High quality Craft beer dry hops addition gun widely used in beer brewing industry from WEMAC China

Dry hops addition is not a strange thing to everyone. The reason for the dry hops addition is to make up for the loss of hop flavor caused by adding hops before the start of fermentation (boiling evaporation leads to aroma loss, and carbon dioxide carrying in the fermentation process causes aroma loss). The commonly used dry hops are generally granular hops, but also whole flowers and hop extracts. A large amount of dry investment will cause problems such as diacetyl, which needs attention.

There are many factors that affect the use of dry hops.

1. Hop varieties, hop shape (particles, whole flowers, extracts)

2. The content of hop oil

3. The freshness of hops

4. Dry casting method (slurry, circulation, stirring, hop torpedo...)

5. The length of contact time between hops and liquor

6. Dry casting temperature

7. The presence of yeast in beer

Why do we do investment without additional bitterness. At the temperature of dry casting, the alpha acid in the hop oil will not be isomerized to produce iso-alpha acid, but may be oxidized into humulone with a bitterness of only 66% iso-alpha acid. According to the IBU quantitative method currently adopted by the international community, dry casting causes the measured value of beer IBU to become higher, but the actual hard reading is not so high.

The research results of Ohio State University (this university has deep academic attainments in the field of brewing technology and raw materials) show that:

1. The extraction efficiency of granular hops is higher than that of whole flowers

2. Dry casting under stirring/turbulent conditions, the extraction efficiency is better than dry casting where the hops stand still in the liquor

3. Under stirring/disturbing conditions, most of the aroma substances in the hops will be extracted into the liquor in the first 6 hours

Al's fermentation temperature is generally 18-20 degrees Celsius. When the apparent degree of fermentation (Apparent Degree of Fermentation) reaches 70%, dry casting is performed, and the recommended temperature is 16.5 degrees Celsius. After dry casting, it is necessary to ensure that there is a sufficient amount of yeast in the wine, at least 1 million yeast per milliliter of wine. If the dry dosage is large, in order to ensure that the diacetyl content does not rise, a little diacetyl reductase can be added. 1-2 days after the end of the dry cast, you need to track the changes in the sugar content in the liquor. If the sugar content does not change and the diacetyl content is no problem, the wine can be cooled to 0 degrees Celsius and kept for two days before drinking.

Common ways to add dry hops:

1. Dump into tank and settle method

2. Hop gun

3. Hop slurries

4. Hop pellet shear pump

5. Whole cone hops

Put the hops directly into the fermentation tank, the operation is "simple and rough". The fermentation tank needs to have a large enough opening to put hops. Generally, a funnel is connected to the top of the fermentation tank. A small amount of hops are put in first, and then most of the remaining hops are put in. This method may cause oxidation.

If you use a hop gun, you must ensure that the hop gun has a pressure vessel certification. First, use carbon dioxide to replace the air in the hop gun, then connect the fermentation tank, use the pressure of carbon dioxide to drive the hops in the gun into the fermentation tank, and then release the pressure after finishing. Using this method is more dangerous and requires careful operation.

The third method of dry casting is to soak the hops in hot water to form a slurry, and then pour the slurry into the fermentation tank. Due to the use of hot water, the enzymes in the hops are basically killed, which can avoid the creeping phenomenon of hops caused by dry hops. Of course this method also has flaws

The fourth method is Karl's favorite method. First put the granular hops into a small jar, and then replace the air, use a little carbon dioxide to bring some pressure, you can bring the granular hops into the shearing pump, and the shearing pump will grind the granular hops and then blow them in In the fermentation tank. The operation is relatively simple, and the extraction efficiency is higher. 

Dry hops throwing of whole flowers is not a very common method, and the extraction efficiency is also low. If you have any questions about purchasing craft beer equipment or beer brewing technology, as well as the craft beer business process, you can contact us in time and WEMAC will serve you wholeheartedly!