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Is there any risk of spoiling my beer by dry hopping? Before adding it to the secondary should I soak it in a bit of alcohol (vodka or whatever) or steam it or just toss it in?

By the time you're dry hopping you don't need to worry (that much) about nasties spoiling your beer. There's enough alcohol in there at that point that it'll take care of anything minor that might creep in (of course sanitation and cleanliness is still important). Just make sure your hops go from their sealed container into your fermenter (or secondary) and you'll be just fine.

Good point Jeff, gotta make sure your hops are fresh for best flavor and aroma

I've heard the odd person think they ruined their beer from dry hopping, but I just can't imagine that's the cause. I've massively dryhopped with pellets, leaf, and wet hops and never had a problem.

Thanks guys,

I'll just add it out of the bag like Jeff said.

No worries with dry-hopping, hops are an excellent inhibitor of beer spoilage bacteria so we've been blessed as brewers to go ahead and dump them in.

On another note, here's some info that's not very common knowledge - there have been many studies done on dry-hopping and it's effects, some of the studies were closely related to first wort hopping techniques. Dry-hopping doesn't release any alpha acids or bitterness into the beer but it can and does add astringency depending on the strain and quantities used. Here's where the relation to first wort hopping comes in, they discovered if you steep the raw hops in a bit of water to make a thin slurry @ 160 - 170F for 10 - 15 minutes then dump the whole thing into your finished beer for dry-hopping that it almost completely eliminates the associated astringency and brings new heights to dry-hopping with a more integrated, softer palate while retaining that fresh hop burst. It works.

Nash that just adds to my list of reasons why the term 'dry-hopping' is odd. Hops are always dry (unless you are using wet/fresh hops) Unless it means the beer is drier (fermented) when we add the dry hops.

So now you are saying I should add 'wet' hops when I am dry-hopping..

akr71 wrote:Nash that just adds to my list of reasons why the term 'dry-hopping' is odd. Hops are always dry (unless you are using wet/fresh hops) Unless it means the beer is drier (fermented) when we add the dry hops.

So now you are saying I should add 'wet' hops when I am dry-hopping..

Well you know me, recipe calls for an oz of hops, I add 12, calls for dry I add wet..... I call it forward thinking

So how much water for 'a thin slurry?' Just enough to cover them?

I'm definitely trying this for the next dry-hopped brew.

akr71 wrote:So how much water for 'a thin slurry?' Just enough to cover them?

I'm definitely trying this for the next dry-hopped brew.

Yeah, then add more as needed, they'll absorb the water and turn into thick mush so just keep them in a slurry.

For the record, I've never gotten an infection from dry hopping, and I've done plenty of it. I am definitely trying Nash's slurry trick for my next APA (not until hop harvest time, unfortunately).

amartin wrote: I am definitely trying Nash's slurry trick for my next APA (not until hop harvest time, unfortunately).

Just reading this thread. I'm interested. Are many people still using the slurry?

I do, when I'm not being lazy.

My last one I didn't - I just tossed in about 4 oz of dry pellets and beer judges detected astringency.

Interesting! I'm doing this next time I dry hop. I really enjoy dry hopping with different hops for different times. Would this technique still work when you do a 10 day and 3 day dry hop for the same batch? Sometimes I start off with a 10-12 day 2.5 oz dry hop followed by a 3-5 day 2 oz dry hop.

NASH wrote:No worries with dry-hopping, hops are an excellent inhibitor of beer spoilage bacteria so we've been blessed as brewers to go ahead and dump them in.

On another note, here's some info that's not very common knowledge - there have been many studies done on dry-hopping and it's effects, some of the studies were closely related to first wort hopping techniques. Dry-hopping doesn't release any alpha acids or bitterness into the beer but it can and does add astringency depending on the strain and quantities used. Here's where the relation to first wort hopping comes in, they discovered if you steep the raw hops in a bit of water to make a thin slurry @ 160 - 170F for 10 - 15 minutes then dump the whole thing into your finished beer for dry-hopping that it almost completely eliminates the associated astringency and brings new heights to dry-hopping with a more integrated, softer palate while retaining that fresh hop burst. It works.

I like this idea. I have to dry hop a batch tomorrow and will do it this way. I'm thinking the process doesn't need to be neurotically sterile (pre-boiling the water etc.) because the hops are very antimicrobial?

I'd pre-boil or at least hold hot for a some time to de-aerate and ensure there's no microbes at the same time. Not much bacteria living in potable water, but still, and there's plenty of oxygen present.

NASH wrote:I'd pre-boil or at least hold hot for a some time to de-aerate and ensure there's no microbes at the same time. Not much bacteria living in potable water, but still, and there's plenty of oxygen present.

Thanks ...will do!

I devised a simple formula to calculate strike temp for the slurry.

(Volume of water in mls + weight of room temperature pellet hops in grams) divided by volume of water, multiplied by 80 = strike water temp in degrees centigrade.

The formula allows for a little temperature to be absorbed by a 500ml Pyrex salad bowl.

Eg. For my dry hop tomorrow: 1000mls water + 150g pellet hops.

1150/1000 x 80 = 92 C (197.6 f)

I tried it with some very old pellets and it worked (around 165f). Kathleen has a kettle for making special teas. It has a sight glass for volume and you can set it to the temperature you need. The closest button was 200f so I used that. When I dry hop for real tomorrow, I'll boil the water in the kettle, let it cool a bit then take it back up to 200.

Thats the formula I use!

Sandy

GAM wrote:Thats the formula I use!

Sandy

I just spent an hour and a half working out that formula and trying it. Don't say that Sandy That's enough to make a person say "Sod It!" and go and pour a beer.

More simply put, for every ounce of pellets at room temp, add 200mls of water at 200f.

Or is that too thick? (5oz + 1L water) It is just thin enough that it will pour, kind of a "thick slurry".

GuingesRock wrote:More simply put, for every ounce of pellets at room temp, add 200mls of water at 200f.

Or is that too thick? (5oz + 1L water) It is just thin enough that it will pour, kind of a "thick slurry".

I love 5oz + 1L. How Canadian.

Sandy

...add in measurements like barrels, gallons, American pints, and you have a true Canadian brewer.

RubberToe wrote:I do, when I'm not being lazy.

My last one I didn't - I just tossed in about 4 oz of dry pellets and beer judges detected astringency.

Rob, how much water do you put with your hops to make the slurry please? I'm going to be doing this today.

(Also sent pm as wasn't sure if you would see this.)

GuingesRock wrote:Rob, how much water do you put with your hops to make the slurry please? I'm going to be doing this today.

Not enough.

I use a French press (no, I don't press it). I have to pour mine into a neck of a carboy and it's hard with a lot of hops. My last one was around 4 oz and I had to use a spoon to help get them in there. My press is about a litre but of course I can't use that much water because of the hops. I'm going to have to split them up or use a different vessel next time.

I'm not sure there's an optimal amount of water. If what you did in your test wasn't crazy thick I'd do it that way again. I don't want to dilute my beer too much but at the same time the hops will absorb some of that extra liquid.

RubberToe wrote:

GuingesRock wrote:Rob, how much water do you put with your hops to make the slurry please? I'm going to be doing this today.

Not enough.

I use a French press (no, I don't press it). I have to pour mine into a neck of a carboy and it's hard with a lot of hops. My last one was around 4 oz and I had to use a spoon to help get them in there. My press is about a litre but of course I can't use that much water because of the hops. I'm going to have to split them up or use a different vessel next time.

I'm not sure there's an optimal amount of water. If what you did in your test wasn't crazy thick I'd do it that way again. I don't want to dilute my beer too much but at the same time the hops will absorb some of that extra liquid.

Thanks, That might be a good point you made. Instead of the dry hops soaking up and wasting beer, they are already saturated with water.

Granted, there'll likely be some diffusion taking place with the alcohol as well.