Dry-hopping

[Darren]

Hey Guys,
I have lying awake at night over this one. Need to get it off my chest! Seems a lot of people are transfering to secondary fermenter. This is a good idea to get the beer off a the yeast/break/hop material. The problem that could arise is if the beer has fully attenuated and is transferred to secondary. At this stage there is little or no nutrients remaining. With no nutrients present the yeast are unable to remove any introduced oxygen, nor produce the "protective" CO2 blanket.
A further transfer to keg/bottle simply introduces further oxidation.
It must be remembered that oxidation is an ongoing process. Once it starts it cannot be stopped.
Like the small rust spot on your car (yep thats oxidation too) it starts small but it is not long until it really starts to expand, eventually converting a piece of shiny metal into a pile of orange dust!
My suggestion would be to tranfer beer to secondary BEFORE it is fully attenuated. That should ensure any O2 introduced post-fermentation can be metabolised.
ah
thats better
Darren

 

[Gulf Brewery]

Hi Darren

Most home brewers rarely full attenuate a full mash beer. The primary sugars (don't ask which ones, I would have to look it up) are utilised first, then the sugars that are harder to break down. This occurs over time. I think most people transferring at 1 week wouldn't have an issue. I always take a little yeast over as I am taking the beer from just above the trub / yeast cake and a little gets sucked up with the wort

Cheers
Pedro

 

[Darren]

Hi Darren

Most home brewers rarely full attenuate a full mash beer. The primary sugars (don't ask which ones, I would have to look it up) are utilised first, then the sugars that are harder to break down. This occurs over time. I think most people transferring at 1 week wouldn't have an issue. I always take a little yeast over as I am taking the beer from just above the trub / yeast cake and a little gets sucked up with the wort

Cheers
Pedro

Howdy Pedro,
I agree. It would be rare for a beer to be fully attenuated in one week. If a beer were to be left in primary for two weeks I suggest it would be a different matter.
Assuming that a transfer of yeast from primary to secondary will help is incorrect. It doesn't matter how much yeast comes over with the transfer. If it is fully attenuated there will be no more activity.
cheers (time for another beer)
Darren

 

[Darren]

Cheers
Pedro

Howdy Pedro,
I agree. It would be rare for a beer to be fully attenuated in one week. If a beer were to be left in primary for two weeks I suggest it would be a different matter.
[/quote]
I am refering to ales here of course!

 

[Kai]

You could always slip a small amount of malt or dextrose solution into the secondary.
However, as you say, oxidation is an ongoing process and even if your yeast mops up any O2 introduced to the green beer, by then the damage might already be done. In my practical experience I've yet to have any noticeable trouble with oxidation in the secondary.

 

[PostModern]

I'm with Kai.

When racking, I usually put about 100g of DME boiled in a bit of hot water in the bottom of the secondary fermenter to allow the yeast to make it's own Co2 blanket. Never had an oxidised beer yet.

RDWHAHB.

 

[nonicman]

If you were silly enough to have moved a beer to a Secondary fermenter, and it didn't produce a protective blanket (one of my fermenters had no airlock activity, though a thin layer of yeast was produced on top for a few days), would the beer be undrinkable, or would the beer go stale over time (as I've read happens when you get hot splash). I was very carefull in the transfer. I will bottle both this Saturday, and see if I can fit in a mash.

edit:
Turned out fine though it was drunk well before it could go stale

 

[nonicman]

Just opened a bottle of APA that I used GMK's dry hopping advice for. Awesome, this is an eye opener. Thanks GMK.

 

[GMK]

Just opened a bottle of APA that I used GMK's dry hopping advice for. Awesome, this is an eye opener. Thanks GMK.

Too Easy - Glad to have helped...

Even Happier that you enjoy drinking it so much... :lol: :chug:

 

[Fish]

Very helpful info. re. dry hopping.

I just threw my hop pellets in the secondary and now have a lot in suspension (I will do it differently next time).

Apart from the filter (mentioned on page one of the post) is there an easy way to drop the hops out of suspension? Does Gelatin work?

Fish

 

[Ross]

Just a quick comment after reading this thread - I thought for true dry hopping, it was supposeed to be done without the boiling water? Seems everyone here agrees with GMK's method, which I'm sure gives a great result, but I've always dry hopped with plugs cold - you guys recommending the quick steep first?

 

[Jovial_Monk]

Plugs were made especially for dry hopping. I just pull them apart a bit and shove them into the cube of beer. Steeping etc is for pellets.

Jovial Monk

 

[Sean]

Plugs were made especially for dry hopping. I just pull them apart a bit and shove them into the cube of beer.
Jovial Monk

[post="55093"][/post]​

Why pull them apart? Part of the point of plugs is to allow (UK) brewers to just lob one (or more) in each cask, fill up the cask and hammer the shive in (as opposed to loose whole hops which tend to come back out as you fill the cask up).

 

[Batz]

Plugs were made especially for dry hopping. I just pull them apart a bit and shove them into the cube of beer.
Jovial Monk

[post="55093"][/post]​

Why pull them apart? Part of the point of plugs is to allow (UK) brewers to just lob one (or more) in each cask, fill up the cask and hammer the shive in (as opposed to loose whole hops which tend to come back out as you fill the cask up).

[post="55097"][/post]​

I think what the Monk says here has some merit
You will find dry hopping with a plug in tact , will sometimes find the plug still in compressed shape when you rack to a keg or whatever.
I would presume less wort in contact with the hops , let hops effect in the brew.

I too pull the plugs apart a little now.

Batz

 

[Sean]

Plugs were made especially for dry hopping. I just pull them apart a bit and shove them into the cube of beer.
Jovial Monk

[post="55093"][/post]​

Why pull them apart? Part of the point of plugs is to allow (UK) brewers to just lob one (or more) in each cask, fill up the cask and hammer the shive in (as opposed to loose whole hops which tend to come back out as you fill the cask up).

[post="55097"][/post]​

I think what the Monk says here has some merit
You will find dry hopping with a plug in tact , will sometimes find the plug still in compressed shape when you rack to a keg or whatever.
I would presume less wort in contact with the hops , let hops effect in the brew.

I too pull the plugs apart a little now.

Batz

[post="55118"][/post]​

If that's your experience then fair enough - I can't speak from homebrew experience since I don't dry-hop. I'm just a little surprised it's necessary since it kind of defeats one of the two main purposes of why plugs were developed in the first place. (The other purpose being quick measurement of dosage.)

On the other hand, I guess they are designed to be added to the cask, not to the secondary fermenter, and the average cask in trade gets thrown about a lot more than most people's secondary fermenters, and maybe that helps to break up the plug.

 

[dickTed]

The HBS's around my area only have pellets, but I have taken Jovial Monk's advice, and use a coffee plunger for straining them.

Put in pot, cover with boiling water from electric jug, pour into plunger and let cool before plunging.

 

[Ross]

As an option to the coffee strainer method - Has anyone tried adding hops to a coffee perculator? - Would seem maybe a good way for a high extraction of aroma/flavour, & being filtered, an excellent choice for a late addition to a keg or just before priming?

any thoughts....

 

[TidalPete]

This is a very interesting thread. I was in my LHBS the other day & saw Brewcraft Styrian Goldings Oil (30ml for $4.50) on the shelves. Seems you need to add 2-3 drops per bottle\90 drops per 23 litre batch max. Has anyone tried something like this as an lazy alternative to dry hopping? If so, how did it turn out? Seems a bit dear. :blink:

 

[dickTed]

Tidalpete

I asked this question some time back. Here is the thread.

 

[TidalPete]

Tidalpete

I asked this question some time back. Here is the thread.

dickTed, Thanks for that. They can stay on the shelf. I will use my hops. :beer: