bung. I generally dry hop with 2/2.5 grams /ltr for my normal scedule after 7 days of fermenting, I shorteneda plastic funnel to fit the bung hole so that the hops can be introduced, without spilling.
The other bit of kit I made is what I call a hop condom...this is a small tubular piece of swiss voille, sealed at the bottom, this I fasten to my piece of transfer tub from the fermenter when fermentation is complete. The condom is fastened to the short transfer tube with a cable tie...only because I have plenty, a tie wrap is good enough.
The system allows for hops to be free swimming in the fermenter so that the maximum contact with wort and hop oil transfer is allowed.
The other major benefit is the ability to sanitize all components before and after use.
See pics...

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Looks good nala.

I just peel back the glad wrap and chuck em in. Give it a few days then cold crash when a sample smells the goods.
 
hop condom ... now there's two words I never thought I'd see together :D
 
brewtopbeer said:
Hey everyone I am reading alot of recipes where Brewers dry hop after 5 to 9 days in of fermentation, my question is lifting the lid up and throwing hops in doesn't that put ur beer at risk of contamination??
The quick answer is no! I'm not sure I would throw mine in, rather I put 'em in a sanitised hop sock, and gently lower them into the beer. But once fermentation is complete, the alcohol and presence of hops (which are anti microbial) will help protect your beer from contamination. Just don't sneeze while you're doing it...
 
I just lift the lid and pour mine in gently (container is sanitised; hops weighed into it from the freezer). No bag or hopdom, just commando. IMO results are bigger and better hop flavour and aroma, and only disadvantage I can think of is that I can't pull the hops out if I wanted to condition for longer in the FV than I dry hop for. Hasn't been an issue yet.
 
Bloody beautiful I want to give this a go so now it's definitely on the cards. Cheers!!
 
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