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  • Wait and see?

    So, I look at my phone this morning to notice 4 missed calls. My assistant brewed a batch of pale ale, and failed to put in the whirlpool hops. He discovered this during KO (hence the 4 calls). When we finally connected, he said he "just dumped the hops into the fermentor as the wort was knocking out."

    I have never experienced this before. It can't be good, but can it really be that bad? My guess is, possible stuck fermentation? Possible contamination if the hops were handled? We are talking about 5.5# of hops in 9.75 Bbls of wort.

    Other than an inconsistent beer, what could I expect? What can I do to remedy the situation? I suppose I could make a hop tea when it is time to dry hop. This could increase the bitterness. Thoughts?

  • #2
    Originally posted by mr.jay
    So, I look at my phone this morning to notice 4 missed calls. My assistant brewed a batch of pale ale, and failed to put in the whirlpool hops. He discovered this during KO (hence the 4 calls). When we finally connected, he said he "just dumped the hops into the fermentor as the wort was knocking out."

    I have never experienced this before. It can't be good, but can it really be that bad? My guess is, possible stuck fermentation? Possible contamination if the hops were handled? We are talking about 5.5# of hops in 9.75 Bbls of wort.

    Other than an inconsistent beer, what could I expect? What can I do to remedy the situation? I suppose I could make a hop tea when it is time to dry hop. This could increase the bitterness. Thoughts?
    Way back when, I experienced an very similar situation: forgot the last hop until the knockout was done. Being a young and panic-stricken assistant brewer, I dumped the last hop into the fermentor, closed the lid, and walked away whistling ("nothin' to see here, move along").
    The beer did not get infected. That fermentation went off without a hitch but it did come out much hoppier than it would have if I'd have dropped the hop in prior to the whirlpool. You could rebrew that recipe but with a hop adjustment to the last drop and then blend the two. Risky but it could work.

    Prost!
    dave
    Glacier Brewing Company
    406-883-2595
    info@glacierbrewing.com

    "who said what now?"

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    • #3
      I think you'll be fine. I used to dry hop with whole hops by putting them into the fermenter in a mesh bag and then knocking out right on top of them. I never had any infection problems.

      You'll get a stronger hop character than you would with normal whirlpool hopping. Think of sort of half way between w-pool hops and traditional dry hops. And you probably won't want to repitch your yeast because it's going to be chock full of hop particles.
      Hutch Kugeman
      Head Brewer
      Brooklyn Brewery at the Culinary Institute of America
      Hyde Park, NY

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      • #4
        A small chain I used to brew for used spundig valves on the ferms. When dry hopping, short of xfering tank to tank, going straight into the primary prior to knock out was the only practical way. We just dumped them in loose, they would be immediately hydrated by the incoming wort. It worked well. Some of the aromatics associated with dry hopping were lost (CO2 blow off), but so was the "grassy" character often noted from dry hopping. Because of the blow off factor, I found that I needed about 10% more hops to get the same level of effect. I think kugeman's in between comment is pretty much correct.

        If this is a beer that normally gets dry hopped, I would wait until close to time for the procedure and taste it. You should be able to adjust dry hops/ hop tea to compensate pretty well. Heck, you may find out that you like the result as it is! In short, you'll be fine

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        • #5
          Breathing sighs of relief (along with Mikey my assistant). Thanks for the input guys!

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