Tips and Tricks: Dry Hopping
We have discussed hops on many different occasions on this site. This weeks tip though is focused solely on one aspect of hops, dry hopping. Dry hopping is the process of adding hops to secondary fermenter and the alcohol in the conditioning ale stripping the beta acids (that deliver the flavour and aroma) from the hop. Beta acids are water soluble and much of the aroma captured in the last few minutes of the boil through late hop additions do just evaporate out through the airlock so dry hopping is a way to keep the strong hop flavours, especially important in American IPA’s
But dry hopping can clog up the system. The hops leave particles in the beer, and do not assist the ale in clearing, which is one of the functions of the secondary fermentation process. Bits get into bottles and lead to heavy sediment. It can be hard to siphon or rack a dry hopped secondary due to clogging. Of course if you can afford a filtration system stop reading, your beers are bright and beautiful and we are jealous. For those that do not (that would include me) get some cheese cloth, place your hops inside, tie a not and drop in the secondary. Trust me, you get all the benefits without the mess or the need for an expensive filter.
