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When to dry hop

  • Jun 29, 2019
  • 96
  • tiantai
When to dry hop

Dry hopping is the process of adding hops to beer at some point after fermentation has begun. But when to dry hop? It looks the answer is open-ended as I see some brewers pitch hops into primary fermenter while others pitch hops into secondary fermenter(brite tank), even into kegs directly.

So, I consulted some brewmasters in past few of days and learned there are three common choices of dry hopping which is in the primary fermenter, in the secondary fermenter and in the keg. And all of them have their own advantages and disadvantages.


1.Dry hop in primary fermenter
Dry hopping in primary fermenter is adopted by some brewers, but conventional brewing method says that it might not be suitable. The main problem brewers concern is the bubbling of the CO2 and the agitation of the wort during primary fermentation. This bubbling and agitation would take a certain of hop aroma out of the beer. This may defeat the purpose of dry hopping. 

2.Dry hop in secondary fermenter
Dry hopping in secondary fermenter is likely to be the most common Choice. At this stage, fermentation starts to slow down and the beer head starts to diminish which usually coincides with a decreased bubbling in the airlock. But don’t add the dry hops immediately. Think about how long you are going to condition the beer and estimate which day you will fill the beer to keg or bottle. Then make a schedule to add the hops 5 to 7 days earlier before that. In this case, the beer has already mostly fermented, as mentioned above, the alcohol and low pH helps to ward off any bacteria on the un-sanitized hops. In addition, the vigorous CO2 activity has been finished as well, so the aroma of the hops won’t be scrubbed out of the beer.

3.Dry hop in keg
Dry hopping in keg is suggested to use a  bag to contain the hops. Otherwise, you will suffer the risk of sucking hops into the system, clogging it up, or getting hops into your glass.

Friends, do you have any ideas about dry hopping? If yes, please feel free to share with us. We look forward to talking with you.

Edited by Vicky
Sales manager in Tiantai Beer Equipment Company
Email: [email protected]

Dry Hopping Doser

Tags : dry hopping in conical fermenter    dry hop brewery   
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