Dry hopping - Limiting O2

[MaximumTrainer]

I'm brewing my first beer (IPA) and just inserted my dry hop in the primary bucket.

I'm a newbie but read that Oxygen is not a friend of the beer, so is there a way to avoid inserting lot of oxygen when you put your dry hop into your fermentation bucket?

I waited that the airlock stopped making bubbles before inserting the hop bag into the primary, I had to unlock the lid to put the bag inside, probably inserting lot of oxygen in there.

Just want to know if this will impact the taste of the beer, and if there is a way to improve my dry hopping technique. Maybe inserting the hop bag before fermentation is 100% complete so that yeast consume to Oxygen inserted?
https://byo.com/stories/issue/item/3187-advanced-dry-hopping-techniques

Thanks!

 

[MaxStout]

Fermentation creates a nice layer of CO2 in the headspace. If you carefully pry open the bucket, quickly drop in your hops, then seal it up, you should be able to limit the amount of O2 that gets in without disturbing the CO2 much.

 

[hanuswalrus]

As long as you're not keeping the lid off for an extended period of time, you should be OK. The way you did it is how I've been doing it since I started almost 2 years ago. Except I usually wait a week and a half to 2 weeks into primary before adding my dry hop. I like to add them about 5-7 days before bottling to maintain as much hop aroma as I possibly can. If you have a CO2 tank, you can flush the deadspace in the fermenter before putting the lid back on. That will eliminate any oxygen that may have gotten in.

Some breweries do add a dry hop towards the end of the primary fermentation (Sun King in Indianapolis). My understanding is that adding hops at this stage will give you a different dry hop affect than if you added hops well after primary fermentation was complete as the yeast that is still working will do something to the hop oils. What, exactly, I'm not sure. But the beers I've had that use this technique have generally been pretty good. If you do try this, I would suggest adding a 2nd dry hop 3-5 days before bottling if you're looking for a strong hop aroma

 

[m00ps]

IME if you dry hop while the airlock is still active, a good portion of that hop aroma flies out the airlock. Best way to avoid oxygen exposure for me is to have someone help you to get the lid back on the bucket and purged quickly then resealing. Or use a carboy where there is much less area for exposure

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Interesting to see all the different views on how and when to add dry hops.

Yes I inserted the hop bag pretty fast just with a part of the lid open, but figured air is pretty fast so no matter how fast I do it some will get in...
I may try adding the hops earlier (at end of fermentation in primary) in my next batch to see if the taste is really different.

 

[m00ps]

wait, are you secondarying your IPAs? That would be the #1 reason it would get oxidzed and loose hop character

 

[MaximumTrainer]

wait, are you secondarying your IPAs? That would be the #1 reason it would get oxidzed and loose hop character

Nope, everything is done in the primary. I like to keep things simple when I can!
I pitched yeast on the October 5, now it's in primary with dry hop since the 13. I plan to bottle on October 18 after 24h in the fridge.

 

[MaxStout]

Interesting to see all the different views on how and when to add dry hops.

Unfortunately, there is never going to be a consensus among brewers for that, like many processes in brewing.

The best thing to remember is to minimize the open time and try not to slosh the beer when adding something to it. Get in, get out, quickly. A little O2 will no doubt find its way in, but that CO2 layer, if kept fairly undisturbed, will continue to offer some protection.

Thousands of homebrewers dry hop in their fermenter buckets and end up with great beer.

 

[m00ps]

Nope, everything is done in the primary. I like to keep things simple when I can!
I pitched yeast on the October 5, now it's in primary with dry hop since the 13. I plan to bottle on October 18 after 24h in the fridge.

Thats around the timeline I like to do my IPAs, maybe a bit sooner on the dry hop since Im guessing fermentation didnt pick up until the a day later so that gives 7 days before dry hopping. I usually like to dry hop on day 8 or 9, then again on day 11-12 before kegging with more on day 14-15.

IME, kegging and being able to purge (in addition to hopstanding) was the biggest instant improvement to my IPAs

 

[MaximumTrainer]

IME, kegging and being able to purge (in addition to hopstanding) was the biggest instant improvement to my IPAs

Yeah my fermentation took almost 24h to start off. Also I was not home before the 13 so no choice here.
What do you mean by purging? Do you use something to get the air out of the fermenter? For bottling, I will mostly use PET bottle and heard a good trick is to squeeze the bottle so that there is no oxygen inside, when carbonation happens, the bottle will take back the squeezed space with CO2.

 

[m00ps]

with a kegging setup, you have CO2 tank to purge and carbonate the kegs with before filling. With a few other tools, you can have a purging gun or sorts to shoot CO2 into bottles or fermentor headspaces to get rid of oxygen

 

[Rev2010]

Honestly, just relax about it. As MaxStout said, thousands of homebrewers are doing it this way with no ill effects. I unscrew the lid off my fermenter, gently lower in the hop bag, and screw it back on. Beer isn't so fragile that a small amount of O2 exposure is going to ruin it. If that were the case we'd all have to CO2 purge our bottles before bottling. I never did and never had problems. I do however CO2 purge my kegs.

Just remember the few small simple things - Don't splash and limit the exposure time to as little as possible. Just get in an out. The CO2 layer present should prevent exposure as well as any final gas created by the yeast - ie. you may have noticed the one off airlock bubble here and there after fermentation has ended.


Rev.

 

[Gavin C]

Another option. Lose the hop sock.

Dont remove lid of bucket

Remove bung and airlock (if there is a bung)

Pour hop pellets into FV through the small opening

Replace bung and airlock.

Done

This will not be practical if the hole for the airlock just has a grommet and not a bung. (You can always add a hole to fit a bung for doing this in the future if you wanted, or enlarge the existing hole)

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Another option. Lose the hop sock.

Dont remove lid of bucket

Remove bung and airlock (if there is a bung)

Pour hop pellets into FV through the small opening

Replace bung and airlock.

Done

This will not be practical if the hole for the airlock just has a grommet and not a bung. (You can always add a hole to fit a bung for doing this in the future if you wanted, or enlarge the existing hole)

Hey Gavin, I almost did what you said except I wanted to pass the hop bag inside the small hole, could be doable if I push it hard enough.
I finally decided to opt for the lid, since I had problems taking off the airlock without splashing star san that is in it inside the bucket. It seems when I try to take it off, the star san go in the hole and finish in the bucket.

 

[Gavin C]

Hey Gavin, I almost did what you said except I wanted to pass the hop bag inside the small hole, could be doable if I push it hard enough.
I finally decided to opt for the lid, since I had problems taking off the airlock without splashing star san that is in it inside the bucket. It seems when I try to take it off, the star san go in the hole and finish in the bucket.

Don't worry about the starsan. Easily avoided though by squeezing the bung a little or cracking the lid a hair to allow the pressure to equalize before removing the bung. But really nothing to give even a moments thought to.

I'm not a fan of using hop bags. I just am not convinced they can be adequately sanitized. I'm sure loads of folks use them without incident though.

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Don't worry about the starsan. Easily avoided though by squeezing the bung a little or cracking the lid a hair to allow the pressure to equalize before removing the bung. But really nothing to give even a moments thought to.

I'm not a fan of using hop bags. I just am not convinced they can be adequately sanitized. I'm sure loads of folks use them without incident though.

Looks like a good plan, will try that next time.
Not sure about the need for the hop bag also, if the hop settle at the bottom, I don't see a problem not using a bag. I boiled the bag in hot water and let it dry before using it. Also I figured the beer as alcohol at this moment so less infection chance.

 

[Gavin C]

I boiled the bag in hot water and let it dry before using it. Also I figured the beer as alcohol at this moment so less infection chance.

Sounds good minus the letting dry. Completely aggree.

 

[BrewerE]

soak that sumbitch in starsan...:rockin:

 

[Rev2010]

soak that sumbitch in starsan...:rockin:

Yep. I use the nylon bags they have on NorthernBrewer. I simply soak the whole bag in StarSan before using, fill, and add to my primary. I've done this with hops and coconut plenty of times with no issues. Of course, once the beer is done I dump out the bag and clean it very very well with dish washing soap and rinse the heck out of it. May not be so necessary to use for hops, but for the shredded coconut I use it's an absolute must since it floats and will clog the spigot.


Rev.

 

[kevink]

Using starsan on a hop bag is like trying to sanitize a really scratched up plastic fermenter. How do you know the sanitizer got into all the little nooks and crannies? I boil them for piece of mind.

 

[Rev2010]

Using starsan on a hop bag is like trying to sanitize a really scratched up plastic fermenter. How do you know the sanitizer got into all the little nooks and crannies? I boil them for piece of mind.

Well for one, I don't mistreat my hop/adjunct bags. I'm not dropping them on the floor or leaving them on a dirty kitchen counter. They're always rolled up and put away in my beer equipment box. Been doing this for a long time now with not one single issue ever. So, I'll keep doing this. With boiling nylon hop bags you also have to be careful not to let the bag touch the bottle of the kettle or they can melt, so I've read.


Rev.

 

[whovous]

I'd love to see some proof that any hop sock anywhere ever damaged even a single ounce of brew. There has to be more important things to worry about.

 

[slym2none]

Using starsan on a hop bag is like trying to sanitize a really scratched up plastic fermenter. How do you know the sanitizer got into all the little nooks and crannies? I boil them for piece of mind.

If it's a cloth bag, the cloth will absorb the StarSan.

 

[kevink]

I've never had one melt, so I wouldn't worry about that. I'm just saying that you have a better chance of killing something on a bag by boiling it than you do by using a sanitizer since you can't be sure you're getting 100% contact. The same goes for any weird shaped brewing crap with threads, crevices, or rough surfaces. Heat them up instead of using a contact sanitizer so you aren't risking anything. It's cheap insurance, but do whatever makes you feel good.

 

[kevink]

If it's a cloth bag, the cloth will absorb the StarSan.

He specifically mentioned nylon bags.

 

[Mexibilly]

No worries dude. IPA = Pop the top, drop the hop.

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Thanks guys, I was probably overthinking this one.

I boil my hop bag that is made in voile (wilser bag) before adding the hops.
Should work fine!

 

[kevink]

Thanks guys, I was probably overthinking this one.

I boil my hop bag that is made in voile (wilser bag) before adding the hops.
Should work fine!

That's the way to do it!