dry hopping at 7 days

[pk]

Hi all,
When you are supposed to dry hop at day 7. Does that mean 7 days after you get the beer into the fermenter or when its 7 days to go before batch priming and bottling?

I forgotten!

thanks
Paul

[HomeBrewWest]

7 days after fermentation begins.

[LordEoin]

You want to wait until the fermentation has died down.
Otherwise it will 'gas scrub' the aroma out.
Well, that's the theory anyway. But some will say that it only makes a difference if you're brewing on a commercial scale.
I've dryhopped on day 1 many times and not noticed much of a difference.
But I find it's more important to dryhop by how many days are left rather than how many days are gone, because after a while (5-7 days) of the dryhop in your beer you'll get grassy off flavors (apparently)

[HomeBrewWest]

Plus 1.

Leave the hops in for 3 to 5 days max.

[pk]

thanks, last brew I tried to dry hop I thought was going to be a disaster. I was using a fermenter with a narrow opening and had nothing to weigh the hop bag down with so it just floated on top for 2 weeks leaving quite a lot of mouldy stuff floating all over the surface of the brew. Tasted aright in the end though.

Need to buy another bucket type fermenter, easier to clean and I can use a mug to weigh down the hop bag.

[winstonia]

Plus 1.

Leave the hops in for 3 to 5 days max.

I would disagree with this, 7-10 days is fine

[cruiscinlan]

Quick question on dry hopping, do ye bring your hops to the boil before adding them in order to sterilise them or do ye just add them straight out of the packet?

[Qs]

Hi all,
When you are supposed to dry hop at day 7. Does that mean 7 days after you get the beer into the fermenter or when its 7 days to go before batch priming and bottling?

I forgotten!

thanks
Paul

I think depending on where you are reading it could mean either way but I tend to think about a 7 day dry hop as putting the hops in 7 days before packaging.

I also completely disagree with the suggestion that you shouldn't dry hop for more than 5 days. I've had a good results with dry hopping up to 14 days.

[LordEoin]

Quick question on dry hopping, do ye bring your hops to the boil before adding them in order to sterilise them or do ye just add them straight out of the packet?

just add them as they are. they're clean
if you're using a muslin bag, boil that properly for 10 minutes to get rid of any nasties in the fibers.
If you're weighting the bag down, sterilize the weights too.

[cruiscinlan]

Cheers for that. I was in a bit of funk over it as heating them would obviously reduce aroma and flavours but couldn't figure out how ye supposed to do it!

[Qs]

Hops were originally added to beer for their antbiotic properties, they helped keep nasty bacteria at bay so you can just throw them in as you wish. Just be sure to sanitise everything else as you go. Especially your hop bag and as mate of mine found to his expense the string you tie the bag with.