Dry hops in the keg

Yeah I like them a lot. About the cheapest I could find without buying in massive bulk too.

 

Dry hopping in fine mesh nylon bags (2oz. per bag) for 4-5 days and inverting the keg once a day to rouse the hops works well for me. According to pros, without rousing the hops a few times, you reduce the total potential extraction by roughly 25%. I did notice more aroma after I started inverting the keg.

Obviously, you should disconnect the CO2 before inverting the keg. I suppose inverting could be less effective if you tie the bags to the lid. I just let them free float with enough added weight to drop them to the bottom of the keg initially and they eventually float to the top, but still stay completely submerged.

I tried a two day dry hop using this method and it produced a weaker than usual aroma.

 

1. Yes, both
2. Yes, this is critical

 

Paint strainer bags are nylon and vastly superior to cotton/muslin (they don't stretch)...but they are not as fine a mesh as some of the better (and more expensive) ones at homebrew suppliers. I will use paint strainer bags for BOIL hops, but prefer a finer mesh for dryhopping.

 

I think so. I prefer the nylon.

 

For @brightcloud313 : are you a NASCAR driver? Do we see you race on Sundays? 'Cause you sure seem to be in a hurry to have this beer finish. Yes, if you dig around you can find people who will tell you that most of the aroma is created in the first couple of days. Or you can listen to @JohnSnowNW who recommends 5 days. At Russian River they dh for 12 days . . . I've heard their IPAs are pretty good.

Fairly sure your brew will improve with age (yes, even IPAs). While waiting a week or two for dh'ing and carbing why not be sipping on a conditioned IPA that you brewed 6+ weeks ago? One of the joys of kegging is to have a pipeline that is always producing great beers.

Wasn't there a post by a brewer who made his own "silk bags" . . . used them in the brew kettle with no leakage and claimed excellent results? If so, this might work in a keg. Any ideas from the "Silk Poster"?

 

I've never dry hopped in the keg, but I am considering buying one of these stainless hop filters and then trying it. Does anybody have any experience with one of these? Cheers!

 

^^^ very interested to hear if anyone here has used those.

 

I have one and not happy with it at all. Anything more than one ounce makes a big solid "slug" of hops with reduced exposure to liquid and poor oil absorption (IMO). The only time I use it now is if I need to re-dry hop (in the keg), i.e. a brew has faded, with something like 1/2 ounce of hops. Oh yeah, it also "leaks" a little bit, so you still have to wait for the hop debris to settle and be poured off.

 

I use a ss mesh screen that fits over the end of the dip tube.

Don't use bags, just toss hops in. I've only used it with pellet hops but have been very happy with the results. After beer has been chilled for a few days hop debris starts to drop out, and by the time it's carbonated it's floaty free. First pour can be a bit murky at times but then it's clear. I will say that i've not used more than an ounce at a time to dry hop with due to my kegs are only 2.5 gals.

 

I`ve had mixed results hopping in the keg with 3-5oz of hop pellets using a 1 gallon pain strainer. For whatever reason, whenever I used Conan + Galaxy hops the beer will not clear at all. I recently used US-05 with Citra / Amarillo and it cleared like a champ.


Both Conan / Galaxy beers that I have dry hopped in the keg have been about as clear as could be at the end of primary fermentation, prior to transfer.