Rather than rack to secondary and then dry hop, I just added my hop pellets in a small mesh bag to the carboy after a little over two weeks in primary. My question is this: since the pellets are limited in space to just the small mesh bag and will not move around in the carboy all that much, will this method still be effective in imparting sufficient flavor and aroma to the finished beer? Will the flavors of the pellets leech into the rest of the beer if it’s limited to such a small surface area? What are your experiences with this method? Thanks!
The pellets will expand when exposed to the beer, increasing surface area contact. When I used to use this method, I would use something food safe to weigh down the bag, so it doesn’t float on top. For example, clear marbles or stainless steel fittings. With or without weights, the hard part will be getting the bag out of the carboy after it has swelled.
Amount of hops is also key. I recommend using a minimum of 2 oz per five gallons for an APA and more for an IPA.
I used to do this quite often before I kegged. The one piece of advice I’d offer is to make sure you tie the bag with lots of loose space for the hops to swell. The first time I tried it, I tied the knot fairly close to the hops and the bag swelled and was nearly impossible to get back out of the carboy. If you tie it loosely, there will be more surface contact with more of the hops and it will be easier to get back out of the carboy.
:cheers:
Rad
Since you’re dry hopping in the primary you really don’t need a bag at all. There is already lots of trub in there. Actually, I think the only time you would truly need a bag would be if you were going to dry hop in the keg you planned to serve from.
Or if you plan to harvest and reuse the yeast and prefer not to have all that hop matter mixed in.
All good things to know. Now that the deed is done, how long would you recommend keeping the hops in contact with the beer? I was thinking for .75 ounces, I’d leave them in there until I bottle in about six or seven days. Would you recommend adding more hops than this? I’m using pellets of Citra and Mosaic. Thanks!
6-7 days should be plenty of time to get what you’re going to get out of the hops. I’ve even had good luck with 3 days, but that was also with a larger mass of hops.
You’ll find varying opinions of the length of time to use. I dry hop in the keg and just leave them there.
I missed this part of the question in my prior reply. For an APA I would go with a minimum of two ounces. For an IPA I would go for 3 oz.
Citra is a high oil hop. Mosaic is not. I would recommend using a 1:2 ratio to prevent the Citra totally overpowering the Mosaic.
