First dry hopping attempt.

[jackgym]

Hi brewers,

I tossed 25g of Nelson Sauvin hop pellets commando style into my 150 lashes clone after 8 days fermentation. Two days later the inside of the fermenter is spotted with what looks like small bits of hops or yeast, and a layer of yeast is sitting over the tap section. Is this normal behaviour as this is my first attempt at dry hopping? The smell is delicious, by the way.

 

[droid]

Is that a lot of yeast or a low tap? It's normal for the hops to float around with yeast. Whacking it in a fridge for a few days will drop the particles out of suspension...once FG is achieved...How are you transferring?

 

[jackgym]

Is that a lot of yeast or a low tap? It's normal for the hops to float around with yeast. Whacking it in a fridge for a few days will drop the particles out of suspension...once FG is achieved...How are you transferring?

It's the newer Coopers fermenter. A small layer of yeast is sitting on the part of the fermenter where the tap section curves away, not on the tap itself. It's about 100 mm from the bottom of the fermenter. It's been in the fridge at 18 deg the whole time. I'll transfer straight into bottles 4 days after dry hopping.

 

[droid]

Ah ok, sorry I meant cold crashing/putting it in at fridge temp, like 2,3,4 degrees to drop out suspended particles before transferring

 

[jackgym]

Ah ok, sorry I meant cold crashing/putting it in at fridge temp, like 2,3,4 degrees to drop out suspended particles before transferring

I've only made 5 kit brews before this so I haven't attempted cold crashing yet. Maybe the particles will settle before bottling without cold crashing, or settle in the bottles?

 

[razz]

Good morning jackgym. If you can cold crash you will get more solids dropping out at a much faster rate than just leaving it at 18 degrees. It will happen at 18 degrees just a bit slower.

 

[jackgym]

Good morning jackgym. If you can cold crash you will get more solids dropping out at a much faster rate than just leaving it at 18 degrees. It will happen at 18 degrees just a bit slower.

Hi razz, yes droid's advice was to cold crash as well. And leaving it too long can cause grassiness, I believe?

 

[droid]

I've only made 5 kit brews before this so I haven't attempted cold crashing yet. Maybe the particles will settle before bottling without cold crashing, or settle in the bottles?

hey mate - i have done in the past what you are considering. what happened to me was when a bottle was opened the beer would fizz out and i could see the hops buzzing around inside the bottle like a swarm of angry bees (when the bottle was opened) I discovered that each hop particle in said bottle is a problem because co2 bubbles will latch onto it (it being referred to as a nucleation point) causing it to rise , x's that by how ever many bits are in each bottle and there'll be your answer measured in fizzy beer being lost.

That's my personal experience, doesn't mean others haven't had success and hopefully they'll pipe up for you.

i'd put the fridge on to a cold setting and cool the beer down and really the only other thing to consider is that your sugar calculations for priming the beer will be different when bottling cold beer (you wont need as much). There are calculators to work it out but you could post the question here when ready to bottle.

or you filter the hops out but it's pretty hard to do that without aerating it (causing early staling of beer) - again imho

<edit> for future ref...if you don't want to cold crash and keen to get beer bottled and conditioning then sanitise a stocking and put your hops in the tied up stocking ~ in the fermenter, non-commando like

 

[jackgym]

hey mate - i have done in the past what you are considering. what happened to me was when a bottle was opened the beer would fizz out and i could see the hops buzzing around inside the bottle like a swarm of angry bees (when the bottle was opened) I discovered that each hop particle in said bottle is a problem because co2 bubbles will latch onto it (it being referred to as a nucleation point) causing it to rise , x's that by how ever many bits are in each bottle and there'll be your answer measured in fizzy beer being lost.

That's my personal experience, doesn't mean others haven't had success and hopefully they'll pipe up for you.

i'd put the fridge on to a cold setting and cool the beer down and really the only other thing to consider is that your sugar calculations for priming the beer will be different when bottling cold beer (you wont need as much). There are calculators to work it out but you could post the question here when ready to bottle.

or you filter the hops out but it's pretty hard to do that without aerating it (causing early staling of beer) - again imho

<edit> for future ref...if you don't want to cold crash and keen to get beer bottled and conditioning then sanitise a stocking and put your hops in the tied up stocking ~ in the fermenter, non-commando like

hey mate - i have done in the past what you are considering. what happened to me was when a bottle was opened the beer would fizz out and i could see the hops buzzing around inside the bottle like a swarm of angry bees (when the bottle was opened) I discovered that each hop particle in said bottle is a problem because co2 bubbles will latch onto it (it being referred to as a nucleation point) causing it to rise , x's that by how ever many bits are in each bottle and there'll be your answer measured in fizzy beer being lost.

That's my personal experience, doesn't mean others haven't had success and hopefully they'll pipe up for you.

i'd put the fridge on to a cold setting and cool the beer down and really the only other thing to consider is that your sugar calculations for priming the beer will be different when bottling cold beer (you wont need as much). There are calculators to work it out but you could post the question here when ready to bottle.

or you filter the hops out but it's pretty hard to do that without aerating it (causing early staling of beer) - again imho

<edit> for future ref...if you don't want to cold crash and keen to get beer bottled and conditioning then sanitise a stocking and put your hops in the tied up stocking ~ in the fermenter, non-commando like

Okay droid, it looks like I need to cold crash in order to properly clear the beer. I don't like the idea of the hop particles in the bottles. Thanks mate.

 

[Rocker1986]

the only other thing to consider is that your sugar calculations for priming the beer will be different when bottling cold beer (you wont need as much). There are calculators to work it out but you could post the question here when ready to bottle.

Actually it won't change by much, if at all. The temperature that should be used in those calculators is the highest temperature that the beer reached post FG, not the temperature at bottling time. All the CO2 that has escaped the beer during fermentation, and subsequently the fermenter, at the higher temp, is gone. It won't magically return to the FV just because it's chilled. What CO2 there is in the headspace is not under pressure either, so even if some of it is re-absorbed during CCing, it's such a tiny amount that it contributes about 0.1 of a volume of CO2.

My personal experience backs this up as well, all beers were bottled cold with approx. 180-200g dextrose added for priming (25 litre batches) and the carbonation was exactly what I wanted and expected. If I'd gone with the 0C amount which is about 90-100g then the beer would have ended up half flat.

What all this basically means is, just use your normal amount of priming sugar regardless of whether the beer is cold crashed or not.

 

[razz]

Hi razz, yes droid's advice was to cold crash as well. And leaving it too long can cause grassiness, I believe?

I find grassiness may be more related to the hops variety and they will exhibit that flavour faster than other hops at the higher temps (18 degrees) if you keg/bottle after a week or so i can't see a problem. My preferred method is to add hops when ferment has hit final gravity, leave for 3-4 days at fermentation temp and then chill over 5-7 days to 3-4 degrees and then keg.

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

What all this basically means is, just use your normal amount of priming sugar regardless of whether the beer is cold crashed or not.

But still keep that thinking in mind about the "highest temperature reached during ferment" or else you might over carb your first lager!

 

[Rocker1986]

But still keep that thinking in mind about the "highest temperature reached during ferment" or else you might over carb your first lager!

Indeed. If it isn't allowed to rise above 10-12C or whatever then it will have more residual CO2 than if it is allowed to rise. I raise my lagers, but after a while you work out and get used to the priming rate that gives you the carb level you like and don't even bother with calculators, except maybe in the case of the aforementioned 10-12C max temp situation.

 

[jackgym]

But still keep that thinking in mind about the "highest temperature reached during ferment" or else you might over carb your first lager!

Okay mate, got that.

 

[jackgym]

Actually it won't change by much, if at all. The temperature that should be used in those calculators is the highest temperature that the beer reached post FG, not the temperature at bottling time. All the CO2 that has escaped the beer during fermentation, and subsequently the fermenter, at the higher temp, is gone. It won't magically return to the FV just because it's chilled. What CO2 there is in the headspace is not under pressure either, so even if some of it is re-absorbed during CCing, it's such a tiny amount that it contributes about 0.1 of a volume of CO2.

My personal experience backs this up as well, all beers were bottled cold with approx. 180-200g dextrose added for priming (25 litre batches) and the carbonation was exactly what I wanted and expected. If I'd gone with the 0C amount which is about 90-100g then the beer would have ended up half flat.

What all this basically means is, just use your normal amount of priming sugar regardless of whether the beer is cold crashed or not.

Thanks Rocker, I'll remember that about the priming sugar. I've decided to cold crash anyway to shift any "floaties".

 

[Rocker1986]

Yes I think it's a good idea to cold crash to get the floaties to drop out into the trub. Leave it cold for a week then look to bottle it.

The beer can be bottled cold as well, there is no need to warm it up first. Are you using carb drops or bulk priming/sugar scoop measures?


This reminds me I need to go drop my fridge to zero and give the current batch a week at that temp...

 

[jackgym]

Yes I think it's a good idea to cold crash to get the floaties to drop out into the trub. Leave it cold for a week then look to bottle it.

The beer can be bottled cold as well, there is no need to warm it up first. Are you using carb drops or bulk priming/sugar scoop measures?


This reminds me I need to go drop my fridge to zero and give the current batch a week at that temp...

I'm using carb drops. I have another question. I'm running down the temp. with the STC1000 from 18 to 5 to cold crash but it's very slow. I was thinking of unplugging it and just use the fridge on coldest for a few hours then replug the STC1000 ??

 

[Rocker1986]

Ok cool, well just the usual rate of carb drops then.

It won't make any difference. The STC doesn't control how cold the fridge runs, all it controls is the power on and off. Leave the STC on set to 5 (lower would be better really), put the fridge on coldest and let it go. The fridge will simply run as if it was plugged straight into the wall until the STC turns it off.

 

[jackgym]

Ok cool, well just the usual rate of carb drops then.

It won't make any difference. The STC doesn't control how cold the fridge runs, all it controls is the power on and off. Leave the STC on set to 5 (lower would be better really), put the fridge on coldest and let it go. The fridge will simply run as if it was plugged straight into the wall until the STC turns it off.

Yeah, I'll drop it down to around 2 deg. then. I should have realised that about the fridge. Cheers.

 

[BDD]

Hi razz, yes droid's advice was to cold crash as well. And leaving it too long can cause grassiness, I believe?

Currently drinking a beer that I accidentally let dry hop for about 3-4 weeks......Grassiness is an understatement haha.