37 replies to this topic

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I'm on my second attempt at dry hopping and I'm finding that initially I get a lot of grassiness. If I remove the hops it does fade but the aroma isn't around for that long. Is there any way around this? If I left the hops in the beer would the grassiness just go away or will it just stick around and possibly get worse?Currently I have 3oz of pellets in a keg of AIPA that has been dry hopping for about a week.

[pete maz]

That's pretty normal, especially if you used 3oz in 5 gals. I get a bit of grassiness at the beginning, but it fades over the next week or two. I always leave the hops in the keg until it kicks, and have no issues.Some varieties are worse than others - I get tons of grassiness from Amarillo, not so much from Centennial.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

That's pretty normal, especially if you used 3oz in 5 gals. I get a bit of grassiness at the beginning, but it fades over the next week or two. I always leave the hops in the keg until it kicks, and have no issues.Some varieties are worse than others - I get tons of grassiness from Amarillo, not so much from Centennial.

in this case it's 2oz of cascade and 1oz of magnum

[BlKtRe]

After cold conditioning when the yeast has dropped out, set your secondary out in room temp. Once the beer is at ambient, toss in your favorite dry hops. Let sit at that temp and dry hop 3-5 days. Then pull the hops. You wont get any grassy phenolics but you will get the aroma. A brew buddy uses this technique and I must say it works every time.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

After cold conditioning when the yeast has dropped out, set your secondary out in room temp. Once the beer is at ambient, toss in your favorite dry hops. Let sit at that temp and dry hop 3-5 days. Then pull the hops. You wont get any grassy phenolics but you will get the aroma. A brew buddy uses this technique and I must say it works every time.

That's actually what I did except it was more like high 50s temperature wise and I left the hops in after I put it in the fridge. I'm sure pulling them early would have cut down on the grassiness but I don't think I would have ended up with a ton of aroma based on the somewhat muted aroma I'm getting right now.

[zymot]

I am in the minority among homebrewers. I am not a big proponent of the dry hopping practice.Dry hopping produces a grassiness that I do not enjoy but does fade with time. The down side, the hop aroma itself is not far behind in fading. I get a sweet spot of time with no grassiness and good aroma. Thus, I do not bother with dry hopping very often.The people who dry hop, love it. So you can try it and see what kinds of results you get.When I want to go all out like The Mad Hopper, I use hop burst techniques. First Wort Hopping, plenty of late (last 20 minutes) in the boil additions.Certainly dry hopping is the more efficient way to add hop aroma.zymot

[lowendfrequency]

As others have said, I'll usually experience some grassiness (chlorophyll) initially which will fade with time. However, I'd be looking at those magnum hops as a main culprit. Yuck! Save those beasts for bittering only. The only way I can think to describe the flavor of magnum is fresh cut lawn.

[MyaCullen]

As others have said, I'll usually experience some grassiness (chlorophyll) initially which will fade with time. However, I'd be looking at those magnum hops as a main culprit. Yuck! Save those beasts for bittering only. The only way I can think to describe the flavor of magnum is fresh cut lawn.

they are used in the Torpedo as one of it's "Torpedo Circulator" hops, no grassiness in that

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

As others have said, I'll usually experience some grassiness (chlorophyll) initially which will fade with time. However, I'd be looking at those magnum hops as a main culprit. Yuck! Save those beasts for bittering only. The only way I can think to describe the flavor of magnum is fresh cut lawn.

I actually had even more grassiness when I dry hopped with cascade and willamette.

[BlKtRe]

That's actually what I did except it was more like high 50s temperature wise and I left the hops in after I put it in the fridge.

No. Nothing like I explained. Its a temp thing. You added the hops at 50* then chilled it again with the hops. Instead add the hops when the beer is at room temp and leave it at that temp for 3-5 days, then remove the hops before chilling again. You wont get the dry hop phenolics that way.

they are used in the Torpedo as one of it's "Torpedo Circulator" hops, no grassiness in that

True. Even tho the Torpedo has changed in flavor profile since it was first brewed, I agree that Magnum doesn't lend itself to grassiness more than any other hop. Its how you dryhop as I explained that makes the difference. Temp is everything.

[lowendfrequency]

I actually had even more grassiness when I dry hopped with cascade and willamette.

I'd give you that. I find cascade to be grassy, even after the initial "fade". I'd also contribute some of it to perception, from the unique fact that tasting it in the keg will allow you to taste it throughout the dryhopping process with many different levels of flavor to compare against one another. At it's peak, you'll detect a grassiness that normally would never be evident in a dry hopped beer from a brewery or something hopped in your secondary.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

No. Nothing like I explained. Its a temp thing. You added the hops at 50* then chilled it again with the hops. Instead add the hops when the beer is at room temp and leave it at that temp for 3-5 days, then remove the hops before chilling again. You wont get the dry hop phenolics that way.

So the act of having hops in chilled beer adds phenolics regardless of what happened to the hops prior? B/c I did leave the hops in at something close to room temperature for 3-5 days before chilling the the keg.

[BlKtRe]

So the act of having hops in chilled beer adds phenolics regardless of what happened to the hops prior? B/c I did leave the hops in at something close to room temperature for 3-5 days before chilling the the keg.

Most likely yes.

[Rick]

zymological, have you listened to Vinnie Cilurzo's NHC lecture on dry hopping? If you haven't or haven't in a while, check it out at The Brewing Network Sunday Session 6/26/2005 episode (here). Basically what I got from the lecture; drop and remove your yeast (transfer to corny), dry hop at a rate of 0.25-0.50 oz (7-14 g) per gallon of beer, use a hop mixture, temp 60-68ºF, and 5-7 days and remove hops. During those 5-7 days you want to agitate the hops each day, either by shotting CO₂ through the output or gently shaking your keg. You can add another charge at the same conditions after you remove your previous charge to add addition aroma for IPAs and IIPAs. Pliny the Elder has 2 charges for a total dry hop time of 12 days. The Younger has 4 charges for 24 days total.I pretty much follow these guidelines. I drop my yeast and then transfer to a purged corny. Take a hop bag, drop in my mix (2 oz Amarillo + 0.5 oz Cascades), tie it up with a long piece of regular floss and place it between the lid and keg so that the bag can be retrieved, seal the keg with a few PSI of CO₂, and gently swirl the keg around everyday for 5 days. On day 6 I take the bag out, crank up the CO₂, and chill it down and let it carb over the next couple days. Amazing aroma with no grassiness or astringency.Nathan Smith has put a great presentation together about IIPAs which has a ton of great info about hops in general.

Edited by Rick, 16 May 2010 - 04:40 PM.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

zymological, have you listened to Vinnie Cilurzo's NHC lecture on dry hopping? If you haven't or haven't in a while, check it out at The Brewing Network Sunday Session 6/26/2005 episode (here). Basically what I got from the lecture; drop and remove your yeast (transfer to corny), dry hop at a rate of 0.25-0.50 oz (7-14 g) per gallon of beer, use a hop mixture, temp 60-68ºF, and 5-7 days and remove hops. During those 5-7 days you want to agitate the hops each day, either by shotting CO₂ through the output or gently shaking your keg. You can add another charge at the same conditions after you remove your previous charge to add addition aroma for IPAs and IIPAs. Pliny the Elder has 2 charges for a total dry hop time of 12 days. The Younger has 4 charges for 24 days total.I pretty much follow these guidelines. I drop my yeast and then transfer to a purged corny. Take a hop bag, drop in my mix (2 oz Amarillo + 0.5 oz Cascades), tie it up with a long piece of regular floss and place it between the lid and keg so that the bag can be retrieved, seal the keg with a few PSI of CO₂, and gently swirl the keg around everyday for 5 days. On day 6 I take the bag out, crank up the CO₂, and chill it down and let it carb over the next couple days. Amazing aroma with no grassiness or astringency.Nathan Smith has put a great presentation together about IIPAs which has a ton of great info about hops in general.

Good stuff - I'll have to keep this in mind next opportunity I get to dry hop something. Most likely it will be Denny's rye IPA next fall.

[zymot]

they are used in the Torpedo as one of it's "Torpedo Circulator" hops, no grassiness in that

Actually, I picked up a touch of grassiness in the torpedo. But I might be extra sensitive to that characteristic.

[passlaku]

Good stuff - I'll have to keep this in mind next opportunity I get to dry hop something. Most likely it will be Denny's rye IPA next fall.

Those resources are right on. I am a lazy brewer and I just dump the hops into the primary vessel once fermentation is done. I let it sit at room temp for about a week or two then I crash cool and transfer to a keg. I get pretty good results but I am sure the yeast tends to scrub some of the aroma (or coat the hop oils). On a final note, I have never really seen anyone dryhop with Magnum, since it is not really known for its aroma qualities.

[Stout_fan]

...Its a temp thing. You added the hops at 50* then chilled it again with the hops. Instead add the hops when the beer is at room temp and leave it at that temp for 3-5 days, then remove the hops before chilling again. You wont get the dry hop phenolics that way.... Its how you dryhop as I explained that makes the difference. Temp is everything.

I do it the same way. No grass in my beers.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I do it the same way. No grass in my beers.

which way do you do it? something like what I did or something like what the linked sources recommend?

[BlKtRe]

which way do you do it? something like what I did or something like what the linked sources recommend?

Since SF quoted me on the technique I described, id say it was my way.