Dry hopping noob

[yso191]

So this is my 3rd batch.  It is a Belgian Imperial IPA.  I'm just looking for 'best practices' info on dry hopping.  I have the beer in a 6 gallon better bottle and it has reached final gravity.  It is currently sitting on the yeast cake and it is 9 days since I pitched the yeast.

I'm thinking about just popping the top off of the carboy and dumping the loose pellets in (3-4 oz), because getting a bag back out may be a problem, sanitizing the bag, the extra oxygen that would go in with the bag, etc.

Any problems associated with this method?  I will not reuse the yeast.

Steve

[redbeerman]

There is no problem with doing that. Just wait for the pellets to settle out before transferring.  It doesn't take all that long and you should dry hop for 7-14 days anyway.

[yso191]

Thanks Red, I'll go do it now.

Steve

[yso191]

Well I didn't go do it because I remembered another question.  Does the level of alcohol effect dry hopping rates?  Specifically, I'm thinking that because alcohol is a solvent, more alcohol could mean more oil  removed from the hops.  Now this is not a major factor, but I intend to dump four ounces of Citra in because I have a 4 oz. bag.  My understanding is that 4 oz. for a 5 gallon batch is at the upper limit.

But I'm probably over-thinking this.  I do that a lot.

Steve

[mcdanis]

Amounts are really a personal preference.  For me, 4oz per 5 gallons is my max and I LOVE hop flavor/aroma.  My personal opinion is you really start getting diminishing returns over 3oz per 5g.

Sound like a great experiment for you and a good excuse to brew more beer  . 

[thebigbaker]

+1 to just opening up your primary fermenter and dropping them in.  As for amount, I read on here in a previous post that some were saying that they could tell a difference in between 1 and 2 ounces, but not 2 and 3 ounces, so I've yet to drop in more than 2 ounces.

[blatz]

  My understanding is that 4 oz. for a 5 gallon batch is at the upper limit.

1oz/gal is probably the upper limit.  but then you can get into 2 and 3 stage dryhops, as you can see the variability never ends.

I've been experimenting with 0.5/gal lately and two stage (big charge up front for 10 days, then smaller charge in the keg for 3-4 before chilling down and carbing) and have really preferred the results over my historical method of 0.25/gal in the fermenter for a week, then 0.25/gal in the keg till it kicks.

[yso191]

Thanks guys!  I think I'll see if the LHBS has any citra.  I don't want to open my 4 oz. pack because I don't have the ability to vacuum seal it, and I don't think I'll be brewing a batch with citra for a couple of months.

Steve

[morticaixavier]

Thanks guys!  I think I'll see if the LHBS has any citra.  I don't want to open my 4 oz. pack because I don't have the ability to vacuum seal it, and I don't think I'll be brewing a batch with citra for a couple of months.

Steve

you don't have to worry too much. If you roll the foil package up tight, put it in a zip lock and suck/squeeze as much air out as you can and pop it in the freezer it will be fine for a couple months.

[thebigbaker]

Thanks guys!  I think I'll see if the LHBS has any citra.  I don't want to open my 4 oz. pack because I don't have the ability to vacuum seal it, and I don't think I'll be brewing a batch with citra for a couple of months.

Steve

you don't have to worry too much. If you roll the foil package up tight, put it in a zip lock and suck/squeeze as much air out as you can and pop it in the freezer it will be fine for a couple months.

+1 to putting in a zip lock and placing it in a freezer.  I try and get most of my hops by the pound, and storing them this way, I can't tell a difference from the fist hops out of the bag I use to the last hops I use.

[erockrph]

As far as dry hopping goes, add me to the "just chuck them loose in the primary" camp. I'd say that you start to hit diminishing returns at about 0.5 oz/gallon for a dry-hop rate. But I still dry-hop at a rate of about 1 oz/gallon for my IPA's. Having about 18 pounds of hops in the freezer gives you a little bit of a licence to be frivolous, though

If you don't have a vacuum sealer, here's an easy way to juryrig something that will get you close. Put your item to be sealed in a ziploc bag and close the zipper most of the way, but leave about a 1/2 inch opening. Place this inside a second ziploc bag. Put a straw in the outer bag and close it so just the straw is sticking out and the rest is sealed. Suck out as much air as possible with the straw. Once you have as much air out as possible, snap the inner bag closed while maintaining suction. It's not as good as a machine could do, but it's a bit better than just squeezing out the air.