Dry hopping with pellets?

[Otto Von Blotto]

Indeed, it won't add any iso-alpha acids as the hops are not boiled. But it may contribute to perceived bitterness for some. I've never brewed the same batch twice and done one with dry hops and one without to see if the dry hopped one does seem a little more bitter. Would be an interesting experiment though.

[Corksniffer]

While we're on the topic, I bought some Golding hops in a 50g bag at the LHBS today with intention of doing a short boil into a few kit brews. Also bought some crushed coriander to try in a wheat beer but the thing is, I'm a bit scared to try any of either because a tiny taste test with brew to kinda see what it might yield tasted bloody horrible. .! To be honest. I've always been a bit skeptical of the actual fact there is any peel and/or coriander in wit beer and wouldn't be surprised if it's all a big wives tale, so I dunno, I guess it's evolution of a new brewer..

[Beerlust]

Hi Brotherboy.

 

The beers you'll rave about & enjoy most will not be the ones you knew would turn out a certain way, they'll be the ones you threw caution to the wind with, been daring with, & used unknown ingredients & methods with. That has been my experience since I began home brewing & to me, still is.

 

Not all of these daring ventures will yield outstanding results, but with a little research beforehand you can certainly avoid many of the pitfalls that could lead to a "tipper" beer.

 

The fear of failure is an obstacle on the road to success.

 

He who dares,...WINS!

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

[botanical]

You will never never know if you don't have a go

 

Cheers Greenie

[Morrie]

Lusty:

Dry hopping won't add bitterness, but in some cases can add a grassy tone to the beer usually as a result of prolonged exposure time, that is often confused with tasting bitterness as it is a harsh & noticeable tone in beer.

 

You can dry hop a beer with as much hops as you like & it could end up tasting grassy, but it won't have any true bitterness in a traditional sense.

 

How much and how long is considered to take a dry hop to the threshold of grassiness? ...I guess it depends on the hop type also. I've read not to use saaz in dry hop for that particular reason. I have a hop chart and am not using the ones that are listed to throw grassy tones.

 

I am currently doing a dry hop for 5 days followed by a 7 day crash chill so total time for dry hop is around 12 days. I am also dry hopping up to 90 grams and am intending to experiment in going to 120 grams. I'm using hops such as ; cascade, EKG, amarillo and galaxy. I do love a fruity aromatic beer.

[Beerlust]

G'day Morrie.

How much and how long is considered to take a dry hop to the threshold of grassiness? ...I guess it depends on the hop type also.

I prefer to look at it more in terms of how long does it take for the essential oils contained in the hops to have completely leached into the beer. Any time past that point that you leave the hop matter in contact with the beer' date=' is time you can be increasing the likelihood of introducing grassy tones into the beer.

 

I am currently doing a dry hop for 5 days followed by a 7 day crash chill so total time for dry hop is around 12 days. I am also dry hopping up to 90 grams and am intending to experiment in going to 120 grams. I'm using hops such as ; cascade, EKG, amarillo and galaxy. I do love a fruity aromatic beer.

I would consider 12 days far too long for dry hopping. Given the propensity for grassy tones to appear with longer exposure times, 12 days is certainly inviting this to happen. Certain hop varieties may produce more forward signs, but given the essential oils from the hops can be fully leached into the beer in as little as 2 full days, it does seem unnecessary to tempt fate & leave them exposed to the beer for another 9-10 days.

 

A couple of years back I posted a link to a Beersmith podcast interviewing James Altwies, the president of Gorst Valley Hops. James is an expert in hop chemistry, & I learned an enormous amount about hop usage from watching & listening to this podcast.

 

Hop Chemistry thread.

 

I hope that helps.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

[Otto Von Blotto]

The thing is though, if you only leave them in there two days, that'd be during the CCing phase (if one is done of course), would that affect how well the dry hop actually works? If they're thrown in commando at any point then that makes it impossible to remove them until the beer is bottled or kegged. Even those tea strainer things sink to the bottom.

 

Any dry hops I do usually stay in there about 10 days and I've had no issues with grassy flavours yet, although I suspect the varieties I'm using for it aren't as susceptible to doing that.

[Beerlust]

The thing is though' date=' if you only leave them in there two days, that'd be during the CCing phase (if one is done of course),[/quote']

Not necessarily. Mine are often removed before I cold crash, & if they aren't they spend no time past 7 full days in contact with the beer from the time they were added to the time I keg it/bottle it.

...would that affect how well the dry hop actually works?

I don't have an exact answer to that one. You've got breweries such as BrewDog claiming they dry hop @ 14°C' date=' whereas I've always dry hopped at ambient temps here in my house anywhere between 18-30°C depending what time of year it is. If there is a temperature that stifles the oils leaching, I can only expect it would be very cold to freezing. [img']unsure[/img]

 

If they're thrown in commando at any point then that makes it impossible to remove them until the beer is bottled or kegged.

Hence why I don't commando hop.

 

Any dry hops I do usually stay in there about 10 days and I've had no issues with grassy flavours yet' date=' although I suspect the varieties I'm using for it aren't as susceptible to doing that. [/quote']

+1

 

I suspect that too.

 

I suspect grassy tones aren't always a 'given' due solely to exposure times, it's likely more hop specific. That said, I'd rather err on the side of caution regarding exposure times. I did an experiment not too long back with dry hopping Saaz that is meant to be a No-No. I pulled them out of the FV after 3 days & the beer showed no sign of any grassy tones whatsoever. I believe if I had left them in there for another 4-5 days though, the end result may have been a lot different.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

[Morrie]

Lusty and Kelsey...thanks for your ideas regarding dry hopping. I've been following the brewdog recommendation somewhat.....Except for the first time I did the 5 day thing at 14C commando style and then left for a further 7 days cold crash.

 

The second time I did 5 days at 14C in a hop sock and then removed. ...The hop sock was still floating after 5 days so it was an easy extraction. I think I'll keep using this method for the time being.