Dry hopping involves adding hops to beer during or after fermentation to boost aroma and flavor without increasing bitterness, and brewers often debate how long the hops should stay in contact with the beer. We explore three Brülosophy exBEERiments focused on dry hop contact times, ranging from a just an hour to nearly 2 weeks. Does it make a difference? Let’s find out!
6 thoughts on “The Brülosophy Show: How Long Should You Dry Hop?”
Very informative and thought provoking. What size/capacity stir plate was used and what speed was it set at? Currently my drop hop schedule is anywhere between 1 & 3 days, but if it can be reduced to just 1 hour it is something worth experimenting with. Love all the videos that you produce, keep up the good work.
Here’s the approach I’ve used for a few years, after trying different ideas over the ten years I’ve homebrewed. Three days, no agitation. No bag or hop drop device…just throw the pellets in. After three days, cold crash. Produces beers that I enjoy and others enjoy (and keep asking for). On the other hand, if I’m using someone else’s recipe, I’ll usually follow the recipe schedule. This also results in good beer. All of this seems to mean, don’t get too wound around the axle on dry-hopping processes.
I agitate and fresh hop my mead during primary and then rack off 3-5 days later. I notice an obvious difference from 3 days or 5 days. Mr. B’s Meadery in Seattle.
I would love to see an experiment where 2 beers are dry-hopped at lower temps (58F) for the same duration (3-5 days) where one fermenter is recirculated/agitated/roused and the other left alone. At cooler temps, the hops tend to sink more quickly and I always wondered how the sinking hops might adversely affect utilization.
Wouldn’t a simpler/limited hop addition schedule make it easier to evaluate dry hopping?
Why was this experiment done with such a complex, heavy hop addition schedule? Wouldn’t it be easier to determine with a more simple recipe.