Third Extract Brew: A few questions I keep querying...

[iamchef]

Hey!

I'm on my third extract brew now, my last two have been good but there's a few things that I can't seem to find answers for which I question myself. Here's what they are:

1.) When cooling the wort directly after the boil in an ice bath, is it best to keep the lid on the kettle? (It cools quicker without the lid on)

2.) Naturally you're not encouraged to pop the lid open of the fermenting vessel until fermentation is complete, so what is the best way about dry hopping? In my case I have added my last hops for dry hopping in loose as it seems that it is a better way of dispersing the aroma rather than keeping them within a bag (I'm open to suggestions and criticism). Once I add them to the fermentation vessel, I give them a gentle stir so they all soak in the wort rather than sit on top of the foam. Going from what I've done, what other techniques are there to gain optimal results?

As for the recipe, I'm making a Pale Ale using 2.5kg of light spray malt, 100g of crystal malt, Wyeast California ale liquid yeast and Citra hops, 75g during the boil at different stages and 100g for dry hopping.

Cheers guys, looking forward to your feedback!

Tristan

[Rookie]

1: lid off (an immersion chiller works way better)
2: loose is fine (I think the dangers of opening a F V are over stated)

[DerbyshireNick]

1: whatever you like, lid off it cools quicker, lid on there is less chance of infection but that chance is tiny anyway.
2: Loose. My only observation (and I am splitting hairs) is that you maybe dont want to be dry hopping while you still have a "foam head". Waiting until it has gone will ensure you have the highest abv possible and thus the best chance of not introducing something nasty into the beer from the hops, again very slim chance. I wouldnt recommend having your beer in the FV for any less than 10 days anyway (ideally 12-14) so waiting 6-7 days for the head to be clear, then dry hopping for the final 3-4 days is normally recommended. Dont dry hop for much longer than that unless you like meadows.

[Liverpool-Lad]

I would reverse the hops - 125 in the boil and 75 dry hop..see my zombie dust clone topic. 2.5kg would make it a tad thin?