Dry hopping, sterilisation?

[Jeltz]

I'm about to do some dry hopping; I'm usually scrupulous about sterilisation and although I can sterilise the bag etc what should I do to ensure that the hops themselves are not a source of infection, or do their antiseptic properties already provide sufficient protection?

 

[Mad Dog]

Hops possess a magical property that never produces infection. It's quite the opposite. They fight infection, hence the invention of the IPA. Hops were tossed on top to preserve the beer for the slow boat to India... Just toss your hops in and forget your worries. I don't use a bag. Instead I slip a sterile bag over the outlet end of my drain tube when I rack.

 

[calumscott]

Hops possess a magical property that never produces infection. It's quite the opposite. They fight infection, hence the invention of the IPA. Hops were tossed on top to preserve the beer for the slow boat to India...

Sadly an oft-quoted myth (and one I fell foul of myself!). Yes, hops have an antibacterial action but this isn't the reason why the extra hoppiness was added to IPAs, it was simply at the request of the East India Company, the reasons why have been lost in the mists of time.

Just toss your hops in and forget your worries. I don't use a bag. Instead I slip a sterile bag over the outlet end of my drain tube when I rack.

The best thing is to chuck them in once the main fermentation is done, that way you have the alcohol, the antibacterial agents from the hops in the boil and those in the dry hops all working to limit the risk. :thumb:

You could also stick that sterilised bag on the inlet of a siphon tube if you don't have a tap on your FV - it'll trap hops and they'll also filter out particles in the beer. :

 

[Mad Dog]

LOL, I'm sticking with the "myth".

 

[jonewer]

Yes, hops have an antibacterial action but this isn't the reason why the extra hoppiness was added to IPAs, it was simply at the request of the East India Company, the reasons why have been lost in the mists of time.

Not exactly..... Read here

http://zythophile.wordpress.com/2010/03 ... e-summary/

 

[Jeltz]

Well to re-seal the can-o-worms for a moment do I take it that this bit of the statement

Hops possess a magical property that never produces infection. It's quite the opposite. They fight infection,

Is not myth?

 

[bunkerbrewer]

Is not myth :) Iso-alpha acids do have antibacterial properties. Quoted in lots of reputable places, including PubMed which is good enough for me (and it's got "pub" in the name).

 

[jonewer]

Well to re-seal the can-o-worms for a moment do I take it that this bit of the statement

Hops possess a magical property that never produces infection. It's quite the opposite. They fight infection,

Is not myth?

Hops are indeed a preservative. The brewing lore is that infections as a result of dry hopping simply dont happen.

I do think that once fermented out though, your beer is largely protected anyway, provided you keep the air out.

 

[Jeltz]

Happy days!

The beer has been fermenting since last Wednesday and is nearly done, I shall rack it into a 2nd vessel tomorrow or Wednesday and give it a week of dry hopping before bulk priming and bottling.

:thumb:

 

[graysalchemy]

I simply put them in a sterilised hop sock and then quickly dump them in a cup of boiling water then throw the whole lot (but not the cup) into the Fv. Hops are sterilised so pose no risk to infection.

 

[kev]

How do you all sterilise your hop socks?

K

 

[bunkerbrewer]

How do you all sterilise your hop socks

I boil a muslin bag in water, along with a shot glass for a few minutes. Hops + shot glass (for weight) into bag, dump into FV.

 

[Sean_Mc]

I wash mine under the tap and put it in the dishwwasher

 

[kev]

Cool.

K

 

[Good Ed]

I'm going to start using a mesh straining bag that they use for wine making because I find the muslin bags too small, if you are using a lot of hops they get too compressed and you don't get the full flavour.