What is the dry hopping

Our previous method of adding hops is to add when the wort is boiled, but boiling will make the aroma components of the hops (various oils, alcohols, phenols and other complex components) lost. After boiling for more than 15 minutes, the aroma and taste provided by the hops will lose a lot, and the taste of the hops will also change while boiling. So often people add hops in the last 5 minutes of boiling to preserve the aroma as much as possible. But even this,it also lose a lot of hop oil that is volatile when heated.

The purpose of dry hopping is to lock the aroma of hops in the beer as much as possible.

Dry hopping refers to the brewing technology of adding hops in batches again or multiple times during beer fermentation. The dry hopping can maximize the hops aroma.The temperature above 85°C can help the α-acids in the hops to quickly transform into the soluble isomer α-acids (iso-α-acids), which provides a bitter taste to the beer. But in the cool fermentation tank, the α-acid cannot be isomerized and dissolved into the beer and will not increase the bitterness of the beer, while the aroma substances slowly penetrate into the beer, providing additional hop aroma and flavor to the beer.

▲Dry hopping temperature

According to different types of beer, dry hopping will be carried out at different temperatures. The temperature of dry hopping can be 1°C, 14°C, or 20°C. The aroma substances have different solubility at different temperatures. The higher the temperature, the higher the dissolution efficiency. Therefore, there will be different hop flavors at each different temperature, which is determined by the composition and temperature of the aroma substances.

▲Dry hopping time

5-15 days is all right. The aroma obtained in less than 3 days is not enough, and it will produce a clear grassy smell after more than two weeks. In popular foreign formulas, the common dry hopping time is 5 or 9 days.

▲Hop consumption

In the general formula, 1:3 (20L beer: 60g hops) to 1:5 (20L beer: 100g of hops) is more common. The scent below 1:3 is not obvious enough, and the upper limit is not necessarily limited to 1:5. Recently popular New England muddy IPA, some brewer even throw 400g  hops in 20L beers . In the American IPA formula, it is not uncommon for 20L beer to put 200g hops.

▲The effect of alcohol

Alcohol content affects the solubility and extraction capacity of aroma substances. High alcohol content can extract a more intense aromas, and more quickly.

▲The influence of yeast

The presence of yeast can determine the aroma of the final beer. By adding hops during fermentation, the yeast will convert or absorb these aroma substances. The carbon dioxide produced will even take away part of the aroma. After the yeast's complex material conversion, fruit and herbal aromas are produced. As long as there is yeast, the fragrance will continue to change.

▲Dry hopping Equipment

According to the amount of beer, it can dry hopping directly into the Keg barrel or fermentation tank. Of course, there are also special equipment for dry hopping, such as Hop gun, Dry-Hopnik, Hop rocket, X-tractor.

Is the pelleted hops better or the flower hops better?

These two kinds of hops have their own advantages. The soaking time required for  pelleted hops is relatively short, generally 1-3 days. The flower hops needs 5 -7 days. 

The pelleted hops are often broken and the flower hops remains intact, so the flavor of the  flower hops is often better than that of pelleted hops.But because the flower hops are not crushed, the time for soaking is slightly longer. After the pellets hops entering into fermentation tank, they will sink into the beer, and the flower hops will float on the surface of the beer, so that part of the hops will not soak the beer. When invading, find a way to let the flower hops soak into the beer.

NOTE:The most important thing about dry hopping is to try not to bring oxygen into the dry hopping. Otherwise, there will be unpredictable results.

Related equipment:Beer fermenter

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