Question About Dry Hopping

[nyrmc23]

Went with a SMaSH ale with Maris Otter and Simcoe today. The recipe calls for dry hopping .4 oz of Simcoe, but unsure when to do so. I've attached a screen shot below. Is it dry hop FOR four days, or ON day 4? And for both, how long should I do so?

 

[RCope]

Dry hop four days before packaging (kegging or bottling). So the beer only sees the hops for 4 days...which is plenty of time.

 

[jerbrew]

That recipe is calling for you to dry hop for four days. As for when to do so, you could get a hundred answers from four and a half people. A smash should be done fairly quickly barring any real detriments to fermentation. To keep it simple, let it go for 10 days to two weeks and throw them in for four days. Technically you should wait until your at or near your FG but I rarely get a smash that isn't there in 10 days. It also seems like this is a small batch so spending a lot of your finished product pulling out samples seems to defeat the purpose. There are many techniques to dry hopping but this should keep it simple.

 

[nyrmc23]

That recipe is calling for you to dry hop for four days. As for when to do so, you could get a hundred answers from four and a half people. A smash should be done fairly quickly barring any real detriments to fermentation. To keep it simple, let it go for 10 days to two weeks and throw them in for four days. Technically you should wait until your at or near your FG but I rarely get a smash that isn't there in 10 days. It also seems like this is a small batch so spending a lot of your finished product pulling out samples seems to defeat the purpose. There are many techniques to dry hopping but this should keep it simple.

So I brewed it today. Think by day 10 or so I should toss in for four days?

 

[jerbrew]

So I brewed it today. Think by day 10 or so I should toss in for four days?

If you're eager to drink it sure. I would bet money that by the time you package it fourteen days from now (four days after dry hopping) it will be done fermenting.

 

[Sammy86]

So I brewed it today. Think by day 10 or so I should toss in for four days?

I would make sure to take a gravity reading to ensure it is done fermenting. Generally, yeast will do their jobs in 10-14 days but only real way to tell is to take a hydrometer sample to make sure. Don't want to have a surprise and see you're not done and throw in the hops too soon...once they are in you ain't getting them out.

 

[RM-MN]

If I'm in a hurry to get beer to drink, I dry hop on day 10. If I have plenty of beer on hand and am patient I wait 3 weeks or more before dry hopping. The longer wait usually means better tasting beer.

 

[ncbrewer]

I would make sure to take a gravity reading to ensure it is done fermenting. Generally, yeast will do their jobs in 10-14 days but only real way to tell is to take a hydrometer sample to make sure. Don't want to have a surprise and see you're not done and throw in the hops too soon...once they are in you ain't getting them out.

I would take two readings, 2 - 3 days apart. If gravity drops, it's not finished.