50 replies to this topic

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

think you should ask yourself what exactly do you want it to taste like...

I'm pretty much winging these things

[Big Nake]

On a good example of an AAA, I usually pick up a dry hop addition. When I was a newbie, I had a harder time picking up that characteristic. A local brewpub here has a nice, light amber-colored AAA that has a distinct dry-hopped profile. The hops are in your face, but they're not overly assertive like a Chinook or something along those lines. I had the chance to talk with the brewer as he was walking past our table and asked him about the hop profile on this beer (this may have been 8+ years ago) and I said something like This has to come from dry-hopping, right? and he winked and said, You guessed it. I would use whatever hops you like and charge it with a good 60-minute addition followed by a bunch of late additions and an ounce of something for dry-hopping for 2-3 weeks. I have an AAA planned with Denny's 2450, using Vanguard & Sterling with more Sterling as a dry hop. Cheers.

[DaBearSox]

On a good example of an AAA, I usually pick up a dry hop addition. When I was a newbie, I had a harder time picking up that characteristic. A local brewpub here has a nice, light amber-colored AAA that has a distinct dry-hopped profile. The hops are in your face, but they're not overly assertive like a Chinook or something along those lines. I had the chance to talk with the brewer as he was walking past our table and asked him about the hop profile on this beer (this may have been 8+ years ago) and I said something like This has to come from dry-hopping, right? and he winked and said, You guessed it. I would use whatever hops you like and charge it with a good 60-minute addition followed by a bunch of late additions and an ounce of something for dry-hopping for 2-3 weeks. I have an AAA planned with Denny's 2450, using Vanguard & Sterling with more Sterling as a dry hop. Cheers.

Not to hijack, but Ken let me know how using that Denny's yeast works out for you...I have made 3 batches with it so far and all of them have been really really really slow....the yeast clings to the side of the fermenter and there isn't much krausen...however it has a great profile from what I can tell without any bottles fully carbed yet. I talked to Denny about it and he said sometimes when he uses it it can take 4 days and then sometimes 3 weeks...

[ncbeerbrewer]

Not to hijack, but Ken let me know how using that Denny's yeast works out for you...I have made 3 batches with it so far and all of them have been really really really slow....the yeast clings to the side of the fermenter and there isn't much krausen...however it has a great profile from what I can tell without any bottles fully carbed yet. I talked to Denny about it and he said sometimes when he uses it it can take 4 days and then sometimes 3 weeks...

DBS. I have to agree with you on the fermentation of 2450. It is a really great yeast. I have brewed Denny's RIPA, Another IPA, an Amber and several Porters and a Stout. Yes they all have been slow fermenters or another thing I have observed is after 10-12 days in primary FG will hover around 1.018-1.020 then when you transfer and leave the yeast cake behind it will finish down to 1.009-1.012. Never seen that with this yeast but it has happened about 3-4 times. I do think its a great yeast though and I would still use it often. Hope your brew goes well with it too Ken.

[DaBearSox]

DBS. I have to agree with you on the fermentation of 2450. It is a really great yeast. I have brewed Denny's RIPA, Another IPA, an Amber and several Porters and a Stout. Yes they all have been slow fermenters or another thing I have observed is after 10-12 days in primary FG will hover around 1.018-1.020 then when you transfer and leave the yeast cake behind it will finish down to 1.009-1.012. Never seen that with this yeast but it has happened about 3-4 times. I do think its a great yeast though and I would still use it often. Hope your brew goes well with it too Ken.

exactly...it will seem to bottom out then I transfer to the 2dary and it gets going again even when racked on gelatin...its one crazy acting yeast

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

On a good example of an AAA, I usually pick up a dry hop addition. When I was a newbie, I had a harder time picking up that characteristic. A local brewpub here has a nice, light amber-colored AAA that has a distinct dry-hopped profile. The hops are in your face, but they're not overly assertive like a Chinook or something along those lines. I had the chance to talk with the brewer as he was walking past our table and asked him about the hop profile on this beer (this may have been 8+ years ago) and I said something like This has to come from dry-hopping, right? and he winked and said, You guessed it. I would use whatever hops you like and charge it with a good 60-minute addition followed by a bunch of late additions and an ounce of something for dry-hopping for 2-3 weeks. I have an AAA planned with Denny's 2450, using Vanguard & Sterling with more Sterling as a dry hop. Cheers.

I've never dry hopped before. I'd be using pellets. How much is appropriate and is bagging necessary?

[DaBearSox]

I've never dry hopped before. I'd be using pellets. How much is appropriate and is bagging necessary?

my process is to just add pellets into a boiled nylon hop bag so that i keep all the junk out of the beer.

[Big Nake]

Zym: I've done it a couple ways and I like pellets the best. I know a lot of brewers like to use leaf hops for dry-hopping, but pellets have worked great for me. Either bag them (muslin bag) and stuff them into the secondary along with some sanitized marbles (so it sinks and makes better contact with the beer) or bag them, tie a thread to the bag and "suspend" the bag in the keg. Let the thread go right out the hatch... the gasket will still seal just fine. I still use marbles so the bag sinks and if the dry-hopping becomes to assertive, just pull the thread and raise the bag out of the beer. I did this with an ounce of Sterling in a beer that was similar to MLPA. I underhopped the beer or the hops were old so I tried to save the beer with this method. It worked awesome and didn't just save the beer, it really MADE the beer. That beer was probably on tap for 4 weeks and the hops were in there the whole time and never got grassy or nasty.Also... if you put the bag in the secondary, it will expand and the best way to get it out of there is to invert the carboy so the bag is near the opening and then try to rip it apart with scissors so it breaks apart and comes out in pieces. Not fun, but effective. Cheers!

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Zym: I've done it a couple ways and I like pellets the best. I know a lot of brewers like to use leaf hops for dry-hopping, but pellets have worked great for me. Either bag them (muslin bag) and stuff them into the secondary along with some sanitized marbles (so it sinks and makes better contact with the beer) or bag them, tie a thread to the bag and "suspend" the bag in the keg. Let the thread go right out the hatch... the gasket will still seal just fine. I still use marbles so the bag sinks and if the dry-hopping becomes to assertive, just pull the thread and raise the bag out of the beer. I did this with an ounce of Sterling in a beer that was similar to MLPA. I underhopped the beer or the hops were old so I tried to save the beer with this method. It worked awesome and didn't just save the beer, it really MADE the beer. That beer was probably on tap for 4 weeks and the hops were in there the whole time and never got grassy or nasty. Also... if you put the bag in the secondary, it will expand and the best way to get it out of there is to invert the carboy so the bag is near the opening and then try to rip it apart with scissors so it breaks apart and comes out in pieces. Not fun, but effective. Cheers!

what's a good amount? I don't want to go too overboard here.

[ncbeerbrewer]

what's a good amount? I don't want to go too overboard here.

I think dry hopping with up to 2oz of hops is sufficient. It all depends how much aroma you want and flavor. I think 2oz if a good ball park but its brewer's choice. I have been dry hopping in the keg with several of my last IPA's and bought some of those paint strainer bags to put the pellets in. They have worked great. I got mine at Lowe's Home Improvement Strainer bags To add depth you could dry hop with say Cascade for 3 days, then remove and dry hop with Amarillo for 3 more then add Columbus and Dry hop for another three. Lots of variations and creativity is welcome.

[Big Nake]

Zym: I've always done it with one ounce. I would start there and see how you like it. If it's not enough, you could always add more. It also depends on what you're doing... in the secondary, add 2 ounces for 1-2 weeks. In the keg, go with only 1 ounce so it doesn't start getting grassy, earthy, flowery, buggy, nutty or goofy. Cheers!

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Zym: I've always done it with one ounce. I would start there and see how you like it. If it's not enough, you could always add more. It also depends on what you're doing... in the secondary, add 2 ounces for 1-2 weeks. In the keg, go with only 1 ounce so it doesn't start getting grassy, earthy, flowery, buggy, nutty or goofy. Cheers!

I was planning on doing it in secondary. Does this mean that I should cut back on the hops in the boil at all?

[Big Nake]

I was planning on doing it in secondary. Does this mean that I should cut back on the hops in the boil at all?

I don't think so. If you had a hop addition at zero or 1 or 2 minutes, I suppose you could save those hops for the dry hopping, but I see a lot of recipes that have various late additions and then a dry hop addition as well. The dry hop addition adds something that you cannot get with late-boil additions. It's hard to describe, but it's a very pleasant hop flavor and aroma that would ordinarily be scrubbed out in the primary process. When I used the one ounce of Sterling pellets in this keg of pale/amber ale, I was very surprised and pleased with the added hop aroma that it brought out in the beer.

I see that you have an ounce of Cascade for 1-minute that you could leave out and use for dry-hopping if you wanted. I'm not a huge late-addition + dry hop brewer so maybe someone else would like to answer that one. I assume that the hopheads on the board would say to have a 2 minute, 1 minute, flameout AND dry hop addition. Cheers Amigo!

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I don't think so. If you had a hop addition at zero or 1 or 2 minutes, I suppose you could save those hops for the dry hopping, but I see a lot of recipes that have various late additions and then a dry hop addition as well. The dry hop addition adds something that you cannot get with late-boil additions. It's hard to describe, but it's a very pleasant hop flavor and aroma that would ordinarily be scrubbed out in the primary process. When I used the one ounce of Sterling pellets in this keg of pale/amber ale, I was very surprised and pleased with the added hop aroma that it brought out in the beer.

I see that you have an ounce of Cascade for 1-minute that you could leave out and use for dry-hopping if you wanted. I'm not a huge late-addition + dry hop brewer so maybe someone else would like to answer that one. I assume that the hopheads on the board would say to have a 2 minute, 1 minute, flameout AND dry hop addition. Cheers Amigo!

my late addition cascades I'm probably just going to start tossing handfuls in at regular intervals starting around 10 mins (they are homegrown cascades from a friend in Maine). I'll still probably keep all of the hop amounts pretty much the same and then add in the 2oz of dry hop pellets. I was reading that some people just toss the pellets into secondary bag free and that it settles out. Is this really the case?

[Big Nake]

my late addition cascades I'm probably just going to start tossing handfuls in at regular intervals starting around 10 mins (they are homegrown cascades from a friend in Maine). I'll still probably keep all of the hop amounts pretty much the same and then add in the 2oz of dry hop pellets. I was reading that some people just toss the pellets into secondary bag free and that it settles out. Is this really the case?

I think it's possible that could happen depending on how long the beer sits in secondary. I use a gel solution on every batch so maybe I'd get lucky that the hops would all settle out and stick to the yeast layer at the bottom. But I do use a bag every time just to keep the hops together. Remember too that if you add the hops to secondary, you'll want to watch how long they're in there. I've heard of brewers racking the beer to secondary w/o the dry hops and then adding the dry hops later as the time gets closer to the beer getting into the keg. If you put the dry hops into the secondary and they sink... and for some reason you decide that this beer cannot get to a keg, you may have trouble because some dry-hoppers mention that after 2 weeks, the hops can get very grassy. I think this depends on how many hops and which varieties, but think about that before you do it. Again, this suspended hop bag of Sterlings had to be in this keg for 4 weeks and they stayed very nice the whole time.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Updated recipe:5 gallon batchMALT:7lbs 2-row (US pale ale)2lbs Munich0.75lbs Crystal 65L0.25lbs Crystal 120L0.25lbs CarapilsMash around 151F for 60 minsHOPS:0.6oz Magnum for 60 mins1oz Willamette for 15 mins1oz Cascade for 10 mins1oz Cascade for 1 minsdry hop 2oz cascade pellets for 2 weeks prior to keggingSRM: 12.24OG: 1.052IBU: 35.7Ferment with Wyeast 1056

[ncbeerbrewer]

Updated recipe: 5 gallon batch MALT: 7lbs 2-row (US pale ale) 2lbs Munich 0.75lbs Crystal 65L 0.25lbs Crystal 120L 0.25lbs Carapils Mash around 151F for 60 mins HOPS: 0.6oz Magnum for 60 mins 1oz Willamette for 15 mins 1oz Cascade for 10 mins 1oz Cascade for 1 mins dry hop 2oz cascade pellets for 2 weeks prior to kegging SRM: 12.24 OG: 1.052 IBU: 35.7 Ferment with Wyeast 1056

Recipe looks good. I have seen a good number of recipes with just the malts you list. If you wanted you could go 6-8oz of Pale Choc or Chocolate malt or even the same in Biscuit or Victory malt. I think with the lower IBU you should get some malt flavor and the dry hopping and hop combination should be great too. Brew it well Zym.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Recipe looks good. I have seen a good number of recipes with just the malts you list. If you wanted you could go 6-8oz of Pale Choc or Chocolate malt or even the same in Biscuit or Victory malt. I think with the lower IBU you should get some malt flavor and the dry hopping and hop combination should be great too. Brew it well Zym.

I think I'm going to hold back on putting too many specialty malts in this time around. I am hoping the balance isn't overly hoppy for this beer. I actually made a mistake in that post, I upped the magnum to 0.8oz which will put my IBUs just over 40.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

So here is what the recipe ended up being:5.25 gallon batchMALT:7lbs 2-row (US pale ale)2.25lbs Munich0.75lbs Crystal 65L0.25lbs Crystal 120L0.125lbs CarapilsMash averaged about 150F for 60 minsHOPS:0.8oz Magnum for 60 mins1oz Willamette for 15 mins1oz Cascade for 10 mins1oz Cascade for 1 minsSRM: 12.36OG: 1.052IBU: 43Ferment with Wyeast 1056 60-64FNow onto the dry hopping in secondary...At first I was thinking 2oz of cascade for two weeks, then I was thinking maybe 1oz Cascade and 1oz Williamette for two weeks. Does anyone have any thoughts here?

[siouxbrewer]

I like what you put together here. I never use more than 5% crystal but those are my tastes, I just prefer big base malt character. Keep us posted on how your dry-hopping turns out, I may try something similar in the future.