Lamington stout

[Back Brewing]

1 hour ago, iBooz2 said:

I always weigh my hop sock down, so it is suspended in the beer about halfway between the surface and the bottom, that's if it's not a commando style dry hop where the beer is kegged very quickly after said commando hop (2 -3 days max). 

I do this for a number of reasons.

1. I want the dry hops to add flavour and aroma to my beer not the CO2 / air mix above the surface.  Sure, if it floats on the surface then your FV will smell nice, but what a waste of time and hops that is.  Get it into the beer.
2. I can give the string a little jiggle at any time over the next couple of days (before it is removed) to maximise beer contact with the submerged hops.  Whereas if some of the hops are not below the surface as in yours are floating then you are missing out on efficiencies.
3. If your hop sock is below the surface, less contact with the C02 / air mix and surface scum therefore more unlikely for bugs to grow on the sock.
4. I can use less dry hop additions to achieve the desired effect.

I remove the hop sock after 2 - 3 days, drain the liquid via a sanitised coffee plunger and jobs is done.  Leave them in too long and your beer will smell like a freshly mowed lawn.

That's what I was trying to explain @iBooz2 that if you didn't weigh your hop sock down it floated up near the surface and that it doesn't sink to the bottom

[Back Brewing]

2 hours ago, iBooz2 said:

I always weigh my hop sock down, so it is suspended in the beer about halfway between the surface and the bottom, that's if it's not a commando style dry hop where the beer is kegged very quickly after said commando hop (2 -3 days max). 

I do this for a number of reasons.

1. I want the dry hops to add flavour and aroma to my beer not the CO2 / air mix above the surface.  Sure, if it floats on the surface then your FV will smell nice, but what a waste of time and hops that is.  Get it into the beer.
2. I can give the string a little jiggle at any time over the next couple of days (before it is removed) to maximise beer contact with the submerged hops.  Whereas if some of the hops are not below the surface as in yours are floating then you are missing out on efficiencies.
3. If your hop sock is below the surface, less contact with the C02 / air mix and surface scum therefore more unlikely for bugs to grow on the sock.
4. I can use less dry hop additions to achieve the desired effect.

I remove the hop sock after 2 - 3 days, drain the liquid via a sanitised coffee plunger and jobs is done.  Leave them in too long and your beer will smell like a freshly mowed lawn.

What do you use for weights and how much?

[Pale Man]

8 hours ago, Back Brewing said:

That's what I was trying to explain @iBooz2 that if you didn't weigh your hop sock down it floated up near the surface and that it doesn't sink to the bottom

Mine sink to the bottom everytime without weight 

[RDT2]

1 hour ago, Pale Man said:

Mine sink to the bottom everytime without weight 

Do you cold crash before you dry hop?

[Pale Man]

1 hour ago, RDT2 said:

Do you cold crash before you dry hop?

Nope. Always cold crash after dry hop. Hops are usually swelled up and mushy.

I'm guessing it sinks with everything else on the cold crash.

[Shamus O'Sean]

3 hours ago, Pale Man said:

Nope. Always cold crash after dry hop. Hops are usually swelled up and mushy.

I'm guessing it sinks with everything else on the cold crash.

Not that I do it often, but when I commando dry hop, the hops sink to the bottom during the cold crash.

When I dry hop, I mostly use boiled Chux cloths.  When I put the hops in initially, the Chux bag usually sinks.  But when I come back the next day, the bag has risen to the surface.  Maybe it is because the bag gets CO2 in it.  Perhaps the yeast interacting with the hops creates a small amount of CO2 in the bag.  Then the surface tension acting on the holes in the bag is stronger than the pressure inside the bag.  Therefore the bag floats.  If you are using a bag/sock with marginally bigger holes, the trapped CO2 escapes and allows the bag to stay submerged.  I dunno really, just spit-balling.

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 hour ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Not that I do it often, but when I commando dry hop, the hops sink to the bottom during the cold crash.

When I dry hop, I mostly use boiled Chux cloths.  When I put the hops in initially, the Chux bag usually sinks.  But when I come back the next day, the bag has risen to the surface.  Maybe it is because the bag gets CO2 in it.  Perhaps the yeast interacting with the hops creates a small amount of CO2 in the bag.  Then the surface tension acting on the holes in the bag is stronger than the pressure inside the bag.  Therefore the bag floats.  If you are using a bag/sock with marginally bigger holes, the trapped CO2 escapes and allows the bag to stay submerged.  I dunno really, just spit-balling.

I reckon you still get value from the hop sock regardless of wherever it is, let's face it, it's trapped in there anyway & there is also the aroma that lingers.