cold conditioning (crashing) and dry hopping - sanity check/assistance

[wizurd1977]

Hi all,

I've got a 20L brew fermenting at the moment and i'd appreciate any feedback on my intended approach to dry hopping and cold conditioning (crashing).

It's been going since last Saturday and the mangrove jack M54 yeast has got the gravity from it's starting value of 1.040 down to 1.008 as of yesterday and today. Used pilsner and vienna malt along with Northern brewer and Saaz hops.

I was probably going to batch prime and bottle a week Saturday so that it's all definitely finished (2 weeks total in the FV).

For the first time i'm going to dry hop this beer in the FV. I hopped it with Northern Brewer for bittering (20g at start of boil 60 mins) and also Saaz during the boil (Saaz was 15g@15mins and 20g@5 mins remaining of the boil) and i'm going to put in probably around 20-30g of Saaz pellets this Saturday (so around 1 week after fermentation started). I was just going to drop the pellets in and give it a swirl.

Then i'm going to leave the pellets in there for 4 days or so then cold crash the FV down to around 3C for around 3 days which will take me to Saturday and bottling day :-)

So i haven't got anything to protect the pellets i.e. muslin bag so i'm just going to chuck them in and hope that the cold crash also helps to drop them out of the beer before bottling. Will that work ok? I don't mind if my beer isn't completely clear but i'd like to avoid too much hop dust in the final product.

As for cold crashing i haven't got anything to protect against the suck back of oxygen. To be fair the FV is quite flexible and i've not really noticed any bubbling from the airlock while its been fermenting so i don't think the lid is all that air tight anyway. Given that, when it cools i'm expecting that any air will probably enter via the seal (if you can call it that lol) around the lid. I know there's a discussion regarding oxygen and its effects but in general do you think i'll end up with undrinkable beer at the end if i can't protect against oxygen ingres into the brew for a few days? I also wanted to make sure that i wouldn't end up with the FV imploding in my beer fridge, again given the not great seal i'll thinking it won't end up under negative pressure anyway.

Just wanted to check if my process sounds ok enough to get a half decent beer :-)

O and the beer tastes ok so far from the sample jar, but needs more aroma i think. The gf was a little taken aback as i swigged the sample, saying "surely you can't drink from the sample?!" :-)

Thanks.

 

[Banbeer]

Hi @wizurd1977, Firstly, adding pellets to the FV is fine but DON'T stir them in they will break up and disperse in your wort naturally and drop out with cold crashing. I would leave it to ferment out a tad longer unless you have 3 consistent hydrometer readings the same. I cold crash in my brew fridges all the time and not had a problem with oxygenation, I always fill my airlock with no rinse solution so if it gets sucked into my wort it doesn't matter.

 

[wizurd1977]

Thanks @Banbeer . I will definitely not stir them in then. Currently my last two days have held at 1.008 but i'll give it Saturday and Sunday just to make doubly sure. I was surprised to see the gravity down so low so fast to be fair. Assuming all is stable i'll put the pellets in then. Good to know about your cold crashing experiences as well. My airlock has no rinse in it at the moment so when i do start the chill i'll just keep an eye on it and the fv in general. Can't wait to get it bottled then start another brew.

 

[Banbeer]

Assuming all is stable i'll put the pellets in then

TBH I would put the hops in now as it needs to be fermenting when you add them or you can leave them out and make a hop tea and add that just before bottling/kegging, be aware though that this method won't give you as much of a hoppy aroma/taste, if you need to know anything about a hop tea just ask or search the forum

 

[wizurd1977]

Ok good to know. I'll chuck em in then and see how the gravity goes

 

[chrisb8]

Your schedule sounds exactly the same as the brew I have on at the moment. 7 days fermentation to FG, dry hop 4 days, cold crash with gelatine finings for 3 days then bottle. I always cold crash in my fermentation fridge with starsan sanitiser in the airlock and have never had any problems. As has been mentioned already, the key to working out your schedule is to measure the SG of the wort and determine when FG has been reached. This can vary from 1 week to 3 weeks depending on the brew and a number of factors. If it was me I would consider the reading of 1.008 as finished from my experience, however it is good practice to look for a steady reading for 3 days or more as @Banbeer says

 

[cushyno]

That sounds like a simple and mouth watering recipe. Pilsner, Vienna, Northern Brewer and Saaz. Makes me want to go and brew one right now.

You can put dry hops in during or after fermentation. If they go in during, you might lose some aroma as the co2 can carry it out of the beer. If they go in after fermentation there won't be as much circulation of the hops and oils they release of the yeast is no longer active. I don't know if that affects the extraction of hop flavour.

Or as Banbeer suggests you could do a hop tea.

Personally, I'd be putting the hops in 3-4 days before I intend to bottle.

 

[wizurd1977]

Thanks both for the suggestions and comments. I'll be checking the gravity again tomorrow and Sunday then dry hopping and cold crashing as talked about. Can't wait to try it in a few weeks once its had some time to carb up then condition in the fridge. I know patience is key to brewing but i'll have to try some by then

 

[wizurd1977]

Just wanted to say thanks for the advice. Ended up dry hopping for around 3 days and cold crashing for the same amount. Bottled Saturday using a batch prime, aimed for CO2 of around 2.5 as I wanted this to be a kind of beer/lager type brew. Anyway couldn't wait so opened one today (so 3 days priming at around 20C). Had it in the fridge for a couple of hours so its cold. Gotta say i'm well happy with this given its so new. Very clear (not 100%) but good. I'll get a picture of the next bottle i open, probably Friday lol. Anyway the cold crashing obviously helped and the taste is very nice. Beer is a light amber in colour and i can taste the nice flavour of the saaz but not overly bitter. I'm definitely going to be utilising dry hopping and cold crashing :-) I can see this being a very easy drink on a hot day.

 

[wizurd1977]

i officially have no self control lol Opened another bottle today (so 4 days since bottling). This time a picture...

 

[cushyno]

Clarity is really good for 4 days since bottling and it's obviously carbing nicely.

 

[wizurd1977]

thanks @cushyno . i'm amazed its that clear already as well.