Dry hopping

[Beer Please]

Just to clarify, If my recipe says “dry hop 5 days” am I right in thinking that you bung the hops into the FV on the 5th day its been in there?
tia

 

[The Baron]

Not exactly it means to add the hops and keep them in for 5 days.
You can put the dry hop in at anytime but the most popular time is between 3 days of fermentation and @ 10days.
Different brewers do it at different times me personally I do it after the first flush of vigorous fermentation dies down usually day 3 or 4 but read up on the forum re dry hopping and then you can make your own mind up so to put it into plain english I add the hops after day 3 or 4 and keep them in for a further 5 days but that is just me

 

[Beer Please]

Not exactly it means to add the hops and keep them in for 5 days.
You can put the dry hop in at anytime but the most popular time is between 3 days of fermentation and @ 10days.
Different brewers do it at different times me personally I do it after the first flush of vigorous fermentation dies down usually day 3 or 4 but read up on the forum re dry hopping and then you can make your own mind up so to put it into plain english I add the hops after day 3 or 4 and keep them in for a further 5 days but that is just me

Thanks. Makes perfect sense

 

[SilverShadow]

Personally I'd be a bit wary of trying to remove hops from the FV after X days ‍

I'm no expert on any means, but it does sound like potential for oxidisation/contamination?

I've dry hopped after day 4 (in a muslin bag) and left them in there till kegging (approx another 6 days in fv). Perhaps a little to long, but im reticent to open the lid once the krausen has gone

I'm sure many do it differently & better to me though

Baron - I'd be interested to know how you manage to remove the hops please bud. Do you purge with CO2 afterwards or just open the lid & not worry about 20 secs exposure to air?

 

[The Baron]

Hi SS
I just take them out I do not purge with CO2 at all and never have. I am not one of those brewers who are anal over it. There is a blanket of CO2 over the beer from fermentation which is still ongoing and or releasing it during the dry hop.
Commercial brewers have done it this way for years and I have never had a problem in all my many years but if you feel you need to be ultra cautious do so its your beer and your choice but do not believe all the scare mongering that this will happen and that as long as you have a good sanitation method and take reasonable care when opening and handling the dry hop you should be ok.
There is a slight more risk with my method but it is not the nightmare painted by some and to repeat just use care, sanitation and common sense.
I do not buy into some of the newer ideas as you can probably tell, some are a revelation but some are just plain brainwashing by the manufacturers to sell more goods (which is their job to do) and a lot of this is hyped up by the so called influencers who generally get goods given and say how good and essential it is to have.
Just my opinion

 

[Pavalijo]

I don’t dry hop until I think fermentation is finished. I’ve put them in before when I think it’s going to be finished within a few days only for fermentation to continue very slowly for another 2 weeks!
I once used a bag so I could remove them, but was amazed at how much the pellets swelled up, so even with a large bag I doubt I got anything like full extraction.
So now I just chuck em in, meaning i can’t just take them out again and don’t want them in there more than around 4 days (based upon an average from all the different advice I’ve read on the subject). But I’m no expert, it’s just following what I’ve read!

 

[SilverShadow]

Good advice guys

Next brew I might leave till day 6 to dry hop & see how pleasant/face-churning that turns out

I use a bag when dry hopping, but have also seem how much they swell, so i put a couple in with less hops in each.

My prefered beer is ipa/apa, which needs a good chunk of dry hopping. I was always torn between adding while a little krausen CO2 protection was still there, while not doing too early that the hops produce an undesirable aftertaste

 

[The Baron]

My method is dry hop usually on day 4 as the first flush of fermentation is dying down. I use a bag (one of those veggie bags from Aldi for 25p) and have a piece of fishing line tied to it which I hang out of the FV. I will then remove after say 4 days on average but as long as you want. I will then remove and let the beer settle and cold crash to clear then to keg.
It works for me just make sure the lid is off or cracked for as little time as possible and sanitise the bag etc.
Ps dont forget some large SS spoons to weigh the hops down.
I also try not to do the large dry hops anymore and do most of my large hopping in whirlpooling

 

[clib]

I usually put dry hops in a day or two before I bottle the beer. I believe that this is long enough, you don't get more extraction from longer, I reckon.

There's an argument for putting hops in before active fermentation stops as this allows the yeast to use up any oxygen introduced by the hops. But I believe secondary carbonation in the bottle deals with this. If you are force carbing kegs it may be an issue. I think keggers have more risk of oxidation.

Some brewers do both - double dry hop. One batch of dry hops during active fermentation, one batch after.

 

[SilverShadow]

Thanks Baron

I've got a muslin bag that I was going to fill with my dry hops & metal spoon, held to the FV lid by a small powerful magnet, till day 6

I've heard keeping them inside the fv can make them go a bit fusty, but sounds like no method is perfect

Either way, always good to know other folks brew habits

 

[SilverShadow]

Hi Clib - yeah I'll be force carbing in the keg & letting it condition for 2 weeks, before I let my grubby mitts get hold of it

 

[The Baron]

Listen to all sides and you will find a method or mix of methods that will work for you