Hops play an essential role during the brewing process. Depending on the type and time you add the hops; they can contribute to unique beer flavors, aroma, bitterness, or something sort of a combination of the three. The bitterness comes from acids in the hops, while the aroma and flavors are from volatile oils. While it is true that hoppy beers are indeed awesome, dealing with the hops is never easy. This is why you need to filter them off.
Indeed, dealing with clogged poppets or blocked dip tubes is also not fun. Some brewers try ramming tea balls with hops with little success. This brings us to the main question, how do you filter beer after dry hopping? Keep reading to discover more about dry hopping, including what it is, the main types and major concerns among the brewers. Finally, we will tell you the six best methods for filtering beer after dry hopping.
What is Dry Hopping?
Before looking at the best methods of filtering beer after dry hopping, it is vital to start by learning what it is. The term “dry hopping” was coined centuries ago by British brewers who used to add hops to the cask before shipping to clients. Back then, about half–ounce hop plugs were developed as a convenient way of measuring and adding entire hops to either cask or keg.
Today, dry hopping in brewing means any type of addition introduced after the wort has cooled. These introductions can be added in the primary fermenter or directly to your keg. Because there are no volatile oils that get boiled off, the primary advantage of dry hopping is that you are able to get more aroma and flavor in the final beer.
Notably, dry hopping does not add bitterness to your beer. So, if you want to increase the bitterness, it would be a great idea to introduce the hops to the boil. To get the best effect, ensure to use the hops you use are classified as “aroma” or “flavor” hops. Of course, the beauty of brewing is that although you need to follow the right procedure, you can try with different hops.
Plugs, Loose, or Pallets: Which One Do You Use?
Fine, you have made the decision on the main types of hops to use and the time to add them into your brewing process. However, there is still one more question that you need to answer, what is the best form to use. There are three main options, plugs, loose, and pallet.
- Plugs Hops: Plugs were originally made for dry hopping, and they work awesomely for this purpose. Indeed, they are pretty easy to measure because each is about half-ounce. So, you can grab a few, place them in a bag and fit via a carboy. Some brewers even opt to cut them in half.
- Loose Hops: These hops, also referred to as loose leaf hops, are dry cones and not compressed in any way. Some brewers prefer them because they are cheaper than plug or pallet hops and require less processing. However, they might not work very well if you put them into a bag during dry hopping.
- Pellet Hops: Like the plug hops, the pellets are weighted and pretty easy to get through a carboy neck. Again, you can easily get them into a bag, but they are likely to result in the development of foam in your beer. Indeed, they sink to the bottom while the other two, loose and plug, usually float. When using pellet hops, it might be a great idea to add more compared to when using plugs or loose.
Concerns about Beer Hopping
Over the years, concerns have been raised about the possibility of contaminating beer through the direct addition of hops. However, no scientific evidence is there to demonstrate that beer hops can result in spoilage. Indeed, they were originally applied because of their antiseptic properties. Today, dry hopping is widely used without any negative implications.
Another concern commonly raised about dry hopping is the addition of bitterness beyond what the brewer wants. It is true that you are adding some alpha-acids, but there will be no significant conversions at room temperatures. This means that you will not experience significant growth in International Bitterness Units (IBU) on the beer. However, you should anticipate that dry-hopped beer will be slightly bitter compared to other types. Again, it is true that some beer fanatics want some level of bitterness, which can easily be achieved through dry-hopping, especially if you select the right hops.
When done well, dry-hopped beer comes with an impressive flavor. For beer enthusiasts, it might be all that you need, from a unique aroma to irresistible bitterness.
How Long should You Dry Hop Beer?
Dry hopping is an awesome way to add impressive aroma or flavor to your beer, but it is important to answer the question, “For how long?” For brewers who add hops to the secondary post-fermentation, the aroma starts developing in about 24 hours and keeps increasing for approximately 48-72 hours.
After 72 hours, it is still possible to get the aroma, but the process is slower. Some brewers opt to leave hops in fermenters during the entire secondary fermentation. However, you need to appreciate that it raises the risk of the beer developing “grassy notes” if the hops take more than a couple of weeks.
Consider leaving the hops for a week or two before the expected favor starts developing. Indeed, you will not get a significant hop flavors in the first 72 hours. After two weeks, it is time to get the beer off the hops to avoid the development of bad flavors. This is the best time to enjoy your beer, but first things first – you need to filter the hops.
How to Filter Your Beer after Dry Hopping
Once you have understood the process of dry hoping, the last thing before you can enjoy the awesome flavor is filtering. Well, there are a number of methods that you can use, and we are going to look at the common ones.
Use a Mesh Strainer to Clear the Hops
On their first brewing assignments, many brewers frantically rush to their kitchen cabinets and grab the mesh strainer to catch the sludge ripping into the beer. Sure, it will do, but this is the simplest solution that you can use to filter beer after dry hopping.
Indeed, the mesh strainer comes with serious limitations, especially if you are brewing alone. Imagine having to hold the strainer and regularly transferring the wort.
The strainer also works best when dealing with whole beer hops. If you are using pellets, especially the sludgy type, they can rapidly clog the strainer, forcing you to run to and from the sink regularly. If you have a lot of beer, the process can end up being very tiresome.
The Hop Bags Method
The mesh strainer and hop bags are the two commonest filtering methods after dry hopping. The hop bags were designed to help people from running back and forth when using the strainer. You can opt for simpler and cheaper models designed with muslin or pick the more expensive and effective nylon models. So, how do these hop bags work?
To use these bags, you put the hops inside and place them into your beer. So, you get the anticipated flavor, aroma, or bitterness without worrying about clogged poppets or blocked dip tubes. While it is true that they do a great job, there is a risk of decreased hop utilization. Therefore, you are likely to cut down the hop character compared to when the hops are allowed to “swim free” in the beer.
Unless you tie the bags well, they tend to open up, and you are likely to lose track of them because of the brew movements. Although you can secure the bag with a clamp, the task of following which bag you have used might be challenging and the flavor or aroma less emphasized. This is why most brewers combine them with other strategies or pick more advanced methods.
A False Bottom
This is a type of a metal disc with perforations that allow the beer to flow through but restrains the solids on top. Therefore, it is basically a type of screen for trapping the hop as the beer runs through. The false screens are very common in mash turns, but they can also work well when filtering hops. Notably, they work more effectively when dealing with whole hops. To get better results, you might want to combine the false bottom with a mesh strainer.
A Copper Scrubber
This is another cheap yet effective method of filtering hops. In most cases, they work effectively if you are using pickup tubes on the kettles. Simply stick one of the tubes on the end of the kettle and place the scrubber correctly so that they filter off the hops as the beer gets through.
Most brewers use copper brewers together with the whirlpool method, which involves stirring the wort to gather the hops and large sediments. Then, they are filtered from the side with the pickup tube and scrubber.
Hop Stopper
If you are brewing low quantities of beer or have a small do-it-yourself (DIY) project, a hop stopper might be all that you need to filter the hops. They are designed using advanced engineering, allowing you to easily trap even the smallest fragments of worts on your beer.
The good thing about the hop stopper, especially if you select the latest version, is that you can easily filter your beer without requiring whirlpool or boil re-circulation. Besides, you can use them on different kettles and get the best results.
The biggest challenge of using the hop stoppers is that they can be very expensive and are recommended for small brewing tasks. For example, some of them go for as high as US $120.95. However, the benefits of using the stopper will be worth the cost.
Use an Auto Siphon Filter
If you want to make brewing more enjoyable and get a stronger flavor from hops, consider adding them into the brew and using a more advanced method, such as an auto-siphon filter made from stainless steel.
One of the best options is the micron stainless steel filter, which is purposefully designed for use with dry hops. As a stainless steel model, the filter is pretty easy to clean, sanitize and maintain in top condition to reduce the risk of contamination. All that you need to use this is sliding the auto-siphon into the filter and cap one end using a plug. Then, stick the siphon in your fermenter.
To avoid major issues when using the filter, consider selecting the right filter sizes. For example, you might want to use the 300-micron filters, which are mainly recommended for hop pellets, or the 400-micron filters for whole leaf hops. You might even want to combine the two for better results when filtering beer after dry hopping.
When using these filters, one of the challenges is that the rubber stopper end might sit too high above your last gallon. To address this, you might want to tilt the fermenter slightly towards the siphon to compensate.
Conclusion
As you can see, dry hopping is an awesome way of getting flavors and aromas that make the beer more enjoyable. However, it is important to understand how the hops work. Furthermore, you need to have them only for the correct time because keeping them excessively in your beer can result in the development of bad taste. Again, filtering them too fast might not be enough to get the hop character of interest in your beer.
Finally, you need to filter them correctly from your beer, and as we have demonstrated in this post, there are a number of methods that you can use. However, the best method depends on personal preferences, type of hops, and quantity of beer that you are brewing. You might also want to try combining different methods of filtering beer after dry hopping for better results.