Dry hop in primary or secondary?

[jflongo]

I have a 5 1/2 Gallon Batch of Cider, that has been fermenting for 16 days. Once the fermentation slows down, and my Gravity hits 1.000 or less, I was going to rack it to secondary and dry hop it for 1 week.

Then I started thinking, would it be better to just throw the dry hops into the primary for a week at that point, and then rack to secondary, and let it age?

Or add the hops to secondary, rack to it, let it sit for a week, then rack again to another carboy and age?

Which would you do?

 

[CRock303]

I age my hopped ciders then dry hop the last week or two before bottling or kegging, depending on how long you want to age the hops can spoil.

 

[jflongo]

I plan on having the hops in the cider for only a week. Then re-rack it and let it age. Are you saying that can still spoil?

 

[Pickled_Pepper]

I always thought hops had a preservative property to them??? I also thought thats why they started adding hops at some point, to preserve the beer for long voyages to India. (I.P.A.)

I would put the hops in after aging because hops lose their strength over time. Thats why beer is enjoyed fresh. Not because it spoils, but because the hops are better fresh and will fade over time.

 

[CRock303]

It goes skunky (think Heinakin (SP?)) if exposed to light, if you age in clear glass you run that risk even in a dark room. Dry hopping doesn't fully activate hops' antibacterial properties, you have to boil them to get the full effect.

 

[Pickled_Pepper]

Dry hopping doesn't fully activate hops' antibacterial properties, you have to boil them to get the full effect.

The lupulin glands are the root of the antibacterial properties, but I never knew they needed to be boiled to produce this effect. I know that the Alpha Acids in the hops produce the bitterness and do need to be boiled to better utilize the bittering effect. (longer boils produce higher bitterness)

I always thought that dry hopping would produce aroma (and some flavoring) but it would still contain the antibacterial properties of the hop.

 

[ChasidicCalvinist]

Always dry-hop in the secondary.

 

[worksnorth]

You can dry hop in the primary, should wait till the fermentation is done though. You can dry hop in the secondary. You can dry hop in the keg.
It won't spoil, it won't go bad if the hops are left in for months. It may possibly start tasting a bit grassy if left in too long, but skunky? Never got that in any of my dry hopped beers and I've done it every which way, and I've had IPA's on dry hops in the keg for months.
My personal favorite, for no particular reason, is to dry hop in the secondary for a week maybe two, rack to a keg and drink.
Guess I'm trying to say you won't hurt your beer dry hopping any which way, probably a personal preference issue.
Good luck!
Cheers

 

[worksnorth]

the lupulin glands are the root of the antibacterial properties, but i never knew they needed to be boiled to produce this effect. I know that the alpha acids in the hops produce the bitterness and do need to be boiled to better utilize the bittering effect. (longer boils produce higher bitterness)

i always thought that dry hopping would produce aroma (and some flavoring) but it would still contain the antibacterial properties of the hop.

+1

 

[jflongo]

I was thinking of letting this age in a carboy for awhile after dry hopping for a week. Maybe I'll do this instead, put the hops in the carboy, rack into it. Let it sit for a 7 - 10 days with them, then transfer this to the 64 oz apple juice containers I still have, and a few 1 gallon Ice Tea plastic containors I have.

Put 1 64 oz container in the fridge to try after a few days.
Put 1 128 oz container in the freezer to make apple jack.

Put 6 64 oz containers in my closet to age for awhile.
Put 1 128 oz container in my closet to age for awhile.

 

[Pickled_Pepper]

I know this is all getting confusing and don't mean to add more to it, but I wouldn't age in plastic containers. If the other containers are glass, it's better, but the original caps might not seal them 100%. You'd be better off leaving it in the carboy for bulk aging or, if you need the carboy, just bottle as normal with proper caps.

 

[jflongo]

The apple cider containers seal quite well. I had an experimental beer batch that I had bottled in these after 16 days, it was quite swollen and no leaks at all. I don't think these will have very much carbonation, so these containers should hold well.

For me it all depends on how this tastes in a few days when I sample it. If it's quite dry and tart, then I may throw a couple of cans of frozen apple juice concentrate thawed into it, then bottle it.

I may still rack this after 10 days of dry hopping into another carboy and age, I'm not sure yet. I still have a couple of weeks before I have to make that decision. My airlock is slowing down a little, so on Wednesday, I'm going to take a reading, at that point it will be 3 weeks in Primary.

 

[jflongo]

I just racked to a carboy today with this, and put in 1 oz each of centennial and cascade before I started my siphon. When I checked today the Gravity was at 1.000, started at 1.079

 

[Pickled_Pepper]

Yowza. Thats some stout stuff. Let us know how it goes.