I dry hopped ... now what

[laxation]

I did my first dry hop the other day - put the hops in on Sunday after fermentation was complete. I just threw the hops in (some people say to bag it, some say they don't, and this was easier!)

So questions are...

- do I need to rack to a secondary now because I put the hops in without a bag?

- how long should hops stay in for? I could take them out tonight or tomorrow (either kegging or putting in secondary) but Saturday is ideal. Is it OK if I wait until Saturday to do this?

I've never racked to a secondary, but I have a 25L water barrel from Bunnings that I plan on using.

Cheers!

 

[mtb]

Don't bother with secondary in most cases, it introduces oxygen and an extra infection risk to your beer. Only consider it when you're lagering or otherwise leaving in the fermenter for an extended period of time, in which case it's ideal to get the beer off the settled trub & yeast cake no more than a couple weeks after fermentation starts.
Straight to keg, cold crash first, most of the hop matter will settle below the spigot level and not make its way out unless you tip the fermenter to get out the dregs. One thing that helped most in minimising the crud from my old Bunnings water barrel was cold crashing it in the same place I'd then transfer from (in other words, avoid moving it when you keg, you'll disturb the crud at the bottom).

As for how long the hops should stay in for, it really depends on the hop used, but my rule of thumb is 48hrs at warm temps. Longer is probably fine too, no longer than 5 days for some hops or they impart grassy flavours apparently. Dry hopping in cold beer is alright but in my experience it doesn't impart as much aroma, something to do with oils and stuff.

 

[laxation]

That's what I like to hear - less effort! Pefect

Thanks for that, I'll see if I can fit the fermenter in our fridge tonight to cold crash. Haven't done that before either... how long does it need to be in the fridge for? I see some threads saying between 4-10 days, but then doesn't that mean the hops are in there for too long?

 

[damoninja]

I've done some ******* dry hopping, no matter how much you do they drop out. Cold crashing helps them drop but isn't always necessary, I primarily do it so I can use gelatin

 

[mtb]

Same for me damoninja. I add gelatin when I begin the cold crash, and 24 - 48hrs later, I keg. With the addition of gelatin it seems this is all the time needed to achieve the clarity I'm after.
laxation if you're not using gelatin, I can't speak for the time needed for cold crashing as I assume fining will be slower without it

 

[Gloveski]

I have dry hopped for 3 days at end of fermentation in one of my recent beers , smell stayed until about the last 3 or 4 schooners . It's all about experiment but I wouldn't go any longer than 5 days like mtb said otherwise chance of grassy flavours. Don't worry about secondary cold crash and rack to keg. I use a hop sock when I dry hop so I can remove once the 3 days is up. I may extend to 4 or 5 days if keg is not going to be touched for awhile

 

[mosto]

I generally cold crash for 4 days and chuck the dry hop in when I commence cold crashing. However I have cold crashed for only 2 days and what doesn't drop out in cold crash will drop out in the keg, ie the first few pours will be a bit cloudy but then it will clear up.

 

[Gloveski]

Same for me damoninja. I add gelatin when I begin the cold crash, and 24 - 48hrs later, I keg. With the addition of gelatin it seems this is all the time needed to achieve the clarity I'm after.
laxation if you're not using gelatin, I can't speak for the time needed for cold crashing as I assume fining will be slower without it

pretty much the same I drop temp the night before I am going to add gelatine then 48 hours later rack to keg

 

[mofox1]

I did my first dry hop the other day - put the hops in on Sunday after fermentation was complete. I just threw the hops in (some people say to bag it, some say they don't, and this was easier!)

So questions are...

- do I need to rack to a secondary now because I put the hops in without a bag?

- how long should hops stay in for? I could take them out tonight or tomorrow (either kegging or putting in secondary) but Saturday is ideal. Is it OK if I wait until Saturday to do this?

I've never bothered with hop bags, despite putting frankly stupid amounts of hops in the fermenter (ie more than a couple hundred grams).

My normal solution to avoid blocking the tap with hop debris is to put a block of wood under the tap end. Sometimes two blocks. Occasionally up to tipping point for those insane brews (heady topper, I'm looking at you).

When doing a large dry hop it can help to rack off the yeast/trub cake into a clean (CO2 purged) FV that contains the dry hops.

As for duration... eh. I'm not sure it matters that much. I've had beers that have contained dry hops for weeks, others where I've added at the same time as a cold-crash. While I haven't detected these "grassy" notes others talk about, I could just be blissfully ignorant or unable to pick up these elements.

If you are able to cold-crash the brew (ie - temp controlled fridge, set it to 0C) it will allow most of the suspended yeast remaining in the beer to drop out, cover the hop debris and keep it "stuck" to the bottom when bottling or kegging.

Others are suggesting gelatin... Do as you will, however, I don't usually fine any beer I dry hop as I find it strips out a lot of the aroma. Most often it's saved for bitters or other malt driven beers.

 

[damoninja]

Same for me damoninja. I add gelatin when I begin the cold crash, and 24 - 48hrs later, I keg. With the addition of gelatin it seems this is all the time needed to achieve the clarity I'm after.
laxation if you're not using gelatin, I can't speak for the time needed for cold crashing as I assume fining will be slower without it

Gelatin doesn't assist in dropping hop matter, it affects yeast cells by binding to them and each other effectively increasing their net weight and they can't stay suspended.

 

[mtb]

What's stopping the gelatin from binding to hop matter?

 

[damoninja]

What's stopping the gelatin from binding to hop matter?

Chemistry?

queue lyrebirdcycles

h34r: h34r:

 

[laxation]

If you are able to cold-crash the brew (ie - temp controlled fridge, set it to 0C) it will allow most of the suspended yeast remaining in the beer to drop out, cover the hop debris and keep it "stuck" to the bottom when bottling or kegging.

Does it have to be 0 degrees? I was just going to try to make space in our regular kitchen fridge...

 

[good4whatAlesU]

Sometimes I just run the beer through a sterilised muslin cloth (or chux) between the fermenter and the keg, it can be a little messy but it does filter out most of any sediment coming along for the trip. I know there are fancy filter systems out there but the humble muslin cloth is cheap at my local Lindcraft/Spotlight and does the job.

 

[damoninja]

Does it have to be 0 degrees? I was just going to try to make space in our regular kitchen fridge...

Cold as possible without freezing (though freezing a little on the top will not do any harm)

I used to run a small cyclic fridge and could get down to ~1C, struggled in summer. These days use a freezer can manage 0.5C in summer just takes a little longer.

 

[mtb]

These days use a freezer can manage 0.5C in summer just takes a little longer.

I got this banger of a freezer from the Good Guys that chills stuff BELOW zero degrees! What an age we live in

 

[captain crumpet]

Step two: ?????
Step three: profit.