Double dry hopping – what’s your preferred process?

[mtnagel]

It seems like every method has their plusses and minuses.

Here’s some of the options I’ve done or read about:
1) Rack to keg and add 2nd dry hop to keg while carbing in kegerator. This seems like it would lock in the aroma since you are doing it in a sealed keg. But if you do it while chilling/carbing, I think you won’t extract as much aroma in a cold solution as a warmer solution. Plus, when I do this, I tend to transfer in < 2 weeks, which may not be ideal as I’d like to leave it on the yeast a little longer.
2) Add 2nd dry hop into primary (remove first dry hop). This allows you to keep the beer on the yeast for a couple weeks and you can do it at room temp, but you probably lose some aroma when transferring to keg and delays carbing and drinking.
3) Add second dry hop to keg, but keep keg at room temp. Similar downsides as #1, but at least the hop aromas get extracted at room temp in a sealed keg, but this just delays carbing and drinking too.

Which do you think strikes the best balance? What’s your process?

 

[Yooper]

I tend to do #3.

I keep it at room temperature for 3-5 days or so, then stick it in the kegerator. I don't remove the hops, just leave them in there, and don't open the keg at all. It does seem to "lock in" more aroma that way.

I also don't do very long primaries, or to keep the beer on the yeast all that long. The "clean up" phase of the yeast ends about 24 hours after FG is reached, and I don't like the character imparted by a long contact time with the trub, so the beer is still nice and hoppy since it didn't have time for the aroma to dissipate.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

I have a session ipa dry hopping right now. It hit FG in 5 days. Let it sit another and then cold crashed. Dropped the yeast. Warmed it back to room temp and put in the DH. I will cold crash and co2 push to a keg leaving the DH behind in the fermenter. My DH was temp controlled to keep the beer at 70+- 0.5ºF.

If I was double DHing I would do the same thing except pop the fermenter open and gently add another addition after 5ish days. I think multiple shorter additions are better that one big, long addition.

I have a DIPA in the schedule that will get that treatment.

 

[mtnagel]

I tend to do #3.

I keep it at room temperature for 3-5 days or so, then stick it in the kegerator. I don't remove the hops, just leave them in there, and don't open the keg at all. It does seem to "lock in" more aroma that way.

I also don't do very long primaries, or to keep the beer on the yeast all that long. The "clean up" phase of the yeast ends about 24 hours after FG is reached, and I don't like the character imparted by a long contact time with the trub, so the beer is still nice and hoppy since it didn't have time for the aroma to dissipate.

Thanks. As I thought more about it, that seemed to be the best solution. I usually dry hop 4-5 days minimum, but if I kept the keg at room temp for 2-3 days, then in the fridge with the hops while it's carbing, then I'm really out only 2-3 days. Seems like the best of both methods.

So how long do you primary?

 

[Yooper]

Thanks. As I thought more about it, that seemed to be the best solution. I usually dry hop 4-5 days minimum, but if I kept the keg at room temp for 2-3 days, then in the fridge with the hops while it's carbing, then I'm really out only 2-3 days. Seems like the best of both methods.

So how long do you primary?

I generally package once the beer is clear, and has been at FG for at least 3 days. So for many beers, that is about day 12-15. For some beers that use a less flocculant yeast or that are slower to clear, it may be more like day 17 or so.

The beer I'm drinking right now was brewed on 12/28. It was dryhopped for 4 days at room temperature before putting in the kegerator and carbed up.

 

[chainlife]

I generally package once the beer is clear, and has been at FG for at least 3 days. So for many beers, that is about day 12-15. For some beers that use a less flocculant yeast or that are slower to clear, it may be more like day 17 or so.

The beer I'm drinking right now was brewed on 12/28. It was dryhopped for 4 days at room temperature before putting in the kegerator and carbed up.

Hey Yoop, you're my favorite person on this site btw! Do you ever add hop tea as opposed to dry hop? Just wondering what your impressions are on the comparison on the two. Reading about it, it looks like a great way to save on hops, and do you think you can achieve the same bitterness profiles with hop tea additions?

Can't wait for the game this weekend, it'll be a barn burner for sure!!

 

[Yooper]

Hey Yoop, you're my favorite person on this site btw! Do you ever add hop tea as opposed to dry hop? Just wondering what your impressions are on the comparison on the two. Reading about it, it looks like a great way to save on hops, and do you think you can achieve the same bitterness profiles with hop tea additions?

Can't wait for the game this weekend, it'll be a barn burner for sure!!

I have never tried a hop tea. I keep thinking that I will, someday, but someday has never come yet. I did try some hops extract in a a bottle, for late additions not the bittering ones (forget what it was called) and was not a fan of it.

I have my Packer's T-shirt all washed and ready for the game on Sunday. I'm not optimistic about a win, but I'm enthusiastic at least.

 

[Adaman05]

Go Pack Go! I think with a healthy A-Rod we have a 50/50 shot. I give us 30% chance now, but you never know.

What I've been doing lately is racking from primary to a purged keg for dry hop 1 in a stainless mesh dry hopper. Remove, dump old hops, add new hops, and put back into keg for second dry hop, which has been purged of oxygen again.

 

[BrewKaiser]

Sorry for your loss Packers Fans. Almost had it. As a Niner's fan, I hate to see the Hawks advance. I'm sure they'll have a tough time playing against Belicheat's flat balls in two weeks.

Anyway...

Is there any reason not to DH and carb at room temp (say 60-65*). Wouldn't you just up the pressure to compensate for warmer temp per http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

I have a temp controlled wine room that I use for fermentation as well as conditioning kegs. I'm working on a Extra Pale / Session IPA recipe now and planning 2, maybe 3 DH cycles. Was thinking of 1-2 DH in fermenter, cold crash to clear, push to keg and dry hop in keg at around 60-65* for 2 weeks at around 25 PSI.

I recently had a porter on gas for 2 weeks of its 4 weeks conditioning and it turned out fine.

 

[mtnagel]

Well not everyone has temp controlled wine rooms

Right now I'm on day 3 of my second dry hop. I did it in the keg and I have the keg sitting next to my kegerator as I only have a two tap kegerator and when I walk buy it I will add more CO2, so I'm assuming some is dissolving in, but probably not much. Today I will put it in the kegerator to really start carbing it. Hopefully I will be able to drink it after 4 days or so I can start dropping the level of the beer below the hops so they aren't in contact with the beer for that long (they are in a bag attached to the keg lid with dental floss).

Overall the process has gone well. I have no idea if doing the second dry hop at room temp for 3 days will really matter, but I'll probably do this for my double dry hop process from now on.

 

[BigPerm]

I usually do the first dry hop in primary as the krausen drops, then rack to a keg. I do this even if I'm planning to bottle it so I can flush with CO2. I bag my hops and add them to the keg. I usually go about 5 days on each, never more than 7 at RT. However, on a recent batch, I added dry hops to the keg and immediately hooked up to gas. Thus, I kept the dry hops in the whole time I was drinking the keg. I never got any grassy notes since it was kept cold, and to be honest, the last few pulls were the best of the batch.

 

[mtnagel]

Yeah, one batch I did the hops in a bag suspended with dental floss trick, but I didn't tie it to the lid, so the weight must have pulled the floss through the lid as the beer level dropped and the hop bag fell in the beer. I had no issues with that beer and it tasted great. So I'm not convinced I need to suspend it, but I still do it

 

[BigPerm]

Yeah, one batch I did the hops in a bag suspended with dental floss trick, but I didn't tie it to the lid, so the weight must have pulled the floss through the lid as the beer level dropped and the hop bag fell in the beer. I had no issues with that beer and it tasted great. So I'm not convinced I need to suspend it, but I still do it

I tried this too, but my keg lid always leaks gas if i use twine or even floss. After that annoyance, I just started chucking them in. They always float for me UNLESS I hook up to carb before I remove. I think the pressure forces it down and then it saturates. Had this happen with a bag of steeped coffee beans recently too. That one really surprised me...

 

[mtnagel]

Weird. I haven't noticed any leaking. And mine is sitting out without any pressure on it. You use keg lube on the o ring, right?