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  • Dry hopping process

    Hi all,
    I have a question about my new dry hopping process - (8bbl FV)

    I’m planning to start dry hopping once the fermentation is 100% done and I was thinking of this process:
    - Set the pressure relief valve at 14 psi before the fermentation is finished in order to create a positive pressure into the FV.
    On the dry hopping day (beer at 68F):
    - Remove yeast from the FV bottom as much as possible.
    - Release the FV pressure (from the CIP arm) and dry hop from the top manhole and close the FV as fast as possible.
    - Immediately blow co2 from the FV bottom and put it again at 14 psi - allow some CO2 to get out from the relief valve in order to remove O2 introduced during the dry hopping.

    For the next 2-3 days: blow co2 from the FV bottom (once a day for about 30 sec/1 min each time) to better mix the hops.
    - cold crash.

    My main concern is about a possible gush since the beer will contain some co2 when the dry hopping is done.

    Do you guys have any experience with this?
    How do you dry hop in a 8bbl FV?

    Thanks!

  • #2
    DO NOT CAP A BEER YOURE GOING TO DRY HOP. You want to do this to beer that is a still as possible. I like to flow come co2 thru the CIP arm while the top is open just to create some positive pressure to keep oxygen out. You can pressurize post dry hop. but unless you want a gusher, do not even close that blow off valve until the beer has been dry hopped. Gushers happen very fast.

    Comment


    • #3
      definitely what jebzter said.

      no reason to go to 14psi or bother capping at all, really. just let it finish. connect your co2, set it for 1-2 psi, and it helps push/dump your yeast. once yeast is dumped, pop the dry hop port- CAREFULLY as even 1-2 psi pressure can pop it into your face- and dump in hops with the positive co2 pressure blowing out of the port. seal er up, and then carry on. nothing magical about it. but you dont need a ton of flow blowing off, just enough to keep air from entering. and definitely use the CIP or blowoff arm and not the bottom/racking ports. (if that wasnt obvious already)

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by brain medicine View Post
        definitely what jebzter said.

        no reason to go to 14psi or bother capping at all, really. just let it finish. connect your co2, set it for 1-2 psi, and it helps push/dump your yeast. once yeast is dumped, pop the dry hop port- CAREFULLY as even 1-2 psi pressure can pop it into your face- and dump in hops with the positive co2 pressure blowing out of the port. seal er up, and then carry on. nothing magical about it. but you dont need a ton of flow blowing off, just enough to keep air from entering. and definitely use the CIP or blowoff arm and not the bottom/racking ports. (if that wasnt obvious already)
        Thank you brain medicine and jebzter!

        I ferment connecting a hose to the CIP/blowoff arm and putting the end side of this hose into a bucket with sanitizer in.
        Keeping the beer like this for a couple of days after the end of fermentation, don't you think might bring a small risk of oxidize the beer? This is the only reason why I wanted to have some positive pressure (14psi is actually a lot but something like 5psi) into the FV before dry hopping.
        I completely agree with the rest of the dry hopping process you're described.

        Once I've dumped in the hops and the fermenter is sealed, I usually put the FV around 10 psi. I usually do this by blowing co2 from the bottom port because this helps me mixing the hops as well.
        I usually repeat this for the next 2-3 days mixing the hops once a day. Then, I cold crash the beer, keeping the FV around 10 psi to avoid any oxygen introduction due to the temperature drop.
        The last step is adjusting the FV pressure in order to get the right carbonation.

        Do you have any suggestion to improve my process?

        Thank you very much!

        Comment


        • #5
          Personally i would not blow enough gas from the bottom and up into my beer to get to 10psi. Especially not with hops in there. Id be too scared to blow out the hop aromas.

          I think its safer to just use enough gas to circulate the hops. Say about 20 or 30 psi for maybe like 30 seconds. That’s enough to move things around but no where near enough to get to 10psi. Theres really no reason to be at 10psi until you are carbonating.

          If you’re worried about air from your sanitizer solution then just shut the valve when the bubbles have slowed to a crawl.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by brain medicine View Post
            If you’re worried about air from your sanitizer solution then just shut the valve when the bubbles have slowed to a crawl.
            This would be a solution to avoid any air/oxygen getting into the FV but it will also put some pressure (maybe 5 psi) into the FV resulting in a sort of carbonation which is what we want to avoid, right?

            Originally posted by brain medicine View Post
            Personally i would not blow enough gas from the bottom and up into my beer to get to 10psi. Especially not with hops in there. Id be too scared to blow out the hop aromas.

            I think its safer to just use enough gas to circulate the hops. Say about 20 or 30 psi for maybe like 30 seconds. That’s enough to move things around but no where near enough to get to 10psi. Theres really no reason to be at 10psi until you are carbonating.
            It seems you don't mix your hops in this way after the dry hopping.
            Can I ask you what's your dry hopping process and what FV size you're used to?

            Originally posted by jebzter View Post
            DO NOT CAP A BEER YOURE GOING TO DRY HOP. You want to do this to beer that is a still as possible. I like to flow come co2 thru the CIP arm while the top is open just to create some positive pressure to keep oxygen out. You can pressurize post dry hop. but unless you want a gusher, do not even close that blow off valve until the beer has been dry hopped. Gushers happen very fast.
            Thank you for your tip. I will follow it.
            Can I ask you what' your dry hopping process after you've dumped your hops in?

            Other tips/point of view are also very welcome! Thank you!
            Last edited by Paluppo; 01-26-2020, 03:17 AM.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Paluppo View Post
              Thank you brain medicine and jebzter!

              I ferment connecting a hose to the CIP/blowoff arm and putting the end side of this hose into a bucket with sanitizer in.
              Keeping the beer like this for a couple of days after the end of fermentation, don't you think might bring a small risk of oxidize the beer? This is the only reason why I wanted to have some positive pressure (14psi is actually a lot but something like 5psi) into the FV before dry hopping.
              I completely agree with the rest of the dry hopping process you're described.

              Once I've dumped in the hops and the fermenter is sealed, I usually put the FV around 10 psi. I usually do this by blowing co2 from the bottom port because this helps me mixing the hops as well.
              I usually repeat this for the next 2-3 days mixing the hops once a day. Then, I cold crash the beer, keeping the FV around 10 psi to avoid any oxygen introduction due to the temperature drop.
              The last step is adjusting the FV pressure in order to get the right carbonation.

              Do you have any suggestion to improve my process?

              Thank you very much!
              You're still on the yeast until just before you dry hop. You will not get any oxygen pickup, they will soak that up faster than it could even think of getting in thru a vinyl hose. Never been a problem here, though I dont wait a couple of days post ferment, once it clears a forced diacetyl test, temp drops, rack off the yeast and dry hop that thing. Even if you let it sit for a week(dont do this at fermentation temps), you wouldnt have an oxygen issue. We are always sub 10ppb of oxygen coming out of our fermenters.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Paluppo View Post
                This would be a solution to avoid any air/oxygen getting into the FV but it will also put some pressure (maybe 5 psi) into the FV resulting in a sort of carbonation which is what we want to avoid, right?



                It seems you don't mix your hops in this way after the dry hopping.
                Can I ask you what's your dry hopping process and what FV size you're used to?
                here's an example. we just fermented a kveik type yeast at 95F pitch temp. it ran down to 79F. i'm not pitching hops at 79F. so i crashed to 58F. during the crash i shut off the blowoff valve and put 1-2psi pressure on it via co2 tank. thats all you need.

                if the beer wasnt done fermenting, and you think its gonna build up 5psi if you cap it, then just wait longer before you cap it, or just crack the blowoff valve a bit and drop the pressure down a bit every couple of hours, and get it to 1 or 2 psi. no big deal.

                yes, we will blast come co2 into the cone to stir up the hops, yes. but we dont blast enough to take the tank from 1-2psi up to 10psi. thats a LOT of co2.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Hello again and thank you for all your great tips!

                  Considering your suggestions and my setup, this is the process I've ended up:

                  1. Ferment until FG is reached with a vinyl hose from CIP arm to a bucket with sanitizer
                  2. When the fermentation is done (68F), connect CO2 to the CIP arm and set it at 2 psi
                  3. Dump yeast from the bottom port
                  4. Keeping the CO2 connected at 2 psi, open the top manhole and dump the hops in. Seal the fermenter.
                  5. Keep the hops in for 3 days. Once a day, connect the CO2 hose to the bottom port and blow CO2 from it at 20-30 psi for 30 seconds. This will increase the FV pressure a little every day probably arriving to 7-8 psi on the 3rd day.
                  6. Cold crash the beer and connect the CO2 hose to the CIP arm and set it to 10 psi for carbonation.
                  7. Start dumping hops the day after cold crash and to it again the next days if needed.

                  Do you think this process can work?
                  Any suggestion to improve it?

                  Thanks a lot!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    1. Ferment until FG is reached with a vinyl hose from CIP arm to a bucket with sanitizer
                    2. When the fermentation is done (68F), connect CO2 to the CIP arm and set it at 2 psi
                    3. Dump yeast from the bottom port
                    4. Keeping the CO2 connected at 2 psi, open the top manhole and dump the hops in. Seal the fermenter.
                    You'll want to vent the tank completely before you open the top manway...even at 2 psi that thing will probably twat you in the head or hit the ceiling.

                    5. Keep the hops in for 3 days. Once a day, connect the CO2 hose to the bottom port and blow CO2 from it at 20-30 psi for 30 seconds. This will increase the FV pressure a little every day probably arriving to 7-8 psi on the 3rd day.
                    I don't think you need to go this high on the pressure to rouse the hops...remember you want it gentle and not creating a foam party...with tank vented start slow and look (always use a non return valve on your CO2 line in the event you go to slow or forget to turn on gas) in the manway to dial it in for your FV. You also won't get this big of increase in pressure on the tank.
                    Jeff Rosenmeier (Rosie)
                    Chairman of the Beer
                    Lovibonds Brewery Ltd
                    Henley-on-Thames, Englandshire
                    W: www.lovibonds.com
                    F: LovibondsBrewery
                    T: @Lovibonds

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by jebzter View Post
                      You're still on the yeast until just before you dry hop. You will not get any oxygen pickup, they will soak that up faster than it could even think of getting in thru a vinyl hose. Never been a problem here, though I dont wait a couple of days post ferment, once it clears a forced diacetyl test, temp drops, rack off the yeast and dry hop that thing. Even if you let it sit for a week(dont do this at fermentation temps), you wouldnt have an oxygen issue. We are always sub 10ppb of oxygen coming out of our fermenters.
                      Originally posted by brain medicine View Post
                      here's an example. we just fermented a kveik type yeast at 95F pitch temp. it ran down to 79F. i'm not pitching hops at 79F. so i crashed to 58F. during the crash i shut off the blowoff valve and put 1-2psi pressure on it via co2 tank. thats all you need.

                      if the beer wasnt done fermenting, and you think its gonna build up 5psi if you cap it, then just wait longer before you cap it, or just crack the blowoff valve a bit and drop the pressure down a bit every couple of hours, and get it to 1 or 2 psi. no big deal.

                      yes, we will blast come co2 into the cone to stir up the hops, yes. but we dont blast enough to take the tank from 1-2psi up to 10psi. thats a LOT of co2.
                      What do you guys think of the dry hopping process above?
                      Anything wrong in it?

                      Originally posted by Rosie View Post
                      I don't think you need to go this high on the pressure to rouse the hops...remember you want it gentle and not creating a foam party...with tank vented start slow and look (always use a non return valve on your CO2 line in the event you go to slow or forget to turn on gas) in the manway to dial it in for your FV. You also won't get this big of increase in pressure on the tank.
                      Hi Rosie, thanks for your answer.
                      Actually my idea was to do the point 5 keeping the tank always in pressure. No vented tank. Increasing the tank inner pressure during every hop-rouse. Don't you think this will work?

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Any tip or suggestion about this dry hopping process?

                        1. Ferment until FG is reached with a vinyl hose from CIP arm into a bucket with sanitizer
                        2. When the fermentation is done (68F), connect CO2 to the CIP arm and set it at 2 psi
                        3. Dump yeast from the bottom port
                        4. Keeping the CO2 connected at 2 psi, carefully open the top manhole and dump the hops in. Seal the fermenter.
                        5. Keep the hops in for 3 days. Once a day, connect the CO2 hose to the bottom port and blow CO2 from it at 20 psi for 30 seconds. This will increase the FV pressure a little every day, probably arriving to 7-8 psi on the 3rd day.
                        6. Cold crash the beer (36F) and connect the CO2 hose to the CIP arm and set it to 10 psi for carbonation.
                        7. Start dumping hops the day after cold crashing and do it again the next days if needed.

                        Thanks!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          No more tips?

                          I'm going to try this and let you know how it goes!

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