Dry hopping?

[bmd2k1]

Anyone dry hopping any of their ciders?

I'm not a hoppy beverage fan....but am looking to hop up a 1gal batch for a buddy that likes pale ales...

So looking for recommendations on kind of hops to buy...and technique/amt time to dry hop.

Cheers!

 

[canehdianman]

I just tried it. 2 oz of Citra in a 5 gallon batch.

Very tasty.

 

[bmd2k1]

I just tried it. 2 oz of Citra in a 5 gallon batch.

Very tasty.

How long did ya let it soak for? In secondary?

 

[canehdianman]

I put it into my stainless steel mesh tube and put it into my keg. It's still in there.

 

[Legume]

I have dry hopped ciders with Citra, Galaxy, and Centennial (seperate batches), and enjoyed them all.
Citra and Galaxy lend tropical fruit aromas, Centennial leans more tword tart citrus.
2 oz of hops in 5 gal of cider will be noticable but not overpowering.

 

[SJBrews]

I've done it in my small batches @ about 1/2 oz. per gallon. It's nice, not overpowering. I've mostly used Citra hops which taste about as you'd expect from the name. About to try some Azacca on my next batch. I put it in the secondary, while I'm cold crashing it for a few days.

 

[bmd2k1]

I've done it in my small batches @ about 1/2 oz. per gallon. It's nice, not overpowering. I've mostly used Citra hops which taste about as you'd expect from the name. About to try some Azacca on my next batch. I put it in the secondary, while I'm cold crashing it for a few days.

How long do ya soak em for? Any diff doing it at fridge temp vs room temp?

 

[SJBrews]

How long do ya soak em for? Any diff doing it at fridge temp vs room temp?

I do it just for a few days while it's crashing, then once it's back to room temp I rack it. I don't think there'd be a huge difference doing it a room temperature. I mostly do it because of timing. I read somewhere that the longer you hop, the more bitterness you can get. Since I don't really want bitterness, but more aroma and flavour, I keep my dry hopping short. Just makes sense to do it when I'm cold crashing because I know I'll be racking it within about 3 days.

 

[bmd2k1]

I do it just for a few days while it's crashing, then once it's back to room temp I rack it. I don't think there'd be a huge difference doing it a room temperature. I mostly do it because of timing. I read somewhere that the longer you hop, the more bitterness you can get. Since I don't really want bitterness, but more aroma and flavour, I keep my dry hopping short. Just makes sense to do it when I'm cold crashing because I know I'll be racking it within about 3 days.

I'm same....not a bitterness fan. Do you toss the hops/pellets in something? I was gonna use disposable tea bags....to keep the mess minimized.

Cheers! [emoji111]

 

[SJBrews]

I'm same....not a bitterness fan. Do you toss the hops/pellets in something? I was gonna use disposable tea bags....to keep the mess minimized.

Cheers! [emoji111]

I usually just toss the pellets straight in, it does create a fair bit of sludge at the end. I'm trying full leaf hops on my next batch, though, and I'll bag them. Tea bags would probably be too small. I've used poultry bags before for beer brewing, so I'm going to use those and see how it goes. They're cheap at most grocery stores, and can be cut to whatever size you need. You can buy hop bags at most LHBS, but they're a bit more pricey, and I try to keep my batch costs low.

 

[bernardsmith]

I don't know that you get bitterness from dry hopping. You really need to boil hops for about 60 minutes to isomerize their alpha acids and so you get their acidity or "bitterness". Boiling for about 15 minutes brings out the flavors and dry hopping (no heat) releases the aromatics. But if you dry hop for too long (more than 7-10 days) you bring out the vegetative quality and the hops might as well be lawn grass.

 

[bmd2k1]

I usually just toss the pellets straight in, it does create a fair bit of sludge at the end. I'm trying full leaf hops on my next batch, though, and I'll bag them. Tea bags would probably be too small. I've used poultry bags before for beer brewing, so I'm going to use those and see how it goes. They're cheap at most grocery stores, and can be cut to whatever size you need. You can buy hop bags at most LHBS, but they're a bit more pricey, and I try to keep my batch costs low.

...disposable tea bags are 2"x4"....worked well for a couple beers I brewed...

 

[SJBrews]

...disposable tea bags are 2"x4"....worked well for a couple beers I brewed...

View attachment 566726

Hey if it works, it works!

 

[SJBrews]

I don't know that you get bitterness from dry hopping. You really need to boil hops for about 60 minutes to isomerize their alpha acids and so you get their acidity or "bitterness". Boiling for about 15 minutes brings out the flavors and dry hopping (no heat) releases the aromatics. But if you dry hop for too long (more than 7-10 days) you bring out the vegetative quality and the hops might as well be lawn grass.

You’re right. Brain cramp. It’s definitely vegetative flavours, and it’s definitely from reading How To Brew.

 

[bernardsmith]

You’re right. Brain cramp. It’s definitely vegetative flavours, and it’s definitely from reading How To Brew.

Not so easy (read: perhaps not possible) when cider making but when I want to make a hopped mead I boil my hops for 10- 15 minutes in the water I will mix with the honey. Cool that water, remove the hop bag and then mix in the honey. If I also want to dry hop I do so in the secondary just before I am ready to bottle. With cider I don't know how you might boil the hops without cooking the apple juice and cooked apple (juice ) does not make for a good hard cider, though it can make for a great jam.

 

[SJBrews]

Yeah, tough to do with cider. You could steep the hops in the must, without letting it boil, or possibly make a “hop tea” that is added to the must. Not something I’ve really thought about, as I’m not usually going for big hop flavour with cider. Might be a fun experiment though.

 

[Reverend_Nelson]

I've made several separate 1 gallon batches of hopped cider. They each turned out very good. I'm trying a 1oz per gallon right now, the .8oz per gallon was probably my favorite. I use cascade hop pellets, and I don't add them until fermentation has stopped, and only for a couple days at most. I like a strong hop flavor, but if you let them sit too long..... well, its not good.

i do a lot of experimentation with wines, meads, beers and cider, so i come across some trouble here and there. If you ever end up with a bland cider, hops are a pretty good solution.

 

[johnnyseko]

Glad I saw this thread! The recipe in my Cider book says to add hops (3/4oz to 3 gallons cider) to secondary and store for 2 weeks at cool temps. I have Centennial and Cascade hops ready to go. Just trying to work out the timing the dry hop. Looks like less time would be best.

 

[SJBrews]

Glad I saw this thread! The recipe in my Cider book says to add hops (3/4oz to 3 gallons cider) to secondary and store for 2 weeks at cool temps. I have Centennial and Cascade hops ready to go. Just trying to work out the timing the dry hop. Looks like less time would be best.

Yeah, I would go more hops for less time. 2 weeks sounds pretty long. I'm going to try the boiled hop tea idea with my current batch this week and see how that goes.

 

[Morrey]

I made a semi-dry cider last fall, and after I racked it into keg, I dry hopped 5G cider with 2 ounces of Nelson Sauvin hops. The Sauvignon Blanc white grape profile from the hops goes exceptionally well with the subtle apple flavors. I use a mesh hop strainer in the keg for 2 days at lagering temperatures. You could use virtually any mesh bag, muslin bag..etc, but I suggest containing hops in some fashion.

 

[johnnyseko]

Yeah, I would go more hops for less time. 2 weeks sounds pretty long. I'm going to try the boiled hop tea idea with my current batch this week and see how that goes.

I'm curious how making the hop tea worked out - let us know your results!

 

[golfindia]

I put 1oz of citra in a stainless steel mesh cylinder halfway through a 5gal of frozen concentrate cider batch. Fermented with danstar nottingham. I took the hops out after 5 days before cold crashing. I will back sweeten with another can of juice, but it is pretty tasty dry. I have found that I need to make it sweeter than I like up front, because the nottingham keeps chewing even in the fridge. By the second half of the keg, the sweetness is spot on.

 

[SJBrews]

I'm curious how making the hop tea worked out - let us know your results!

I can finally update you on this! Sorry, been a busy summer. We moved, I have a 3 year old, etc., etc. This worked pretty well, I think. I definitely got a lot of hop flavour out of it. I used 1/2 oz. Amarillo hops in 1 1/2 cups of water for a 1 gallon batch. The hop flavour is fuller than any of the dry-hopped batches I've done. So you get more flavour from steeping the same amount of hops for 15 minutes than you do from dry-hopping for 2-3 days, and it's a fuller flavour, if that makes any sense. I'm planning on trying it with a few different types of hops, but I had to take a little break from brewing what with the move and all.

 

[johnnyseko]

Nice! I wound up dry hopping a gallon batch with 14 grams centennial hops (pellets) for 4 days in secondary back in May. One of my gallons from a WLP773 batch. Turned out delicious! No bitterness at all and wasn't overpowering. I will make this again. I'll have to experiment with a tea and compare at some point.