Can i dry hop my extract beer after its been fermenting for two weeks?

[melikidabeer]

Hello. Just tried a sample of my extract brew from the hydrometer pot and not convinced at its hoppiness. It's stopped fermenting but I want it to taste hoppier. Can I put a load of cascade hops in with it for a week or two to encourage the taste or will it ruin my beer? Cheers.

 

[unionrdr]

The beer should be at FG 1st,& settled out clear or slightly misty before dry hopping. Dry hopping only gives aroma,but since our senses of smell & taste are linked,you might get the sensation of more flavor.

 

[BlackGoat]

you sure can, I'd throw in the hops and try it after 4-5 days then decide whether you'd want to go longer. Keep in mind that it will have a different flavor profile after its carbonated and conditioned, so don't focus TOO much on what it tastes like in the fermenter.

 

[sweetcell]

adding hops after fermentation definitely will not ruin your beer. it may or may not be to style, but you can't taste style so who cares

going longer on a dry-hop won't make it hoppier. the amount of hoppiness is determined by how much you put in, not how long. some claim that leaving the beer on the dry hops for a long time - a week, 10 days, longer - can lead to grassy flavors. i have no experience with this since i never leave my dry hops in for more than 5 days. i've done as little as 3, supposedly most of the impact is pulled out of the hops in 36 hours.

so a better way of looking at it, IMO is: 1) what hops will you be using (cascade, right?), 2) how big is the batch of beer, 3) what type of beer is it, and 4) how much hop aroma/flavor do you want to add. for a 5 gallon batch, 1 to 3 oz is pretty typical. for my IPAs i go nuts and often hit 5 or 6 ounces.

 

[melikidabeer]

I used 3lb of Amber LME and 2lb of light DME for a 5 gallon bath, cascade hops for everything and danstar American ale yeast. I know I can't judge yet, but my sample was a bit gutless. I want to add a load more cascade hops to get the aroma up and hopefully a bit more flavour.

 

[unionrdr]

How much cascade did you use & how much? And I bitter mine with some .3oz warrior,then go nuts on flavor hops,using the same for flavor in the dry hop. 1.2oz of 4 different hops between 20 & 12 minutes for flavor,the remaining 2.4ozs for 1 week dry hop.

 

[Calder]

going longer on a dry-hop won't make it hoppier. the amount of hoppiness is determined by how much you put in, not how long.

I'm not sure you are correct. I wish I could remember where I saw it. It was a published paper, and it showed that under certain circumstances, the hops continue to add hop oils to the beer for up to a couple of weeks.

- Pellets give up their oils quicker than leaf.
- High temperatures work better than cold.
- Hops floating free work better than bagged.

I can't remember much more, but do remember that when left for 2 weeks, almost all situations resulted in more hop oils in the beer than when left for a week. And for the most part it was considerably more.

 

[unionrdr]

The problem is,after 10 days or so,the hops can start tasting grassy or vegetal. you might get more oils,but they may not taste very good. I never go more than 7 days myself,& get great aroma. I've wondered though if temp during dry hop has subtle effects on the amount of oils dispersed during the dry hop?....