Dry hopping techniques

[booldawg]

Is there any noticeable difference in aroma between the below dry hopping technques;

a) In a hop bag in FV for 3-4 days
b) chucked in the boiler when temp is below 80C

I've tried both ways with similar amounts (about 25g) but not really noticed a difference. I'd like to get a better hoppy aroma in my ales, any advice?

[math]

I have had much better dry hopping results from letting them lose, than when I've used a bag. Having said that, I didn't realise how much they'd expand from their frozen and vac-packed state, so I think a lot of what was in the bag may not have gotten good contact with the beer.

[booldawg]

I take you have a filter on your FV? I believe I tried that many moons ago and the run off from the FV was 'problematic' !

[Capn Ahab]

b) chucked in the boiler when temp is below 80C

That's not dry-hopping. That's steeping hops in hot wort. Dry-hopping is what you do after primary fermentation - you add 'dry' hops to the fermenter either loose or in a bag. There's a good presentation from LAB here http://abeeronthedowns.blogspot.co.uk/2 ... ewers.html

any advice?

Use more hops.

[Kev888]

I dry hop in the FV for about 10 days, after the main fermentation has subsided, in order to get hop aroma; usually loose (as the racking arm in my conical lets me rack without them clogging) but sometimes in a (well boiled) large/loose hop bag to avoid taps getting blocked in simpler FVs (in my case theres no detectable detriment with the hop sack). Some people also/instead dry hop in the keg, but I prefer not to leave the greenery in the beer for as long - partly in case it imparts a grassy flavour and partly because I find the FV easier. I'm thinking of using a randaliser for my IPA too, which has dry hops in a container in the serving line between keg and tap.

By comparison with dry hopping in the FV I don't find that I get much aroma from 80c steeping. I wouldn't consider that dry hopping, but thats just a term, what matters to me is that it still seems warm enough to drive off a lot of the aroma even if its cool enough not to extract much bitterness. I'd say its more like a very late version of boil hops than it is dry hopping, and I sometimes do it for more hop flavour without appreciable bitterness but more and more I'm leaving it out and instead using just hops later in the boil and then dry in the FV.

Cheers
Kev

[seymour]

...That's not dry-hopping. That's steeping hops in hot wort. Dry-hopping is what you do after primary fermentation - you add 'dry' hops to the fermenter either loose or in a bag...

+1

I wait for primary fermentation to die down, so the CO2 doesn't blast the precious aromas away, then add loose whole leaf hops. I like doing it this way so they spread out, providing maximum surface area exposure, as well as protecting the beer from oxidation, but I admit I have to take care filtering them when I rack to the bottling bucket.

[dedken]

After attending Gregg's excellent talk on dry-hopping (see previous link) I've been doing it to everything (dry puree method). I always rack off the yeast into secondary - usually into a PB - for dry hopping; I don't use a bag or weight so I swirl the PB around a couple of times day. Works a treat, never had an English IPA taste and smell so great!

[orlando]

I dry hop in the FV too and also leave it till SG is below 1.015 or so. The temperature of steeping hops has been a hot topic of conversation on here before (search on dry hopping), there is a YouTube video on the BeerSmith channel that has an American hop grower suggesting steeping as low as 50c, to avoid volatile aroma oils being "boiled" off. I have tried both loose and contained hops, loose have caused me problems when racking off as they get stuck in the syphon and start sucking in air, which you desperately want to avoid at the kegging/bottling stage, so I have resorted to using one of these. It can only really take up to 25g before it is too full to be any more effective. Works well though and being stainless is easy to use and gives you peace of mind when introducing to your brew.

[dedken]

loose have caused me problems when racking off as they get stuck in the syphon and start sucking in air, which you desperately want to avoid at the kegging/bottling stage

A sanitised muslin bag tied over the end of the racking cane gets over that potential problem.

[orlando]

Thanks for that idea, I have an AIPA that I want to heavily dry hop so will try it.

[Dave S]

I bought one of the SS tubes that Greenxpaddy was making recently. Haven't tried it yet, but he reckons it holds 100g comfortably. It will probably be the new year now before I do another DH brew, but I have high hopes for it.

[booldawg]

Thanks all! you're always learning something new with brewing! I had no idea that dry hopping was only applicable in secondary.

I must admit I've never really done secondary fermantations. I'll try this technique on my next brew to see what it brings.

[orlando]

Thanks all! you're always learning something new with brewing! I had no idea that dry hopping was only applicable in secondary.

I must admit I've never really done secondary fermantations. I'll try this technique on my next brew to see what it brings.

I'm not sure the use of the term secondary is being used correctly in your remark. I think you mean towards the end of fermentation rather than racking off from the original FV into a second FV. If you are thinking of racking into a secondary FV this is no longer regarded as a "must do", it is perfectly acceptable to ferment and dry hop in a single vessel and has a number of advantages such as avoiding infection and aeration and allowing the yeast to "clear up" after itself, reducing off flavours like isoamyl acetate.

[dynamic dave]

My last brew I made a hop tea by adding the dry hops to food blender than added them to coffee cafetiere adding warm fermented beer at 40c (reheat in old kettle) leave for half hour than pour off then repeat made lovely aroma to beer with I believe not adding bitterness quick and clean.

[beer gut]

Hi guys i think iam comming into this thread late but i find this very interesting.So to get this clear you can add hops loose or in a hop sock to fermenting ale? do you put the hops at the start or the end of the fermentation? the reason i ask is because if i dry hop normally i will transfer the finished brew into a glass carboyd then i put the hop scoks full of hops into the finished ale for 2 weeks Someone said you will have filter the brew while bottling so the syhpon won't get blocked my question is what is the best way to filter it?