Getting maximum flavour from hops...

Made a few brews now and one thing I've noticed is that the dry hopping doesn't impart as much flavour as I think it should have done into my brews now...

Made a hoppy Zombie dust and Punk IPA clone and whist both enjoyable they should have a much heavier hop smell and taste than what they do...

All I do is put hops in muslin bags and chuck into the top of the fermenter after main fermentation is done, generally after a week.

I did think about weighting them down but I've 2 bags with 50g in each and they'll take some weighing down :lol:

Any tips or ideas on how you guys manage it ?

hamster said:

Made a few brews now and one thing I've noticed is that the dry hopping doesn't impart as much flavour as I think it should have done into my brews now...

Made a hoppy Zombie dust and Punk IPA clone and whist both enjoyable they should have a much heavier hop smell and taste than what they do...

All I do is put hops in muslin bags and chuck into the top of the fermenter after main fermentation is done, generally after a week.

I did think about weighting them down but I've 2 bags with 50g in each and they'll take some weighing down :lol:

Any tips or ideas on how you guys manage it ?

Click to expand...

Good and interesting post. Ive just done an IPA which had a BIG dry hop so I exbeerymented. Put my hops in a Cafetierre at 60 degrees and steeped (plunger down) for 20 minutes, chucked it in and bottled the next day. Did it work...by heck it worked and the bonus was no hop crapola to worry about.

I've hopped tea before and it works really well however dry hopping can have mixed results. If you just throw in the pellets then 3 to 4 days works fine. The pellets are dispersed and have great contact with the beer. In a bag, lots of things happen. At first the taste comes out but then the co2 clumps on and makes it float. Then it starts to meld together not allowing beer into the ball. I put a stainless spoon inside the bag to weigh it down but some big dry hops still pull the whole bag to the top. If you attach a line to your bag, then after a few days you can pull up the bag and give it a squeeze, mixing up the clump. Usually you should allow 4 days to dry hop but if you use a bag, I've seen a week is needed to get the full affect. But that length of time you risk getting some undesirable flavors coming off the hops.
My last few batches I just tossed in the hops without a bag. Just had to cold crash longer as well as condition in the kegs then I transfer to new kegs after a week or two. I'm going to give gelatin a try on my next brew since I've heard very good results from this. It'll take down all the matter in the beer.

hamster said:

Made a few brews now and one thing I've noticed is that the dry hopping doesn't impart as much flavour as I think it should have done into my brews now...

Made a hoppy Zombie dust and Punk IPA clone and whist both enjoyable they should have a much heavier hop smell and taste than what they do...

All I do is put hops in muslin bags and chuck into the top of the fermenter after main fermentation is done, generally after a week.

I did think about weighting them down but I've 2 bags with 50g in each and they'll take some weighing down :lol:

Any tips or ideas on how you guys manage it ?

Click to expand...

Use pellets and just chuck em in without a bag, they sink eventually, especially if you can cold crash after 5 days.
You will never use leaf hops again

Agree about just throwing the pellets in loose, makes a big difference contra teas and bags, I leave my dry hop in at fermenting temp for 2 days and then cold crash it at 3 degrees for 2 days to get all the hops to settle out nicely, you might have have to slosh it around a bit to get them to fall, then another day or two at 0 degrees before bottling. Never wanted for a more hoppy flavour and I like the hops!

I chucked pellets in loose recently and didn't like it, there was quite a bit of debris even after cold crashing for 4 days. I also found that I extracted grassiness from the hops but that is probably down to me leaving them too long as that brew took ages to fully ferment out. I'm dry hopping again this week so I'll give it another go before writing it off! :thumb:

Another thing to remember is that if you just chuck your pellets/hops in then you can't reuse the yeast, well not unless you want hoppy yeast.

hamster said:

Made a few brews now and one thing I've noticed is that the dry hopping doesn't impart as much flavour as I think it should have done into my brews now...

Made a hoppy Zombie dust and Punk IPA clone and whist both enjoyable they should have a much heavier hop smell and taste than what they do...

All I do is put hops in muslin bags and chuck into the top of the fermenter after main fermentation is done, generally after a week.

I did think about weighting them down but I've 2 bags with 50g in each and they'll take some weighing down :lol:

Any tips or ideas on how you guys manage it ?

Click to expand...

What is actually lacking, flavour or aroma? You mention both.

Dry hopping usually gives more aroma than flavour. I weigh my hop back down with a stainless steel spoon. Marbles are also good for this.

I do all my hops in these in the boil and also dry hopping

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301888412949?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&var=600699146407&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Robin54 said:

Good and interesting post. Ive just done an IPA which had a BIG dry hop so I exbeerymented. Put my hops in a Cafetierre at 60 degrees and steeped (plunger down) for 20 minutes, chucked it in and bottled the next day. Did it work...by heck it worked and the bonus was no hop crapola to worry about.

Click to expand...

That is interesting... So you pretty much steeped the hop in 60c water, strain it out and pour that water into the fermenter ?

You would also have to boil the water first and allow it to cool to 60c I suspect

With a 100g of dry hopping for my dust I wonder the amount of water you would have to use, would dilute the brew but wonder how much... Oh so many questions but I like the concept

JapanBrew said:

At first the taste comes out but then the co2 clumps on and makes it float. Then it starts to meld together not allowing beer into the ball. I put a stainless spoon inside the bag to weigh it down but some big dry hops still pull the whole bag to the top. If you attach a line to your bag, then after a few days you can pull up the bag and give it a squeeze, mixing up the clump.

Click to expand...

I've been sticking a sterilized spoon into the bag to jig the hops up in the hope of generating a greater contact surface for them to work magic but worried about introducing some nasties...

Problem is I have 2 bags of 50g each and that takes serious weight to put them onto the floor. I keep looking for cheap glass paperweights as they are heavy but not even sure that will be enough

pms67 said:

Use pellets and just chuck em in without a bag, they sink eventually, especially if you can cold crash after 5 days.
You will never use leaf hops again

Click to expand...

Problem with that is sometimes only leaf is available !

Leon103 said:

What is actually lacking, flavour or aroma? You mention both.

Click to expand...

It's both ! The smell of my Punk Clone was strong when in the fermenter but after bottling the taste and aroma has dissipated somewhat... It's still a very pallet able brew just not what I intended. Turned a few of my non hop friends into looking drinking it though :lol:

Really don't like bunging the hop in whole, it's such a mess ! I may have to give in though and use it as my suspicions are that the beer isn't getting through the bags and circulating the hops as they should

Anyone know how commercial units dry hop ? Do they bung it in, move it around, stir, temperatures ?

dps51 said:

I do all my hops in these in the boil and also dry hopping

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301888412949?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&var=600699146407&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Click to expand...

Ohhhh I've been looking for cheap ones of those ! Thanks...

I dry hop with pellets loose on top of the brew these days, but dry hopping imparts more aroma than flavour. Flavour extraction peaks about 15 minutes before the end of the boil, but different flavours can be extracted with shorter times or at flame-out which also reduces bittering. Having said that, some hops impart useful flavouring at longer boil times.

The hops tend to drop out before the yeast, so the yeast can be harvested from on top. You can also separate the harvested yeast from on top of the remaining trub later, or use a hop ball as suggested.

dps51 said:

I do all my hops in these in the boil and also dry hopping

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301888412...49&var=600699146407&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Click to expand...

I forgot I ordered two of these and they arrived today, only opened one but looks a decent bit of kit. Will use this during the boil at the weekend.

When I dry hop I either put the hops ( usually pellets) into a muslin bag or a short stocking weighted down with some stainless steel elbows or taps or whatever I have around, sterilised of course. I then tie a bit of cord around the bag or bags and every few hours (2-3 times a day) will gently jiggle the bags around to encourage the flavour from the hops.

Once dry hopping is complete I then lift out the bags using the cord and having first thoroughly cleaned my hands will squeeze as much juice out as possible. I have done this umpteen times without any sign of trouble ( nearly mentioned the i word there!)

Leon103 said:

I forgot I ordered two of these and they arrived today, only opened one but looks a decent bit of kit. Will use this during the boil at the weekend.

Click to expand...

What size are they and how many hops do you reckon they will hold ( pellets that is)?

geetee said:

When I dry hop I either put the hops ( usually pellets) into a muslin bag or a short stocking weighted down with some stainless steel elbows or taps or whatever I have around, sterilised of course. I then tie a bit of cord around the bag or bags and every few hours (2-3 times a day) will gently jiggle the bags around to encourage the flavour from the hops.

Once dry hopping is complete I then lift out the bags using the cord and having first thoroughly cleaned my hands will squeeze as much juice out as possible. I have done this umpteen times without any sign of trouble ( nearly mentioned the i word there!)

Click to expand...

PS to answer a question from Hamster above this method was used in a microbrewery I spent a day helping out, hops in a large muslin bag on a string tied to the foot of the fermenter and every now and again just pull on the string to agitate gently.
Most micros use bags but not always tied as above just thrown in.

The size is in the ad. I have some similar to the second largest and find that at about 3/4oz the pellets swell up to fill it, limiting the contact with the beer. Works OK in the boil, but why bother? For dry hopping you need to use less than 1/2oz for efficient extraction and it still doesn't seem as effective as commando style.

Have had mixed results. I put mine in hop bags and sling em in for 5/7 days. Have just done three DIY Dog beers(adjusted recipies) and have done Aroma hops (at least two types )in each brew at 80c and stood for 15 mins along with the dry hops,again two types for 5 days and must say that the aroma at bottling has been really good.However not tasted as yet as still carbing.

hamster said:

The smell of my Punk Clone was strong when in the fermenter but after bottling the taste and aroma has dissipated somewhat... It's still a very pallet able brew just not what I intended. Turned a few of my non hop friends into looking drinking it though [emoji38]

Really don't like bunging the hop in whole, it's such a mess ! I may have to give in though and use it as my suspicions are that the beer isn't getting through the bags and circulating the hops as they should

Anyone know how commercial units dry hop ? Do they bung it in, move it around, stir, temperatures ?

Click to expand...

This is the key issue, loss of flavour and aroma. If it is there in the FV, pre-packaging, then your technique works, and I wouldn't get too wrapped up in changing hop types, using different bags etc.

The problem is in packaging and more importantly oxygen pickup. The first thing to suffer when oxidation occurs is hop aroma.

What is your bottling technique?






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geetee said:

What size are they and how many hops do you reckon they will hold ( pellets that is)?

Click to expand...

They are a decent size and will hold at least 100g of pellets