When to dry hop and how much?

Hey all, I'm wanting to dry hop my pale ale and I'm now sure when to add them. I've read about adding them in both the primary and secondary fermentors, mine is currently is the secondary where I will leave it for a couple weeks. When would be the prime time to dry hop my 5 gallon batch and how much is too much? This is my first time using a secondary and dry hopping, any info is greatly appreciated.

What kind of vessel is your secondary:  Better Bottle, Carboy, bucket, or keg? 

Do you keg or bottle? 

My secondary vessel is a glass carboy and I plan on bottling.

I've done dry-hops twice in a carboy. I don't use bottle shaped vessels of any kind anymore.  I use kegs, and I generally dry-hop directly in the keg. 

The first time, I did them loose---just poured them through the opening and let them float in the wort.  Not recommended.  It was a nightmare.  They float on top of the wort and potentially increase O2 uptake.  They clog the siphon/racking cane when you try and transfer.

The second time, I put the hops in a hop sack with some sanitized glass marbles.  the marbles keep the hops submerged---better wort contact, and less change for excess O2 uptake.  This worked fine.  Its a bit of a challenge to get the sacks back out of the carboy, but it just takes a little wriggling and some patience. 

I've transitioned to using lady's knee high stockings.  I will use multiple stockings one for each charge.  I would think these would work well for carboys, as the stocking is already in a narrow tubular shape.  I soak the stocking in star-san for a few minutes, then I remove and drain the excess sanitizer.  then I add the hop charge and 5-10 sanitized glass marbles, and tie the opening in a knot.  the glass marbles weigh the sock down and keep it submerged. 

According to Vinnie Cilurzo (Owner/Brewer at Russian River, create of Pliny the Elder and Younger) at 68F, 12-14 days seems to be the optimal dry-hopping length.  After that the character begins to degrade.  For Pliny the Younger, he has multiple consecutive dry-hop charges each removed and replaced after 12-14 days.  I haven't experimented with this much, most other authorities report similar results, so I pretty much have taken that advice on face value.  Lower temperatures will result in different flavors and a slower infusion versus the 68F temperature.  Most every authority I'm aware of, seems to think that 68F results in the best character. 

Thanks Tom, awesome info! I will definitely try the stocking and marble trick. I plan to bottle a few more batches then I will think about kegging. Cheers!

The bag is a good idea if you don't want to wait for the hops to settle. They eventually will, but it can take weeks.  I don't bag because I figure that when the hops settle out, I know the yeast is done making bubbles. Because bubbles are what makes the hop bits float. When they settle out I know secondary fermentation is totally done.

The first time I used dry hops I put an ounce into a carboy that didn't have a lot of head room. Next thing I knew the hops were pushing up the bung, so I had to scramble to siphon a cup or two to make room.  This was a pilsner, and an ounce was way too much.

As for an amount, that depends on what you're making.  When making pilsners I now use a quarter ounce, and that's plenty. Ales can handle more because they have more base flavor.

Just past krausen is a great time to add dry hops because of the  minimal risk of oxidation. Give them 1.5-2 weeks to settle. I would let them sit in the primary and skip the secondary and go straight to bottling after 2 weeks.

For a pale ale I would use at least 2oz and a max of 4 oz per 5 gallons.

Thanks for the input guys!!

grathan said:

Just past krausen is a great time to add dry hops because of the  minimal risk of oxidation. Give them 1.5-2 weeks to settle. I would let them sit in the primary and skip the secondary and go straight to bottling after 2 weeks.

For a pale ale I would use at least 2oz and a max of 4 oz per 5 gallons.

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+1

In addition: the yeasts create flavors with the hop oils at this point, that won't happen after the active fermentation has completed (eg, in the secondary or keg).

A similar phenomenon occurs with oak.  In other words, one week of oak in the primary versus one week of oak in the secondary will NOT have the same flavor profile.