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Dry Hopping and Cold Crashing


Youngie

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Hi everyone.

What are people’s experiences with dry hopping around cold crashing time??

I am dry hopping for 4 days then cold crashing and it got me thinking.

 

Does cold crashing after dry hopping have any impact on the final aroma compared to dry hopping without doing a cold crash??

Should you finish dry hopping before cold crashing??

Can you dry hop the same time you cold crash??

 

Well no doubt you can do the above but I wonder what the differences would be between them all.

 

It makes me want to do my own experiments!!

 

Youngie

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Does cold crashing after dry hopping have any impact on the final aroma compared to dry hopping without doing a cold crash??

 

Have not noticed. Seems good.

 

Should you finish dry hopping before cold crashing??

 

It is a matter of choice. If you dry hop commando style' date=' you can't take them out and this can result in the hops being in there a long time. Some say this can lead to grassy flavors. If you use something to contain the hops in, you can pull them out. If you add them before the cold crash, the yeast have time to act on them and are said to "bio convert" some hop compounds into others, so you might get other (possibly juicier) flavours.

 

Can you dry hop the same time you cold crash??

 

Yes, this is my preferred method at present. I would say the aroma is a little less but the flavour is smoother / less resin-y.

 

Some folks split their dry hop additions up and add them at different times, for different effects.

 

Cheers,

 

Christina

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  • 3 months later...

If you normally dry hop for four days but it is a bit inconvenient to bottle after the fourth day, should you take the hops out and then bottle when you can?

 

I've got Cascade and Centennial and I've been told they don't develop particularly grassy flavours after a bit longer but what about other varieties?

 

If they have done their job after 4 days, perhaps it is best just to fish them out? I've got them in a xxl tea strainer.

 

I understand that leaving the wort for a week or so after fermentation has ceased isn't a particularly big issue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I normally dry hop using either chux cloths or heat sealable tea bags for 3-4 days at ambient conditions prior to cold crashing/cold conditioning.

 

I do this because the hop bags stay near the surface of the wort under ambient conditions. When I remove them I squeeze the bags of their liquid back into the brew that release the very hop flavoured/aroma'd wort that has been absorbed by the dry hops. The volume of highly hop flavour infused liquid I squeeze back into my brews is significant & worth doing (IMHO).

 

If I have the hop bags still in the wort & cold crash, they sink to the bottom of the beer & come in contact with the trub at the base of the fermenter. Leaving them there during transfer only reduces the amount of dry hop derived flavour & aroma that will transfer into my bottled or kegged beer. So I feel that is self-defeating the purpose of dry hopping the beer in the first place.

 

Retrieving those hop bags from the bottom of the fermenter & squeezing them pre-bottling/kegging only increases the chances of infection & stirring up the trub that will end up in your beer via transfer.

 

I dry hop for 3-4 days, squeeze the liquid back into the beer, reseal, & cold crash/cold condition. I love hoppy beers & I feel I get the best bang for my buck by following this method.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

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I normally dry hop using either chux cloths or heat sealable tea bags for 3-4 days at ambient conditions prior to cold crashing/cold conditioning.

 

I do this because the hop bags stay near the surface of the wort under ambient conditions. When I remove them I squeeze the bags of their liquid back into the brew that release the very hop flavoured/aroma'd wort that has been absorbed by the dry hops. The volume of highly hop flavour infused liquid I squeeze back into my brews is significant & worth doing (IMHO).

 

If I have the hop bags still in the wort & cold crash' date=' they sink to the bottom of the beer & come in contact with the trub at the base of the fermenter. Leaving them there during transfer only reduces the amount of dry hop derived flavour & aroma that will transfer into my bottled or kegged beer. So I feel that is self-defeating the purpose of dry hopping the beer in the first place.

 

Retrieving those hop bags from the bottom of the fermenter & squeezing them pre-bottling/kegging only increases the chances of infection & stirring up the trub that will end up in your beer via transfer.

 

I dry hop for 3-4 days, squeeze the liquid back into the beer, reseal, & cold crash/cold condition. I love hoppy beers & I feel I get the best bang for my buck by following this method.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.[/quote']

 

How’s your hop aroma Lusty??

I dry hop for about 6 days, which includes 3 days of cold crashing and I struggle to get that big hop aroma in my beers despite dry hopping with 150 grams in a 21 litre batch.

 

Youngie

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My cold crash and dry hop are very scheduled based as I fifo to work.

I no chill for this reason among other reasons.

I pitch the lastest brew on last day of RnR then go away for 8 days, come back, that first night check a gravity sample if it’s done then cold crash and dry hop at the same time.

Brew two days later, bottle and pitch again after 6 days RnR.

 

Brew to bottle in 14 days

 

Cheers

Captain

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How’s your hop aroma Lusty??

I think it's pretty good' date=' but I'm ultimately biased. [img']biggrin[/img]

I dry hop for about 6 days' date=' which includes 3 days of cold crashing and I struggle to get that big hop aroma in my beers despite dry hopping with 150 grams in a 21 litre batch.[/quote']

Do you contain your dry hops, or commando?

 

What varieties of hops have you been using?

 

How old are the hops you are using? (i.e. are they fresh?)

 

You don't post many recipes so it's hard to know what you've been using & your methods of use.

 

Hop-wise, how did your Simcoe/Cascade beer turn out? How did your up-scaled IPA turnout? unsure

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

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I always put my hops in a hop sock/grain bag.

The hops I use are generally simcoe, citra, cascade, galaxy, amarillo, centennial.

My home brew guy is pretty good and he says they are fresh.

My upscaled IPA tastes great but has little aroma even though I used 150 grams of hops.

 

I used 80% pale, 15% munich and 5% caramunich 1.

Batch size - 24L

OG - 1.059

FG - 1.011

ABV - 6.4%

IBU - 54

EBC - 14

 

Mashed at 67 degrees for 60 minutes

Mash out at 75 degrees for 10 minutes

 

10 grams each of amarillo, centennial and cascade at 60 minutes

20 grams of each at 15

20 grams of each at 5

After boil chill to 80 degrees and then add another 25 of each

 

Whirlpool and leave for 15 minutes

 

Hydrated US-05 added and fermented at 18 degrees in a temperature controlled fridge for about 7 days.

Added 50 grams of each hop and let temp rise to about 21 degrees over 3 days then cold crash to 0 degrees for about 3 days then keg.

 

Youngie

 

 

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Hi Youngie.

 

Thanks for the added info.

I always put my hops in a hop sock/grain bag.

These hops are obviously in one big clump. Do they have ample room to separate in this grain bag/hop sock? If they are clumping' date=' when you've removed the hop sock with this volume of hops in it, have you ever broken the clump apart to see if the centre has even moistened? I've heard of situations where the centre of clumpy dry hop balls are still dry in the middle. [img']pinched[/img]

 

Do you squeeze this grain bag/hop sock? The liquid (beer) contained in those hops is highly flavoursome & highly aromatic. If you aren't already, squeeze, & then squeeze some more before you bin the dry hops. It should run green! biggrin

 

Also consider separating your large dry hop quantities into smaller separated groups/bags.

The hops I use are generally simcoe' date=' citra, cascade, galaxy, amarillo, centennial.[/quote']

Nothing wrong with that lot. smile

My upscaled IPA tastes great but has little aroma even though I used 150 grams of hops.

Some may differ on my opinion about this' date=' but for an IPA I'd look to create 2/3 to 3/4 of your IBU count from the 60min+/FWH addition. Hops such as Bravo & Warrior work very well for this due to their high alpha level & complimentary flavours etc. This allows you to use your more aromatic hops in higher quantities toward the end of the boil around flameout/whirpool/dry hopping where they contribute to aroma more so.

10 grams each of amarillo, centennial and cascade at 60 minutes

20 grams of each at 15

20 grams of each at 5

After boil chill to 80 degrees and then add another 25 of each

 

Whirlpool and leave for 15 minutes

As mentioned earlier, try simplifying your hop boil bill for the IPA. 2/3 to 3/4 of your IBU from the FWH/60min+ addition, a token amount of hops at say 15-20mins to hit your IBU target, then hammer your flameout, whirlpool, finally dry hop additions to maximise the aroma capabilities of the beer. Make sure there is some good separation with your dry hops & squeeze, squeeze, squeeze (sounds like a Richard Simmons workout! lol) before binning the dry hops.

 

That hop schedule will provide you with better, more noticeable malt flavour in your beer with improved aromatic qualities (IMHO).

 

I hope that helps.

 

Lusty.

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Thanks for your help Lusty.

My hop sock is about the length of a footy sock and I tie knots right at each each so they have plenty of room to move. When I remove it after I rack the beer in my keg all the hop matter is wet. I have never squeezed the bag but I’ll do it on my current batch even though it is only a 50 gram dry hop.

I’ll look at making those changes for my next IPA and seperate my dry hops to smaller bags.

Thanks again,

 

Youngie

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...I have never squeezed the bag but I’ll do it on my current batch even though it is only a 50 gram dry hop.

You'll be amazed at how much liquid the dry hops can hold' date=' especially once you get up in the weights.

 

An easy way to test the validity of what I'm saying about the value of squeezing the hops, is to squeeze the beer contained in them into a separate sanitized cup or bowl, & take a good whiff. Then tell me you don't think it will add anything towards improving aroma if you tip that back into the fermenter. [img']wink[/img]

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ever since I've done cube no chill I felt dry hopping wasn't necessary, my brews have plenty of flavour and aroma with using mostly 60 gms total, works for me !

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  • 3 months later...

I've just tried dry hopping commando on my latest batch and after being set at 0 degrees for 3 days now, a lot of the hop matter is still seen floating on top. How long should it take to completely drop to the bottom? (Or does it never all disappear?) I don't want floaties in my bottles ?

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5 hours ago, karlos_1984 said:

I've just tried dry hopping commando on my latest batch and after being set at 0 degrees for 3 days now, a lot of the hop matter is still seen floating on top. How long should it take to completely drop to the bottom? (Or does it never all disappear?) I don't want floaties in my bottles ?

Hey Karlos

i always dry hop commando style. I cold crash for a minimum of 3 days,  but this is after 4-5 days of Dry Hopping at or just above ferment temperature. The hops have settled to the bottom when I keg on day 7 or 8. I have never had a regular issue with hop matter in my kegs in as far as blocking a poppet or ending up in the glass. I think I've had one heavily hopped batch that had some hop matter in the first pour and at the end when the keg blew. Normally with a keg, and dare I say a bottle, any hop matter will settle at the bottom with the yeast sediment.The main issue is blocking the bottling wand which would be a PITA.

Cheers & Beers

Scottie

Valley Brew

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PS I have never gotten the Grassy flavours from Dry hopping for 8 days, even 10 days. I have however benefited from the Juicy flavours that Christina points two in post #2. Especially with Mosaic in my Accidental Mosaic Ale and with Amarillo in my current Golden Ale. Both Dry hopped at 22 & 24 degrees, and both in my top 3 brews ever. 

Cheers Again

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