Adding dry hops before EOF

[Eltham Brauhaus]

Just wondering if there are any downsides or upsides in adding dry hops a day or two before anticipated EOF

[Captain 3 Droids]

1 hour ago, Eltham Brewing House said:

Just wondering if there are any downsides or upsides in adding dry hops a day or two before anticipated EOF

I do it all the time with no detrimental effects as I can note. Good flavour and aroma. 
Also have a look at the thread “Dry Hopping” in Advanced Brewing..... main forum topic.

Cheers

Edited March 29, 2021 by Captain 3 Droids

[Rob Courtney]

3 hours ago, Eltham Brewing House said:

Just wondering if there are any downsides or upsides in adding dry hops a day or two before anticipated EOF

Try not to do it when it is testing for fermentation, when I did that then fermentation took an extra few days

[Eltham Brauhaus]

On 29/03/2021 at 10:04 PM, Rob Courtney said:

Try not to do it when it is testing for fermentation, when I did that then fermentation took an extra few days

The Shem Sheet indicates a brew time of 5 to 9 days for the Pineapple Crush IPA but m droid is still in Zone 2 Fermenting at 10 days. I added my Dry Hops 3 days ago just shortly before I got the Hops notification. Should I end the program and bottle or should I just wait to get the Keg notification?

[Rob Courtney]

AS you are bottling, I'd wait for notification

[Captain 3 Droids]

1 minute ago, Eltham Brewing House said:

The Shem Sheet indicates a brew time of 5 to 9 days for the Pineapple Crush IPA but m droid is still in Zone 2 Fermenting at 10 days. I added my Dry Hops 3 days ago just shortly before I got the Hops notification. Should I end the program and bottle or should I just wait to get the Keg notification?

Wait for keg notification. The Shem sheet and recipe time lines are a guide only. Fermentation may continue due to sugar content of the pineapple juice, yeast quality etc

[Eltham Brauhaus]

17 minutes ago, Captain 3 Droids said:

Wait for keg notification. The Shem sheet and recipe time lines are a guide only. Fermentation may continue due to sugar content of the pineapple juice, yeast quality etc

I just thought that getting the Hops notification indicated EOF.

 

[Captain 3 Droids]

6 minutes ago, Eltham Brewing House said:

I just thought that getting the Hops notification indicated EOF.

 

If you have used the hop addition to the program then yes. The program holds it at ready to keg mode for 48hrs then 48hrs in storage. It will then return to kegging temp.

[Eltham Brauhaus]

1 minute ago, Captain 3 Droids said:

If you have used the hop addition to the program then yes. The program holds it at ready to keg mode for 48hrs then 48hrs in storage. It will then return to kegging temp.

I started this particular brew using the BrewArt app so does that mean I have used the hop addition to the program?

[Captain 3 Droids]

2 minutes ago, Eltham Brewing House said:

I started this particular brew using the BrewArt app so does that mean I have used the hop addition to the program?

No, I don’t think so. As I don’t activate that part of the program I’m not quite sure, someone that does will hopefully advise/confirm.

[Eltham Brauhaus]

On 01/04/2021 at 5:42 PM, Eltham Brewing House said:

The Shem Sheet indicates a brew time of 5 to 9 days for the Pineapple Crush IPA but m droid is still in Zone 2 Fermenting at 10 days. I added my Dry Hops 3 days ago just shortly before I got the Hops notification. Should I end the program and bottle or should I just wait to get the Keg notification?

So now is 11days 18 hours since starting this brew. Still saying its in fermenting zone and still showing Dry Hoping (now 4 days since adding hops). Temp is sitting at 17 deg C.

As per BrewArt recommendation I have taken a S.G. reading today and will take another in 24 hours. If no discernable difference then I will proceed to bottle. I did add 75gm of dissolved Maltodextrin to the brew at the start so I am wondering if this addition is pushing the fermenting time out.

[Rob Courtney]

2 minutes ago, Eltham Brewing House said:

So now is 11days 18 hours since starting this brew. Still saying its in fermenting zone and still showing Dry Hoping (now 4 days since adding hops). Temp is sitting at 17 deg C.

As per BrewArt recommendation I have taken a S.G. reading today and will take another in 24 hours. If no discernable difference then I will proceed to bottle. I did add 75gm of dissolved Maltodextrin to the brew at the start so I am wondering if this addition is pushing the fermenting time out.

Really dumb question but, did you press the tick button after adding the dry hops?

[Eltham Brauhaus]

1 hour ago, Rob Courtney said:

Really dumb question but, did you press the tick button after adding the dry hops?

Yes straight after closing the lid. I have also pressed is several times since.

[J P]

3 hours ago, Eltham Brewing House said:

So now is 11days 18 hours since starting this brew. Still saying its in fermenting zone and still showing Dry Hoping (now 4 days since adding hops). Temp is sitting at 17 deg C.

As per BrewArt recommendation I have taken a S.G. reading today and will take another in 24 hours. If no discernable difference then I will proceed to bottle. I did add 75gm of dissolved Maltodextrin to the brew at the start so I am wondering if this addition is pushing the fermenting time out.

I have found extra fermentable sugar adds a lot of days to fermentation time (anecdotally of course and in my very limited number of brews)

[Eltham Brauhaus]

You maybe correct. The label on the Maltodextrin says it’s 75% non fermentable so that leaves 25% that is fermentable.

In any case something weird is happening, it’s still showing it’s in the fermentation zone with add dry hops on the screen but the temperature has ramped down from 17 deg C at midday today to 5 deg C at 6.00 pm so it’s gone into storage zone but still showing it’s still fermenting. I think that I will stick with my plan to do a S.G. reading tomorrow to see it has stabilised or not. I have tasted several small samples and the brew smells & tastes fine.

[Eltham Brauhaus]

1 hour ago, Eltham Brewing House said:

You maybe correct. The label on the Maltodextrin says it’s 75% non fermentable so that leaves 25% that is fermentable.

In any case something weird is happening, it’s still showing it’s in the fermentation zone with add dry hops on the screen but the temperature has ramped down from 17 deg C at midday today to 5 deg C at 6.00 pm so it’s gone into storage zone but still showing it’s still fermenting. I think that I will stick with my plan to do a S.G. reading tomorrow to see it has stabilised or not. I have tasted several small samples and the brew smells & tastes fine.

Still in fermentation zone but now have a "clearing hops" notification so it seems all is going well.

[Dustin Frothman]

14 minutes ago, Eltham Brewing House said:

Still in fermentation zone but now have a "clearing hops" notification so it seems all is going well.

Probably a bit of the ol’ “a watched pot never boils” going on there.

With some really consistent brewing this year I’ve finally got enough beer in stock that I barely look at the Droid or the app anymore until it tells me to do something.

This is a nice problem to have.

Will be even nicer once I manage to nab that second Droid. 😜

[Eltham Brauhaus]

1 hour ago, Dustin Frothman said:

Probably a bit of the ol’ “a watched pot never boils” going on there.

With some really consistent brewing this year I’ve finally got enough beer in stock that I barely look at the Droid or the app anymore until it tells me to do something.

This is a nice problem to have.

Will be even nicer once I manage to nab that second Droid. 😜

You are probably right, I need to have utmost faith in the system as it is a repeatable system with few subjective elements to it. Just follow the rules / process.

Re; 2nd Droid, I just sold my No Droid because I was producing more beer than I was consuming plus I got weary of cleaning 2 x droids. Bad move as my neighbour wants me to brew for him following an impressive BrewArt beer tasting session this week. I will see how it goes. He pays for his brew ingredients and I keep 20% of the output. We will alternate my brew and his brew. That way I get to go sample the range without having to brew and bottle 10 lt each time for myself. Does that sound like a good plan? It kind of makes sense to me. 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Eltham Brewing House

[Dustin Frothman]

3 minutes ago, Eltham Brewing House said:

You are probably right, I need to have utmost faith in the system. Re 2nd Droid, I just sold my No Droid because I was producing more beer than I was consuming. Bad move as my neighbour wants me to brew for him following an impressive BrewArt beer tasting session this week. I will see how it goes. He pays for his brew ingredients and I keep 20% of the output. We will alternate my brew and his brew. That way I get to go sample the range without having to brew and bottle 10 lt each time for myself. Does that sound like a good plan? It kind of makes sense to me. 

Yeah I was a little surprised to see you selling it but glad you got a good price.

I suspect it’s the bottling bit that’s the long winded bit. That’s precisely why I keg ... and because I prefer “draught” beer.

[Eltham Brauhaus]

20 minutes ago, Dustin Frothman said:

Yeah I was a little surprised to see you selling it but glad you got a good price.

I suspect it’s the bottling bit that’s the long winded bit. That’s precisely why I keg ... and because I prefer “draught” beer.

I may yet buy another one it depends on how the arrangement with my good neighbour (who is a beer aficionado) goes. 

The bottling is a breeze as I rinse each bottle with hot water thoroughly straight after consumption which leaves the easy task of sanitising just prior to bottling, it was the cleaning and sanitizing the droid that took up my time. Bottling suits me as I have plenty of storage space and I prefer the flexibility of cracking a bottle of any of my 10 or so brews in storage. There is nothing like the "pop" sound when opening a swing top brew. I am however a bit disappointed in the head retention of the bottled product (particularly with the lagers) but it does not detract from the drinking experience. That's why I am starting to add Maltodextrin to my brews.

Edited April 3, 2021 by Eltham Brewing House

[Dustin Frothman]

4 minutes ago, Eltham Brewing House said:

it was the cleaning and sanitizing the droid that took up my time.

What’s your process?

@Captain 3 Droids  recommends a silicon spatula to scrape out the trub and hops quickly and safely. This works really well.

Then rinse and soak with a Brewart tablet and or sodium percarbonate or other cleaner.

Rinse, spray with a santiser and off you go again.

It’s really only the tap, bung and associated seals that require any close attention. Perhaps the lid seal too if your brew has vented.

[Captain 3 Droids]

7 minutes ago, Eltham Brewing House said:

it was the cleaning and sanitizing the droid that took up my time

It might be your method, as you know I run three droids and my procedure of kegging, cleaning the droid, sanitising and putting the next brew in is just under an hour for each.

[Rob Courtney]

2 minutes ago, Captain 3 Droids said:

It might be your method, as you know I run three droids and my procedure of kegging, cleaning the droid, sanitising and putting the next brew in is just under an hour for each.

 

Yeah, have followed your method a bit lately...and cleaning two droids is a pain in the bollocks...wish my kids would step up but yeah.

Still I can turn things around in that hour mark 

[Dustin Frothman]

1 minute ago, Rob Courtney said:

 

Yeah, have followed your method a bit lately...and cleaning two droids is a pain in the bollocks...wish my kids would step up but yeah.

Still I can turn things around in that hour mark 

Two would be a pain if you were doing them on the same day but if you split brews a week or so apart I reckon it’d be manageable.

[Eltham Brauhaus]

1 minute ago, Dustin Frothman said:

What’s your process?

@Captain 3 Droids  recommends a silicon spatula to scrape out the trub and hops quickly and safely. This works really well.

Then rinse and soak with a Brewart tablet and or sodium percarbonate or other cleaner.

Rinse, spray with a santiser and off you go again.

It’s really only the tap, bung and associated seals that require any close attention. Perhaps the lid seal too if your brew has vented.

I follow the recommended procedure but my problem was that my droids were banished to the garage (from the laundry where were wash up facilities). This meant that I had to carry the droid to my back yard to do the clean with a hose plus hot water and detergent and carry it back to the garage location. Not a good idea to shake the compressor around. It was all getting to hard and besides I was making a shit load of beer that I had not chance of getting on top of. The good news is that I have since renovated the laundry (brownie points) and her indoors thinks the brews are pretty good so I have some inclusion now. and I have the go ahead to set my droid up in the laundry which solve my logistical cleaning problem and also improve the Wi Fi connectivity.