Third brew dry hop, to rack or not rack secondary?

[Canuck137]

I am on my third brew, first one was borderline awful, second one was pretty decent... getting there. Anyway, I have an IPA kit in the primary right now.

I just used a kit, but I used the dry malt extract, some "expensive" yeast, and 1/2 ounce centennial hops, and 1/2 ounce citra hopps in the boil. I wanted to dry hop the other 1/2 ounce of each. I was going to do this in the secondary , and now I see all these "controversial" opinions about secondary transferring at all haha.

Anyway, since I am dry hopping I should probably transfer to secondary right?

 

[donk5]

Nope.

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

Yes and no.

Yes, if you are very confident with your sanitization and racking skills. And you need the vessel the beer currently is in because you are brewing again and need it clean and ready for the next batch.

No, if you aren't confident with you sanitization and racking skills or you don't really need the vessel for another up coming brew.

I transfer to secondary because I am pretty confident with my sanitization and racking skills so I don't oxidize the heck out of the beer. I've never had issues with either of those and the way I brew I usually need the vessel a beer is in for the next batch of beer so I transfer to secondary to dry hop.

The 'controversy' of secondary basically boils down to risk:reward of moving a beer. The reward in most cases does not always outweigh the risk of oxidation and infection. I only transfer to secondary to open space in my primary fermentation vessel, literally no other reason so I don't make any claims to benefits of a secondary fermentation. If I don't have any brew days planned for like another 4 weeks or something I would just dry hop in primary.

 

[NedStackey]

People do it both ways with success. Sometimes I'll dry hop in the primary, sometimes I'll do it in the secondary.

If you transfer you could increase risk of aeration, however in the 4 years I've been brewing I've never had any issues.

So, it's not necessary to dry hop in a secondary. I use the secondary more to help with clarity of the beer itself.

 

[twistr25]

I agree with Arkot, main reason to move IMO, is if you need it for something else, otherwise, not really worth the effort

 

[cannman]

Get your basic brewing techniques down, sanitation locked in, and then add racking to secondary as an additional skill.

And after a while, you can work on points for style.
Like the club tie, and the firm handshake,
A certain look in the eye and an easy smile.

Pink Floyd - "DOGS", on Animals -1977

 

[Wolfbayte]

People do it both ways with success.

Hey now! Seriously, don't bother. Although it can be and is done safely all the time, it's not necessary and may not be worth the risk IMO.

If you ask 5 homebrewers, you will get 6 opinions. There is no right answer most of the time. My motto: less is more. YMMV

RDWHAHB

 

[Ski12568]

I just threw some dry hops into primary yesterday for the first time and I am a little nervous. Only because I have transferred all my batches before.

I plan on cold crashing before I transfer to the keg to clear it up a bit.

 

[NedStackey]

Hey now! Seriously, don't bother. Although it can be and is done safely all the time, it's not necessary and may not be worth the risk IMO.

If you ask 5 homebrewers, you will get 6 opinions. There is no right answer most of the time. My motto: less is more. YMMV

RDWHAHB

I didn't think I stated that one way was better. Like you said, it's an opinion. People can do it anyway they want, and both can be successful.

 

[Helloworld]

My latest batch is carbonated and ready. It was an IPA w/ dry hops in primary and it tastes fine. For me it is one less step in the process. It cleared up nicely with some gelatin.

 

[bragona71]

The old man at LHBS told me after fermentation is done you want to age beer with as little head room as possible(air). So I have always dry hopped in secondary carboy(smaller than fermenter), now I just rack to keg hang hops in a bag from the input tube, purge air and condition.

Since then I have read all the mixed feelings about the subject. I assumed since the old man had ribbons from competition he was right.Find what works for you and your taste and that's the right way to do it for you!!

 

[Wolfbayte]

I didn't think I stated that one way was better. Like you said, it's an opinion. People can do it anyway they want, and both can be successful.

Ned, that's correct. You didn't state one way was better than the other, My "hey now" comment was a lame attempt at creating a double entendre vis-a-vis your "both ways" comment, which I purposely quoted out of context for the sake of humour. I failed. Apparently your mind isn't as dirty as mine. My bad.

 

[Canuck137]

So... well... what is the benefit of racking to secondary at all then? I got my instructions with my brewing kit, the kit was pretty inclusive and included detailed instructions. Anyway, its says rack to secondary. Is it to clear up the beer in theory?

 

[AkTom]

Dry hopping lots of hops in a bag through the small opening of a carboy is a pain... I'll never do that again. I'll try them loose and siphon around them or ferment in a bucket ( which I don't normally do ). I'm sure some one will tell us how to "properly" add hops. ��

 

[sompls]

So... well... what is the benefit of racking to secondary at all then? I got my instructions with my brewing kit, the kit was pretty inclusive and included detailed instructions. Anyway, its says rack to secondary. Is it to clear up the beer in theory?

Yes!...and no

Seriously, you won't get a perfect answer one way or another...there is no wrong answer. Do what works for you! If you want to know what I do..and I'm not sure that's what you're asking but...I racked to secondary the first couple of beers... but then I read a lot on here and I honestly do not see any benefit to moving my beer to secondary. When dry hopping I wait for a couple of weeks until I reach fg (or close to it) and throw the hops right into primary for 5-7 days or so...depends on how life is going. Cold crash for a couple of days and it's good to go...crystal clear.
But it really is up to you and what works best for you.

 

[Canuck137]

Cold crash, I had to look that up. Don't think that's possible, at least right now. hummmm.

 

[danimalt]

The old man at LHBS told me after fermentation is done you want to age beer with as little head room as possible(air). So I have always dry hopped in secondary carboy(smaller than fermenter), now I just rack to keg hang hops in a bag from the input tube, purge air and condition.

Since then I have read all the mixed feelings about the subject. I assumed since the old man had ribbons from competition he was right.Find what works for you and your taste and that's the right way to do it for you!!

Which is why i dry hop in primary when fermentation is still active. Usually after 5-7 days but to be sure i take a gravity reading and if im within 2-3 points of fianl gravity i know the time is right. YMMV.

 

[Mexibilly]

My last batch was a DIPA, 14 days in the primary, dry hopped the last 7 days. Definitely the most delicious I've done yet. Super hop aroma and flavor, but this was a 13oz hop monster.
I'm a noob too. Everything I've heard agrees that secondary is unnecessary unless racking on top of fruit or something, extended aging of big, complex beers or you need a primary.

 

[Canuck137]

You dry hopped 13 oz?! I have been doing 1-2 oz dry hopped. How is it with 13?

My last batch was a DIPA, 14 days in the primary, dry hopped the last 7 days. Definitely the most delicious I've done yet. Super hop aroma and flavor, but this was a 13oz hop monster.
I'm a noob too. Everything I've heard agrees that secondary is unnecessary unless racking on top of fruit or something, extended aging of big, complex beers or you need a primary.

 

[joshesmusica]

i think he meant 13 oz total.

racking to secondary isn't about clarity. for some tested results, check out this site:
http://brulosophy.com/2014/08/12/primary-only-vs-transfer-to-secondary-exbeeriment-results/

there are two benefits to moving to a secondary if you're going to dry hop:
1) as mentioned before, you need your primary fermenter.
2) if you plan on washing/harvesting the yeast from your ferment. (although you can do this after dry-hopping on top of it, it becomes a lot more difficult this way)

as far as timing for dry-hopping, 5-7 days max. 2 days minimum. some people like to wait until their fermentation is 90% complete, and then throw in the dry hops. really the only reason to do this is so that last little bit of fermentation will push out any bad air you let in. i don't personally go with this method because i leave my beer in the fermenter for 2-3 weeks. so for my two-week beers, i wait until day 9, then i move my fermenter into a room with ambient 21C (from a room of ambient 16C), then toss the hops directly in. i don't have the capacity to cold crash, i don't use irish moss, or gelatins or anything, and my beers are coming out just as clear as any other homebrewed beers. the moving from the one room to the other cause some of the co2 that is still in suspension to come out, plus i do a gentle shaking of the fermenter just to make sure. this co2 coming out helps to purge the headspace. (which is also an example i always use to show that airlock activity is a bad way to check for signs of fermentation. at this point i also do a gravity check and know my fermentation is complete, yet i still get good activity in the airlock.) the warmer temps help with the hops and help to encourage the yeast to finish cleaning up.

 

[rhys333]

So... well... what is the benefit of racking to secondary at all then? I got my instructions with my brewing kit, the kit was pretty inclusive and included detailed instructions. Anyway, its says rack to secondary. Is it to clear up the beer in theory?

As noted above, the benefits of racking to secondary are to free up your primary for another batch and age beers for an extended period of time. The risks are oxidation and infection. If you're fermenting a standard ale with 2-3 week turn-around, there are no appreciable benefits of secondary on the homebrew scale.

 

[joshesmusica]

I am on my third brew, first one was borderline awful, second one was pretty decent... getting there. Anyway, I have an IPA kit in the primary right now.

I just used a kit, but I used the dry malt extract, some "expensive" yeast, and 1/2 ounce centennial hops, and 1/2 ounce citra hopps in the boil. I wanted to dry hop the other 1/2 ounce of each. I was going to do this in the secondary , and now I see all these "controversial" opinions about secondary transferring at all haha.

Anyway, since I am dry hopping I should probably transfer to secondary right?

also, i think 1 oz is a pretty low amount of hops in the boil depending on when you added them. what were the addition times on those hops? if you're looking for good aroma from the dry hops, i would say 1 oz is the minimum.

i just brewed an IPA this evening that will end up with 5.5 oz after all is said and done. 1.75 of those are dry hop, but i also had 1.4 as the whirlpool/hopstand addition. you may have to look that one up, it's to help with the flavor/aroma. all in all, my flavor/aroma additions add up to 4.4 oz of the hops used.

 

[Canuck137]

Well there was some good info here thanks and cheers. I will pass on the secondary for the foreseeable future.

 

[Mexibilly]

You dry hopped 13 oz?! I have been doing 1-2 oz dry hopped. How is it with 13?

13oz total hop. I believe it was 4 or 6 dry hop. It is fantastic. Huge grapefruit on the nose and palate. My wife doesn't like IPAs and she liked it. My buddy doesn't like IPAs and he liked it. All my friends that like IPAs loved it.

 

[Canuck137]

I am probably under hopping then. I guess I just didn't want to go overboard and end up with some mega hop beer. I could stand to add a few more ounces for sure.

Out of curiosity what hop combination did you use? I was recommended to combine centennial and citra.

 

[PrinceOfThePoint]

I am probably under hopping then. I guess I just didn't want to go overboard and end up with some mega hop beer. I could stand to add a few more ounces for sure.

Out of curiosity what hop combination did you use? I was recommended to combine centennial and citra.

Two oz of dry hops can get you some pretty decent hop flavor and aroma, but if you are bottling and not kegging, you can lose a lot of it, in my experience. Kegs are a dry hopper's best friend, and I like dry hopping with 5+ oz to get big character.

As far as Centennial and Citra, sure that would be delicious, but so would a long list of other combos. If you like hops, the world is yours as far as trying different things together, and you will probably love them all