Dry hopping and fining

[morepunk]

Morning all! I'm interested in hearing anyone's experiences of fining after dry-hopping (e.g. during cold crash). There are numerous accounts of this removing some of the aroma that dry-hopping creates. Has anyone here had the same experience?

I know that dry-hopped beers with a haze are fairly well tolerated, but I do loves me a beer that I can see through. :grin:

 

[MickDundee]

Surely the haze in a hoppy beer is hop haze, so logic dictates that getting rid of the haze will et rid of the some of the effect of the hops?

 

[Dutto]

Time and gravity clear almost all beers and lagers so I never use Finings.

I used to use a bit of muslin tied around the bottom of the syphon to filter out the hops but nowadays I use one of these ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01M74BJW3/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

.. with the tube pushed down inside the filter to within 2mm of the bottom to ensure that I don't lose the syphon effect before I've emptied the FV.

I recommend patience over Finings every time. :thumb:

 

[dad_of_jon]

Morning all! I'm interested in hearing anyone's experiences of fining after dry-hopping (e.g. during cold crash). There are numerous accounts of this removing some of the aroma that dry-hopping creates. Has anyone here had the same experience?

I know that dry-hopped beers with a haze are fairly well tolerated, but I do loves me a beer that I can see through. :grin:

I don't use finings.

syphon to a bottling bucket with a tap if you don't already, you can use dutto's technique using a muslin for further filtering. that will stop a lot of crud from being bottled. 4-6 weeks bottle conditioning (depending on yeast) will give you a clear beer. I've had clear hoppy beers although they're less hoppy by the time they've cleared. :-(

 

[morepunk]

Surely the haze in a hoppy beer is hop haze, so logic dictates that getting rid of the haze will et rid of the some of the effect of the hops?

I understand the logic but don't know whether that's oversimplifying it a bit. What exactly causes hop-haze? If it's just particulate matter, and the aroma is dissolved (for want of a better word) in the beer, then fining could be of benefit resulting in a clearer end product without affecting the aroma. If the haze does contain the aroma, then I agree with your logic.

Time and gravity clear almost all beers and lagers so I never use Finings.

4-6 weeks bottle conditioning (depending on yeast) will give you a clear beer.

My understanding of dry-hopped beers is that time is also a sure-fire way of losing some of that hoppy aroma. :-(

Maintaining the aroma is going to be far more important than removing the haze, but I know I've had some tremendously hoppy commercial beers that are really clear. I guess that might be the benefit of mechanical filtering rather than chemical fining!

 

[dad_of_jon]

I understand the logic but don't know whether that's oversimplifying it a bit. What exactly causes hop-haze? If it's just particulate matter, and the aroma is dissolved (for want of a better word) in the beer, then fining could be of benefit resulting in a clearer end product without affecting the aroma. If the haze does contain the aroma, then I agree with your logic.



My understanding of dry-hopped beers is that time is also a sure-fire way of losing some of that hoppy aroma. :-(

Maintaining the aroma is going to be far more important than removing the haze, but I know I've had some tremendously hoppy commercial beers that are really clear. I guess that might be the benefit of mechanical filtering rather than chemical fining!

yes the hoppyness does fade, that's the dilemma. I prefer hoppyness over clarity any day. you need a couple of weeks in bottle for the beer to lose its greenness but ideally want to drink all your hoppy beer quickly. i.e. unlike dark beers where you can keep them for ages (as per my sig :smile:)

wheat beer (drunk hazy) is ready as soon as it carbs and stores better for longer than hoppy ales. Hoppy beers have a smaller window of being at their peak than most other styles. :-(

 

[Fil]

Ive used a few finnings products over the years, all involve mixing in which disturbs any existing sediment, and im not convinced if left alone the brew wouldnt have cleared to the same extent or even better than after the mix up and finnings addition.

If you fill casks and move them about as much as a brewery does than i think adding cask finnings (gelatin) may be very worthwhile but otherwise i would suggest an extra day or 2's patience waiting for gravity to clear the brew is probably the best way to go.

afaik a crash chill wont diminish any hop input as it only accelerates the action of gravity on the 'heavy' aspects, the aromatic hop oils are i would think be some of the 'lighter' aspects of the brew. but tbh im just speculating now.