Dry Hopping Technique ?

[Greg2013]

The other night i dry hopped two brews for the first time. One with Cascade pellets and one with Herkules leaf. I had two small glass bowls which were sterilized and placed in the bags with the hops before tying off and chucking in FV's. Thing is on the third day the damn things are still floating around, they have not sunk at all.

I calculate that there is at least 100gr between the bowl and hops in each muslin bag. The leaf are exoanding nicely but still floating, the pellets i can't really see, don't want to keep opening the FV's. What do ye use to weigh down dry hopping bags ? Do ye even use bags or just chuck them straight in?


I have heard of people using glass marbles (i lost mine) but i had none to hand when i got the notion to do this.

[johnrm]

I use a handful of sanitised glass marbles.

The pellets have probably dissolved and are in solution. (Not used pellets much)
I would have thought chucking these in loose would have worked without the bowl.

Sanitise your paddle and gently push down the floater, that said, once they are saturated, the flavour should get into your beer.

[LordEoin]

When using bags i weigh down with marbles or cutlery.
Now that yours is in there, i'd probably just leave it float and chalk it down to learning 

[Greg2013]

Thanks John, followed your advice and tried pushing down the leaf hops but the damn thing just popped back up. Must get a couple of bags of marbles for next time though and some new muslin bags. Kinda wish i had another keg though so i could keg both brews :

[Eoin]

Thanks John, followed your advice and tried pushing down the leaf hops but the damn thing just popped back up. Must get a couple of bags of marbles for next time though and some new muslin bags. Kinda wish i had another keg though so i could keg both brews :

Don't use muslin bags, get yourself some voile curtain material, it's much better and won't rot as muslin will, it'll also clean up better after use.

[Greg2013]

Eoin what about those nylon mesh bags from HB shops for steeping grains ? Would that be like what you are on about? Cheers.

[Eoin]

Eoin what about those nylon mesh bags from HB shops for steeping grains ? Would that be like what you are on about? Cheers.

Nylon would be fine.

[DEMPSEY]

How big are the holes in the nylon bags will they hold back the pellet gunk.

[Greg2013]

http://www.homebrewwest.ie/youngs-large-nylon-straining-bag---fine-177-p.asp

Thats the type i have Dempsey.

[DEMPSEY]

Cannot see if it is ok for pellets. Eoin recommends voile for pellets.

[Eoin]

I use voile in my BIAB bags, I use it for my own hop bags.

I can't but imagine they are fine for hop pellets also, I mean the pieces are not tiny and it's used globally for BIAB.

[Eoin]

Cannot see if it is ok for pellets. Eoin recommends voile for pellets.

Voile is Nylon

[DEMPSEY]

Cannot see if it is ok for pellets. Eoin recommends voile for pellets.

Voile is Nylon

Ha haa shows what I know,to talk bullshit is fine,putting it to print means you have to be a good bullshitter and I claim to be one of if not the finest bullshitter around.

[UpsidedownA (Andrew)]

what about using pellets without a bag, allowing them to break up and suffuse through the beer, and then siphoning off the trub after a few days. And siphoning off again etc. until you get it good and clear. As far as I can see this method is obligatory if you're dry hopping a carboy. Worked fine for me. (I wasn't sure what hop flavour I wanted so I broke the batch down into a few carboys and dry hopped them all separately.

[Greg2013]

Extra syphoning= extra risk of infection IMHO.