One question i have with people that dry hop (which is something i do too) is; what do you do with the hops after removal?
I use a hop-sock for dry hopping, so its easy to remove them afterwards.
**Alert** this is just an anecdotal assumption i have**. I just feel that there is still potential in these dry hops as they have never seen any heat.
Therefore; does anybody utilise them afterwards or do they just see the bin?
For anybody that is interested; what i do is pull the hop sock, decant a litre or 2 of the (already fermented) beer into a pan bring to the boil and dump the dry hops in. Flame off, seal & leave for about 10 mins to infuse.
I then pour the beer & hop mix back into the vessel (strained obviously), and then batch prime & bottle (i don't keg).
I suspect i may lose some alcohol off the 2L of boiled beer, but that doesn't concern me too much. What i do notice are hop oils that would have been lost.
I cant really say whether this offers any advantages, its just that i hate the idea of waste if something can be utilised in other ways.
Logic says you could do this to save on the amount of hops required, as you will be getting the benefit of the dry hop schedule plus some (albeit small) flavour & aroma.
I don't have any contamination concerns, as the beer is already fermented, and the 2L is boiled, capped, and covered with bug killing hops
Anyway, long ramble, apologies, any comments?