Beer Forum

I usually dry hop with 1-1.5 oz of hops in a 5 gallon corny. That's what most of the recipes i've seen call for, and I've never really pondered using more.

I was talking to some other homebrewers the other day, and one of them was talking about using 6 oz (!) to dry hop 5 gallons. I don't know if the rest of the guys were agreeing to look cool and edgy or if they were all serious about using that amount of hops.

I tend to hop up my beers pretty good from 15 minutes to go in the boil to flame out. I've met brewers who use MUCH more, but it's a law of diminishing returns thing. If someone uses twice as much, well, it might be a little more aggressive in the hop nose and flavor, but when you have to spend 15 bucks more a 5 gallon batch, it's not worth it to me.

I did 2 oz of Citra in 5 gallons of a pale ale that should be just about ready. I'll let you know how it comes out.

I think the homebrew version of Pliny uses almost 3oz, but then again it's Pliny.

I don't think I've used more than 8-10oz in a 12 gallon batch, and I think that was a bit much. I don't like the grassiness that I get sometimes by heavy dryhopping.

TheDarkSide wrote:I did 2 oz of Citra in 5 gallons of a pale ale that should be just about ready. I'll let you know how it comes out.

I think the homebrew version of Pliny uses almost 3oz, but then again it's Pliny.

I'll let you know: over the top.

Citra's the single most aromatic hop I've ever touched. I use half as much of it as other hops in the same beer and it always dominates.

But w/regard to the original question, it depends on what you're doing, and what type of hop. English Pale ales I'd probably do 1/2-1oz, APAs 1-2oz, IPAs 2-4oz, DIPAs 3-4oz+ / 5 gallons w/typical hops. But some hops (saaz, palisade, etc.,) don't have particularly strong aromatics. Other hops (citra, simcoe in particular) are incredibly pungent. Adjust your hopping to both t he style and the hops.

I dry hop with anywhere from 1-6oz depending on the beer and the hops. Yesterday I dumped 3oz of hops into 5G of lawnmower IPA and didn't think it was excessive. I add my dry hops to a cold fermentor but I wonder if the temperature you dry hop at has anything to do with the amount of hops needed; e.g. would dry hopping at near 70ºF require fewer hops to get the job done compared to dry hopping near 30º.

The IPA I am drinking right now has 2 oz centennial 2 oz Columbus 1 oz citra. It's a pretty hoppy beer but I wouldn't call it excessive.

For English bitters I like to use 1/2 oz as a dry hop. Really it's all style dependent.

Last Ipa I did, which was almost a double ipa, I used 5 ounces for a 3 gallon batch. Next batch I plan on using more. I feel that when bottle conditioning I need more hops then someone who is kegging.

I generally dry hop at a rate of ~1oz/gallon for my American IPAs and up to 1.5oz/gallon for Double IPAs. That said, in the Double IPAs I may split up the total hop volume into 2 shorter duration additions. I haven't had issues with the harshness/fresh cut grass thing that some people complain about getting.