Dry hopping

[orb]

Hey, anyone out there with experience in dry hopping? Back when I kegged, I dry-hopped a cornelius with an ounce of Cascade in cheesecloth....With kegging (force carbonation) you really do not have to worry about contamination..the beer is gone before anything grows. But, any ideas about dry hopping the secondary, aside from hop tea or steeping ?

[wortchillergoal]

I don't know that I quite follow your question. Yet, just add the hops to the secindary like you did your keg. The bag will make it easier to retrive when needed. I hope this helps.

I have done it not putting the hops into a bag. I boil a grain bag and wrap it around my auto shipon at racking time to filter out the hops.

[brewmonkey]

It does not matter when you dry hop or if the beer is consumed fast., The risk for contamination would be exactly the same. Hops are naturally aseptic and they are being added to a product that is already finished fermenting which means there is alcohol present and the pH (hopefully) has dropped to about 4 making a nice acidic environment. All these added together make it difficult for any pathogens to survive in the beer

[orb]

I just don't buy it. You don't need to wash your hands twice...You don't need to sterilize the opening of the carboy when you remove and replace the airlock? Sheeeeit, that is a recipe for getting your beer from 7-11......Let's hear from SERIOUS dry hoppers....

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by orb
I just don't buy it. You don't need to wash your hands twice...You don't need to sterilize the opening of the carboy when you remove and replace the airlock? Sheeeeit, that is a recipe for getting your beer from 7-11......Let's hear from SERIOUS dry hoppers....

I guess five years brewing in the pub and dry hopping on a weekly basis does not qualify me as a serious brewer then.

I would also suggest looking up what Dr. Fix and Ray Daniels have to say about the method of dry hopping. But based on what you have posted you will just tell us that they are not serious brewers either.

[wortchillergoal]

Thank you brewmonkey. I saw his reply early and the post I had in mind was not suitable reading for all ages. I thought it best to wait and see if you responded.

I do sterilize my carboy and airlock if I have to remove it for any reason. I would think that is not a bad idea if adding hops after the air lock has been put in place.

[brewmonkey]

Since he was asking about dry hopping one would hope that he would have an inkling about the rest of the process, such as making sure other equipment used is sani'd first. Looks to me like someone trolling and will keep doing so until the answer they are specifically looking for (even if it is a wrong method) is posted. You would think living in Seattle they would have access to tons of brewing information.

[S.F.B.]

Originally posted by orb
I just don't buy it. You don't need to wash your hands twice...You don't need to sterilize the opening of the carboy when you remove and replace the airlock? Sheeeeit, that is a recipe for getting your beer from 7-11......Let's hear from SERIOUS dry hoppers....

I guess you could go through all the hand washing if you felt like it. Some call this being careful. I consider it an obsessive compulsive disorder.

To answer your question. Put the hops in a cheese cloth. Drop them into your carboy and syphon the beer as normal. Easy process really.

[mmmBeer...]

Not to high jack the thread…but this is one thing I like about this place, everyone is pretty calm and there is little flaming going on, even when someone is out of line.

[ray m]

Originally posted by S.F.B.:
___________________________________
I guess you could go through all the hand washing if you felt like it. Some call this being careful. I consider it an obsessive compulsive disorder.

To answer your question. Put the hops in a cheese cloth. Drop them into your carboy and syphon the beer as normal. Easy process really.
___________________________________
As Pinhead would say......."Aaaaahhhh........spirited!!!" :p

I've dry-hopped 3 times now, I think....I just cut open the hop package, dump the loose pellets in the carboy and racked the beer on top---I certainly did not think it was complicated. And lo & behold!! My beer was actually fine!!!!!

[Stodbrew]

At my pub, I just open the top of the fermenter and dump the hops in. Sometimes as much as ten pounds. Never had a problem. No reason why you can't do the same in a carboy.

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by Stodbrew
At my pub, I just open the top of the fermenter and dump the hops in. Sometimes as much as ten pounds. Never had a problem. No reason why you can't do the same in a carboy.

Hahahahaha.........


Reminds me of the first time I did my IPA dry hop. Got the hops and the bag set, decided to use raw hops as I got a 1/4 bale (13lbs) of cascade for cheap. I figured screw it, I will use it all. I got it into the bag, and the bag into the manway no problem.


Two weeks later I go to rack the beer from secondary to serving and I get about 4 bbl's over and then NOTHING! I am checking lines, reseating the hose on the pump thinking maybe it caught someplace and cavitated the pump. None of it works. After 20-30 minutes of banging and swearing my way around the brewery I decide to pop the manway and see what the hell is going on.

I was not expecting what I saw. A nylon bag, busting at the seam's from all the hops absorbing the better part of a barrel of IPA and sitting directly on top of the bottom out. I was able to use a stainless hook we have to move it off the drain and get 2 more bbl's over and then the real fun began, trying to get that mother out of the tank without busting it open. The bitch would not fit through the manway. I ended up having to cut the bag open and spary them out and then pick them all back up so they would not clog the drains.

Damn I learned a ton that day. :D

[Stodbrew]

LOL!!! That sucks. So much so that's it's almost funny. Ahhh... the things you learn in the brewery. I've never had anything quite that bad happen, thank God. The worst I get with my IPA is a blinded filter about two or three times per run. That's enough to get me swearing and banging around the brewery!

The joys of brewing, sometimes! :D

[orb]

Yeow, I did not intend to step on so many toes....I apologize! I was just wondering about the step by step procedure you guys use....My post does look combative....I'm sorry. It was not meant that way. I'm probably over compulsive. I guess I strive to control all the variables....to a fault.

[mmmBeer...]

Originally posted by orb
Yeow, I did not intend to step on so many toes....I apologize! I was just wondering about the step by step procedure you guys use....My post does look combative....I'm sorry. It was not meant that way. I'm probably over compulsive. I guess I strive to control all the variables....to a fault.

LOL…I think we can forgive you! Just send everyone a couple of beers and we will be mollified. And remember control is an illusion… :p

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by orb
Yeow, I did not intend to step on so many toes....I apologize! I was just wondering about the step by step procedure you guys use....My post does look combative....I'm sorry. It was not meant that way. I'm probably over compulsive. I guess I strive to control all the variables....to a fault.

Well then follow basic sani procedures for anything you are going to be handling. Get a mylon bag from your local HBS and the hops you want to use. Get a spray bottle and some vodka for it. Spray the bag down with vodka and put the hops in it. Pull out your airlock (if it is a carboy) or pop the lid (if it;s a bucket) spray some more vodka around the mouth/opening and drop the hops in. Spray again and then put the lid/airlock back in. Voila!

Save the vodka for the next time you have to do something like this. I actually keep one full of grain alcohol mixed with distilled water (70% grain/ 30% water) instead of the vodka. It is a bit more in $$ but worth it IMHO. You want to make sure you mix it with some distilled (or preboiled deareated water) so that it will have some surfactance capability. This will help get into the nicks.scrathes and "lift up" whatever may be in there for the alcohol to do it's job.

[I'mRocketMan]

I'm going to dry hop my Cassini Celebration Ale. First time dry-hopping... I guess I'll boil a small grain bag then drop the hop plugs in it and put it into the Corny I'll be using for a secondary...

Hope it works!

Thanks for all the GREAT info!!

Cheers! Rocket