Dry Hopping

[RichardM]

The following is from a Malt Miller recipe for Steady Rolling Man. What does it mean in terms of when to add the dry hops and how long to leave them?

Secondary additions and timing:

3 Days:
Amarillo 15g
Mosaic 15g
Ekuanot 15g
El Dorado 15g

7 Days:
Amarillo 25g
Mosaic 25g
Ekuanot 25g
El Dorado 25g

Yeast: US05
Fermentation temperature/steps: 7 Days – 19C, 3 Days – 21c, 5 days – 4C

Comments:

Fermentation:
Primary: 7 Days – 19C,
Secondary: 3 Days – 21c,
Tertiary: 5 days – 4C

 

[JockyBrewer]

I'm not sure either.

To be honest I wouldn't worry about it too much and just dry hop whenever you are best able to dry hop and avoid oxygen.

I made up my own clone of Steady Rolling Man that had a very similar grain bill and the same combination of hops, but unlike that recipe I didn't add any hops until the whirlpool when I added 50g of each hop at 80C for 20 minutes, and then for the dry hop I added 50g of each hop for 3 days at 13C.

I tested it blind against cans of Steady Rolling Man, and it was very close.

 

[carl_saint]

Dry hop the first amounts after 3 days in the fermenter
Dry hop the second amounts after 7 days in the fermenter

Ferment for the first 7 days at 19c, then let it rise to 21c for the next 3 days, then crash cool to 4c for 5 days, then you can rack.

Leave the dry hops in until you rack

 

[hoppyscotty]

Think what the recipe is hinting at is the 3 day dry hop is intended to occur during active fermentation.

The 7 day addition is when fermentation is over.

Ignore the 'days'. Maybe aim for the first dry hop around halfway through fermentation. Ideally you'd dump the yeat/trub and dry hops once fermentation is over before the second dose of dry hops but this might not be possible depending upon your equipment so wouldn't worry about it too much.

You can do the second one anytime after fermentation has finished...I'd suggest leave it until you are looking to package and limit dry hop time to 24 to 36 hrs...so dry hop for 24-36hrs, cold crash then package. Not a rule, just a suggested approach...works fine for me.

 

[RichardM]

Thanks everyone. Not sure when I 'm going to brew it, sometime in the next few weeks. It will be my first hoppy Pale Ale. I've only recently got the kit to allow me to do closed transfers to the keg.

 

[JockyBrewer]

I wouldn't stress it too much - you'll have enough issues figuring out how to get the hops in (and more importantly out) of the beer.

The only reason to split dry hopping into multiple additions is if you're struggling to get extraction from all the hops in one go.

For example, hop bags you can hang in a keg work well for dry hopping as it makes it easy to remove the hops. If you load the bags up too much then the hops in the middle of the bag get very little exposure to the beer, so it can be beneficial to split up the dry hop into multiple smaller additions, and swap the bag for a new one every couple of days.