We want to break down the walls and help you understand more about the industry we love – and the drink you love. That’s why we’ve created this series: Beer Stuff Made Simple. It’s the science made straight-forward, the geeky made get-able, the technical made too-easy. So, without further ado, let’s dive right into our first episode!
Have you heard the terms ‘wet’ and ‘dry hopping’ and wondered what the hell it means? They might sound like opposites but, in fact, you can dry hop using wet hops... That’s because ‘dry hopping’ means to add hops late in the brewing process, during the fermentation or conditioning stage, rather than earlier, like in the hot kettle. Dry hopping tends to add more aroma and fruity flavours (think our Daisy Hazy) rather than the bitterness that might come about through boiling in the early brewing phases (think IPA’s like our Big Sur).
On the other hand, ‘wet hopping’ can happen at any point during beer making. ‘Wet hops’ is actually the term for fresh hops, as opposed to what’s generally used in brewing these days – pelletised hops that have been dried and condensed. Wet hops are only available once a year, right after the seasonal harvest, which we were lucky enough to catch this year.
