keg dryhop questions??

BuzzCraft · 10-20-2009, 08:10 PM

I just brewed an APA along the following lines:

Marris Otter base malt
1/2 lb Victory
1/2 lb 40L crystal
3/4 lb light munich
1/4 lb carapils

Bittered with Columbus (0.8 oz)

Several hop additions between 20 min to flameout with Amarillo (total of 2 oz)

OG - 1.055 39 IBUs

Fermenting w/US-05 in the low 60s.

Plan to serve this up in 4 weeks. Leaving in primary for 3 weeks, then to keg and force carbing for consumption after one week....I know it's pretty short....damned friends and their parties.

I'm planning to DH in the keg using a stainless tea ball, which I've never done before, so have a couple of questions.

I'm thinking that with this OG and the fairly short time frame from brew to consumption, I shouldn't go nuts with the DH. I'm thinking 1/2 to 1 oz max?? I've never DH'd in the keg before, with is one of my biggest uncertainties...just not sure how and when the hops come through when putting DH in the keg versus doing it in a secondary. How do people's approach to DH differ when they're doing it in the keg?

I've never used Amarillo or Columbus before....any suggestions on what would work best with the above recipe?? I'm currently thinking 1/4-1/2 oz of each, but open to doing one or the other exclusively.

Thanks for the input.

Big10Seaner · 10-20-2009, 08:17 PM

I haven't used an amarillo/columbus combo, but I really enjoy an amarillo dry hopped beer. I always dry hop in the keg with whole leaf inside a stainless herb ball, I just fill it up and toss it in. I usually dry hop around a week or so before chilling/carbing but your method will probably be fine. It might be a little green, but the dry hopping will mask some of it.

johnnyc · 10-20-2009, 08:23 PM

I would suggest using whole leaf if you have them. I just kegged an IPA with a teaball filled with simcoe pellets. Lots of hops dust. Definitely wouldn't clear in a week.

BuzzCraft · 10-20-2009, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnyc

I would suggest using whole leaf if you have them. I just kegged an IPA with a teaball filled with simcoe pellets. Lots of hops dust. Definitely wouldn't clear in a week.

bummer....i was wondering about that. may have to alter the plan somewhat. i only have pellets (and tons of them from HD, so i'm not about to buy leaf hops!).

thanks....maybe i'll just dh in the primary a week before racking. not ideal, but...

powderbock · 10-20-2009, 11:50 PM

I dryhop in kegs using pellets and knee high stockings. Just sanitize and seal with a zip tie. Don't seem to have a lot of sediment from it unless I'm moving the kegs around a lot. I cold crash my secondary before kegging. Have never used a SS tea ball so I'm not sure how big the hole are. Should work fine for you as well. I don't shake my kegs, I fill to 30psi, disconnect and place in kegerator overnight, then connect and keep at 12psi. Usually carbed within a week.
As for what to use, I generally dry hop with 1/2 oz. In your case I would use the amarillo only.
Good luck.

shortyjacobs · 10-21-2009, 12:41 AM

Hmmm.. I dropped a muslin bag with 1.5 oz pellet hops into my keg on sunday, (with a SS hose clamp to weigh it down). At the same time, I dumped in some knox gelatin, (properly rehydrated and heated).

The very next day, it was crystal clear and very nicely hopped....

I guess YMMV?

**carp** · 10-21-2009, 12:47 AM

A related question: if you are using a muslim bag to contain the hops, how to do you sanitize it - just soak it in Starsan for a bit? Is this even necessary?

shortyjacobs · 10-21-2009, 12:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carp

A related question: if you are using a muslim bag to contain the hops, how to do you sanitize it - just soak it in Starsan for a bit? Is this even necessary?

I was brewing at the time, so I just dunked it in my 5 gallon bucket full of Starsan.

I'm pretty bad about waiting any period of time after a starsan dunking, lol.

I don't know if it was necessary, but it made me feel better.....Beer at 5% ABV is a lot hardier than wort full of sugar and oxygen, but you can still get nasties in there....(especially since there was probably grain dust floating around....lacto is a nasty SOB).

Chumley · 10-21-2009, 02:14 AM

I usually dry hop by throwing the hop pellets in the keg, leave it at room temp for about 5 days. Then I cold crash and transfer to a second keg to get it off the hops. This has worked really well for me.
1/2 to 1 ounce sounds about right.

**david_42** · 10-21-2009, 01:17 PM

If you have more Columbus, I'd recommend using that for dry hopping. There are those who advocate massive amounts of one hop, but I'm convinced that using several hops for aroma and dry hopping gives better results with a lot less hops.