Keg Hopping?!

So I'm new to kegging, I just kegged my first beer on Saturday and I was very pleased that it was almost completely ready to drink by Sunday evening (after a lot of keg shaking to encourage dissolving). But unfortunately the beer that I kegged didn't have the floral hop aroma that I was aiming for, even after dry hopping with 0.5 Chinook and 0.25 Nelson for 4 weeks.

My two questions are:
1. Did I dry hop too long and lose some/all my hop aroma?
2. Is it possible to dry hop inside the keg (obviously in a pretty tight strainer bag to prevent clogging)?

Just thought of this idea tonight and I don't remember reading anything about anyone doing this on this forum. My thoughts are that "keg hopping" would lead to a really fresh strong hop aroma that would be perfect for the IPAs I'm brewing. Any advice is appreciated.

-David

I dry hop in the keg all the time, using 1-gallon pain strainer bags that are suspended by unflavored dental floss from the lid (so that I can pull them out at any time). But four weeks is a LONG time to dry hop anything. Go larger amounts and shorter time - shouldn't take more than a few days.

ArcaneXor said:

I dry hop in the keg all the time, using 1-gallon pain strainer bags that are suspended by unflavored dental floss from the lid (so that I can pull them out at any time). But four weeks is a LONG time to dry hop anything. Go larger amounts and shorter time - shouldn't take more than a few days.

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I use the same method as Arcane to dry-hop in the keg but usually only leave the hops in for 7-10 days while I am carbing up the keg.

Thanks ArcaneXor. Do you weigh the hops down also so that theyre suspended in the middle of the keg?

Also, apparently I never searched for dry hopping in the keg before because I just found a ton of results. So even though it isn't a completely original method, it was an original idea haha. I have a bunch of 1 gallon paint strainer bags and I've read about people tying the bags to the dip tube or weighting them down with marbles or ball bearings, but wouldn't weighing down the hops in a keg lead to more clogging?

I use a stainless steel tea ball weighted down to close to neutral bouyancy. As long as the ball doesn't pop open (only happened once so far) there's no problem with the lines clogging.

It depends on what type of hops you use. Whole hops tend to float on the surface, pellets tend to sink down to the point until the floss is taut. Either way, there is plenty of exchange between the beer and the hops, and weighing down is not necessary.

Clogging is not a problem as long as you don't agitate the keg while the hops are in it. Shaking can cause hop fragments to get pushed through the bag mash, or, the bag can even pop open. Those little particles can get stuck in the poppet valve.

ArcaneXor,

Where on the lid do you tie the dental floss? I assume the gasket on the lid seals around it and you tie it to the handle. Also does the paint strainer bags that you use have the elastic around the opening? I was afraid of using the ones I have that have the elastic. I was scared the elastic would cause off flavors in the beer.

I just put them (pellets) in one of those nylon hop bags that looks like a paint strainer and throw it in as I rack the beer. Pull them out when the keg is kicked. Seems fine. No problems so far.

I use white nylon knee-high stockings. They are 2 for $.59 at Walgreens. I tie the bag midway down the diptube when I rack to the keg. Works great. I always get a nice aroma as well as beautiful head and retention by dry hopping in the keg.

I've always wanted to do this, I just wasn't sure how long most people left the hops in the keg.

Steven9026 said:

ArcaneXor,

Where on the lid do you tie the dental floss? I assume the gasket on the lid seals around it and you tie it to the handle. Also does the paint strainer bags that you use have the elastic around the opening? I was afraid of using the ones I have that have the elastic. I was scared the elastic would cause off flavors in the beer.

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I don't tie it, the slack just hangs there. You could always tie it to the handles of the keg though.
The bags do have elastic, but I haven't noticed any off-flavors. Any sort of fine-mesh bag should work.

So do you dry hop just for the time that you condition or do you just leave the hops in until the keg is emptied? Also, what sanitizing steps are done for this?

FireBrew63 said:

So do you dry hop just for the time that you condition or do you just leave the hops in until the keg is emptied? Also, what sanitizing steps are done for this?

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You leave them in there until it tastes good. Leaving them too long can result in vegetal flavors that are often unpleasant. Just sanitize the bag and floss and add to the keg with the hops in the bag.

Thanks for all the info everyone, I'm definitely trying this with my next batch. I mainly use whole leaf for dry hopping so I probably wont tie off with floss. I'm still a bit nervous about clogging that poppet valve and having to take it apart and clean it, would there be a problem with covering the bottom of the downtube with a metal screen (held on with a small metal hose clamp unless I can think of something else)? I know copper can leach flavors, are there any other metals I have to worry about?

i always save my dry hopping for the keg for max aromatic freshness. i use a weighted hop bag & leave them in till the keg is drained. never develop off flavors (they typically get drained within a couple months).

A couple months!?!? You're clearly not drinking enough beer

Resurrecting this because I want to try something similar and would appreciate any comments.

First let me say I'm new to kegging as I'm currently working my way through my one and only keg (Irish Red Ale) attempt. It's tasting really good by the way.

I bought something similar to this and I'm planning an ipa for my next brew. I'm thinking of transferring the beer to the keg after FG is reached and then adding a couple oz. of hops, (and a couple large stainless steel nuts for weight) into the hop filter, lowering it into the filled keg. Purge the keg a few times to remove much of the excess oxygen, and let it sit at room temperature for a few days. At that point I'd then put the keg into the fridge, and over the next 2 or 3 days bring it down to fridge temp, ~37°f. Once cold I'd stick it on the gas at 12psi to carbonate over a couple weeks. I'm thinking of leaving the hops in the keg for the duration as I've been reading lately that the supposed vegetative flavors once feared by extended hop exposure may be more myth than truth, especially at cold temperatures.

Any thoughts on this process?

By the way, this was my inspiration for planning this....

bump

I've used the giant hop cylinder you linked to. It works. I'm also trying the Scot Janish / Utah biodiesel dip tube filter

http://scottjanish.com/my-favorite-way-to-dry-hop-loose-in-primary-and-kegs/

I am still only on the first iteration of both. Hop cylinder was underwhelming - i got a good dose of dry hop in the first 10 or so pints, but it's mostly subsided now. I occasionally agitate the keg to move the hops around.

I've been happier with the dip tube filter but that beer is newer and started out hoppier.

I have dry hopped in the keg using this https://www.homebrewing.org/Dry-Hopping-Tube-for-Carboy-400-Micron_p_7117.html this and the video above generally have you leaving the hops in the keg until it kicks. There are keg lids with a welded tab inside if you want to remove hop matter after a few days. And of course, this https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Top-Draw-Beer-Pick-Up-Tube-P4643.aspx?afid=14 which replaces your solid dip tube if you leave your hops in free to settle on the bottom, and probably getting the most utilization from them. The mesh tube still had dry pellets because of the way the pellets had expanded. I had an ale for an event using my first link all the homebrewers identified that it was dry hopped because of the sharpness of the flavor. (in my opinion it wasn’t a good sharpness) leaving dry hops in a day can give a boot to flavor and aroma without that sharpness.

But aren’t you oxidizing your batch? When you get your keg ready to receive the beer, it’s filled with sanitizer and pushed out with co2 and left sealed. So you just open the lid and put your dry hops in? And then o2 enters the keg too?

WBB said:

But aren’t you oxidizing your batch? When you get your keg ready to receive the beer, it’s filled with sanitizer and pushed out with co2 and left sealed. So you just open the lid and put your dry hops in? And then o2 enters the keg too?

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This is where I'm having a bit of trepidation on this whole dry hopping in the keg thing. I'll probably give it a shot and if it works, great. If it doesn't, then I chalk it up to experimentation. The screen wasn't all that expensive.