Keg and Bottle Conditioning Questions...

1. If I use my keg as a secondary, do I add CO2 or just let it sit in there w/ the Oxygen for a couple of weeks and then carbonate?

2. Will it be okay if I dry hop in the keg if I use it as a secondary?

3. My understanding is the the main purpose of the secondary is to help w/ clarification of the beer. That being said, will I get that same clarification if I go ahead and put them into bottles and let them sit for 2 weeks?

1. You don't add oxygen to beer, ever, except at the very beginning when you aerate your wort. I don't understand what you're asking here.

2. You can dry hop in the keg, but you have to use a hop ball or a bag to contain them so they don't clog up your dip tube. It works ok with leaf hops, not with pellet hops, since pellet hops disintegrate into sludge.

3. If you don't use a clearing tank ("secondary"), you can leave it in the primary longer, which is recommended. That will reduce the sludge and sediment in your bottles. 2 weeks in the bottles is not really going to give you clear or even well carbonated beer. At least 3 weeks in the bottle to get good carbonation, and then the beer will continue to condition and clear. Remember, when you bottle, you add priming sugar so that starts up a little fermentation to carbonate. So, this is not really a clearing stage. (I think that's what you're asking- if not, let me know).

1. Haha, no-- I don't want to add oxygen, I understand you only use it to prep wort before pitching. I'm just trying to figure out if I want to purge the Oxygen w/ CO2 or not if I stick it in the keg to clear.

2. Awesome answer-- I already purchased pellets, so I'll just throw them into the primary.

3. Yup, that answers that too, I'll just leave them in the primary a bit longer to clear out. Thanks Yooper!