Hop bag floating on top.

[mancer62]

Last night i dry hopped 100g of hops into a muslin bag and weighed it down with marbles. Today o e day later the bag is floating at the top of beer. Is this normal

 

[foxy]

Last night i dry hopped 100g of hops into a muslin bag and weighed it down with marbles. Today o e day later the bag is floating at the top of beer. Is this normal

Only if you didn't use enough marbles.

 

[Caramel Ox]

In the fermenter I’ve found that nothing works bagged. Even when fully weighed down there is no extraction.

 

[MashBag]

Trapped carbon dioxide, from fermentation makes it float.

 

[mancer62]

So this is pretty normal then.
I think there must have been enough marbles as it sank to the bottom when I.put it in.
I'm planning to leave it in 7 days till Monday hopefully by that time it will be fine

 

[MashBag]

Perhaps ought to give it a poke to keep in the beer most days.

I have used a rice ball.

 

[dtashmore]

I use strong neodymium magnets to hold position mainly as I pressure ferment this may help for you.

 

[An Ankoù]

Last night i dry hopped 100g of hops into a muslin bag and weighed it down with marbles. Today o e day later the bag is floating at the top of beer. Is this normal

Use an oversize bag and give it a bit of a mashing every now and then.
Even if its at the bottom of the fv, you won't get the flavour unless you mash it out, especially if the hops are all stuck together. Lift lid just enough and keep the CO2 blanket in there. Mashing isn't the same as splashing. I don't use weights at all. The bag floats, but as a soggy mass, not high in the water.

 

[Baldylocks Brewery]

Hi All I bought one of these last week as my previous dry hop efforts had been poor with bags opening/ floating etc or tea diffuser balls filling solid with the expanded pellets.
So I thought a bigger stainless container would cure this.
So added 100g pellets on Tuesday which filled about a quarter to a third of the cylinder and it sunk nicely but come the evening the end of the cylinder was visible on the surface of the beer.
After sanitation I gave the mesh sides a little squeeze in the beer and it wasn’t solid so repeated this to try to diffuse the hop magic into the beer. Then it sank to the bottom.
This morning its end is visible again on the surface.
So if anyone uses one,

what’s the hop pellet limit so it stays sunk and you get half decent utilisation?

 

[MashBag]

I use strong neodymium magnets to hold position mainly as I pressure ferment this may help for you.

That wouldn't work with some stainless vessels.

I have some stainless fittings I use as weights when oaking wine.

 

[Buffers brewery]

I used to use bags for dry hopping with leaf hops but have changed to pellets and add them loose. Cold crash sees everything drop to the bottom before transfer.

 

[Baldylocks Brewery]

Ah ok BB, what temp and duration are we talking?

 

[Buffers brewery]

I brew 5 gallon batches and after two weeks fermentation I turn the fridge down to 3C (day 0) and transfer on day 4

 

[Rodcx500z]

I also just chuck em in if i dry hop for 3 or 4 days then cold crash at 3c for 3 days then keg the beer

 

[Pavros]

If you aren't using a fermentation fridge but want to cold crash - I just leave my fv on the concrete garage floor overnight. Seems to do the job, as everything drops to the bottom

 

[dlowe1992]

If you aren't using a fermentation fridge but want to cold crash - I just leave my fv on the concrete garage floor overnight. Seems to do the job, as everything drops to the bottom

What kind of FV do you use Pavros?

I'm about to dry hop an American Amber / Red. I want to throw the pellets in loose to get maximum aroma, but I'm using simple plastic buckets and fermenting in a cupboard that holds a steady 20deg. I've always been fearful of cold crashing due to the thing contracting and pulling air through their airlock.

I could do a cold crash of sorts in the shed to drop everything out of suspension, but a bit worried about oxygen getting through the airlock due to it contracting.
Anyone have similar fears or am I overthinking?

 

[Buffers brewery]

I overthink and over-complicate everything @dlowe1992 . I collect fermentation gas in a balloon that gets reconnected during cold crashing to compensate for any gas absorption. Might be unnecessary but

 

[Baldylocks Brewery]

I brew 5 gallon batches and after two weeks fermentation I turn the fridge down to 3C (day 0) and transfer on day 4

Ok great I’ll try that

 

[dlowe1992]

I overthink and over-complicate everything @dlowe1992 . I collect fermentation gas in a balloon that gets reconnected during cold crashing to compensate for any gas absorption. Might be unnecessary but

Haha, I know the feeling. I've seen the balloons to capture fermentation gas. Are they relatively easy to use? Might try next time.
I don't dry hop as a rule, but want to on this one. I was fairly blase when I planned it, but now its coming to it, I'm back into over-thinking territory! Think I'll toss them in and see how well they settle out. If I have to do some sort of cold crash then so be it...

 

[Buffers brewery]

As a physicist I like to express stuff as “laws”. My Dry Hop law is “Oxidation paranoia is directly proportional to the quantity (weight) of dry hops”. In other words I get really particular when dry hopping an NEIPA with 250 grams of hops for a 5 gallon batch. 50 grams of hops