When to Dry Hop/ Secondary Fermentation

[jmorter1]

When during the fermentation process should I dry hop? I brewed a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone this past weekend and the recipe calls for an optional dry hop addition during the last 10-14 days of fermentation. The recipe doesn't metinon anything about moving to secondary, but I plan on doing so anyway. How active should the fermentation be to dry hop? Should I wait until I move to secondary? This brings up my next question...How do I know when to move to secondary? Thanks in advance for any tips, advice, info, etc.

Cheers

 

[bd2xu]

You should dry hop after fermentation is completely done for best results. After about 10 days of fermentation if you don't see any airlock activity take a gravity reading. Take another in a day or two and if its the same then it's done. You can then dry hop in the primary or secondary. There's a big debate on that which I don't want to start here but either way will work.

I keg most batches now and like to dry hop in the keg. After ferm is done I rack to keg and use whole leaf hops in a muslin bag, weighted with a couple stainless spoons, suspended off the bottom with dental floss. I then hit the keg with about 30 psi to seal and let it sit room temp for a week or so then put in kegerator and hook up the gas. After a week or two it's carbed and I usually just leave the hops in the whole time I'm serving if its an IPA and I want a lot of aroma.

 

[mbauer013]

+1 to all the above, exactly how I do it except I don't use dental floss, I use thin stainless wire

 

[unionrdr]

When the beer gets down to FG,I give it another 3-7 days to clean up & settle out clear or slightly misty before dry hopping one week. You don't want the hop oils coating the yeast,etc & sinking to the bottom with them.
And never rack to secondary till the beer is at FG. Otherwise it could stall. Or if you aren't good with sanitation,it could get infected.