Dry hop in a Keg

[Vicfonz]

Newbie here so forgive me lol...Hello all.. Have any of you dry hopped in a corney keg? If so what was your process?
What type bag did you use?
How long do you leave the hops in?
Did you add C02 or wait after you pulled the bag?
Any inform would be great..
I was considering just dropping the hops in the carboy (primary fermenter) then racking it after 7 days to my corney.. It's been in the carboy for 3 weeks.. Brewing an IPA .. Took a gravity reading last night 1.012 it read (hope I read it right)taste was also pretty darn good! ps I wrote my og reading down but my notes have been missing so I couldn't tell ya what it was lol.. Anyway like I said I'm a newbie enjoying the process and can't wait to brew some more! Thanx in advance for you input all

 

[m00ps]

YES, dry hopping in a keg is great

I use whole leaf hops, contained in a muslin bag, weighed down and tied to the keg handle with non-fl;avored dental floss. I leave it in for the life of the keg without issues.

Ive seen people having success with pellets, but you need a finer mesh to not clog your diptube

 

[mtyquinn]

I do it all the time with a hop sack and some sterilized fishing line. Works great.

 

[dfborn]

I dry hop while I force carb. Easiest method for me is to use a stainless hose clamp to clamp the hop sack string to the underside of the pressure relief valve. Works great.

 

[Sir-Brews-Alot]

I also dry hop in my serving keg. What I do is take one of those SS mesh toilet supply lines that people use in mash tuns all the time (I went with a 16"), fold and sinch closed one end with a pliers, and slide that on my dip tube. Works great, I get very little hop matter in the glass, and usually none after the first few pints, and it’s easy to clean and sanitize for re-use. Despite the hops being in contact with the beer the entire time, I’ve never experienced grassy, chlorophyll, or hay-like flavors that some people report. Maybe because a keg rarely lasts more than a couple weeks.

 

[mascervesa]

When making hoppy IPA's, I use my corney kegs as secondary fermentors and add the dry hops after I transfer to the keg. Fasten a SS hose clamp to the PRV, tie a fishing line to the hose clamp and tie the other end of the line to a a fine mesh bag containing the hops. Crank pressure to 30 psig to seal the lid, store at room temperature for 3 days, agitating the hop contact with the beer by shaking a few times per day. After day 3-4, either:
1. Chill the keg in your keezer/fridge, set to serving pressure with the bag in.
2. Pull the bag prior to chilling and set to serving pressure.
3. Pull the bag out of the keg, and add 2nd stage dry hop for another 3-4 days with intermittent shaking/agitation. After 3-4 days, proceed to 1.

I have had excellent results with all these methods, but the 3rd method for hop bombs is a must with my brewing. It prevents any exposure to oxygen and it seems the agitation helps extract the hop oils for flavor and aroma.

 

[Vicfonz]

Awesome y'all! Thanx for all the tips.. Dry hopping in the keg seems best.. For those of you that leave the hops in the keg till you finish the keg.. How long does your legs last until your last drop?

 

[ballsy]

I dry hop while I force carb. Easiest method for me is to use a stainless hose clamp to clamp the hop sack string to the underside of the pressure relief valve. Works great.

That's a great idea!

 

[ballsy]

The few times I've done it (including my current keg of lackluster extract RyePA kit from NB...which I added 1.5 oz of extra dry hop to keg to try and salvage) is just put it in a mesh sack and drop it in. I've never attached it to anything and haven't had issues with the tube clogging at all.

 

[ballsy]

Awesome y'all! Thanx for all the tips.. Dry hopping in the keg seems best.. For those of you that leave the hops in the keg till you finish the keg.. How long does your legs last until your last drop?

Depends on how fast I drink that night, sometimes my legs give out after a couple hours and sometimes they'll go all night But seriously, that all depends on how much you drink and how many of your friends get a hold of it....personally my kegs last roughly 4-6 weeks. If a big party I'm bringing a bunch of growlers to or visiting friends/family back home then I run out in 2-4 weeks b/c I'll bring like 6-8 growlers full

 

[Vicfonz]

Yes I figure I would be 4-6 weeks on finishing it...if not less... 5 gallons amoung friends would go fast! If it's finished quick I'll make sure to make them help me brew another batch.. Someone has got to clean up the mess! Lol

 

[Bobb25]

Thought I'd jump in here with a related question. I am also a new brewer. Last summer I did an american IPA, It was a first time I used a corny in a keezer for a secondary. ( Primary was 2 to 3 weeks ). A few days into the secondary , I remembered that there was about 1/2 a bag of the left over pellet hops from the brewing process in the fridge. Why not, I thought, and put them into a sterilized mesh bag, and after releasing the pressure, dropped them into the corny. Instantly I had a huge foam explosion. The foaming was so vigorous that I had a hard time getting the lid back onto the corny. The mess in the bottom the the chamber was probably 1 to 2 quarts worth. The beer however turned out great and most of those who sampled loved it.
Can anyone suggest what caused this issue, and how I avoid it in the future?

 

[ballsy]

Thought I'd jump in here with a related question. I am also a new brewer. Last summer I did an american IPA, It was a first time I used a corny in a keezer for a secondary. ( Primary was 2 to 3 weeks ). A few days into the secondary , I remembered that there was about 1/2 a bag of the left over pellet hops from the brewing process in the fridge. Why not, I thought, and put them into a sterilized mesh bag, and after releasing the pressure, dropped them into the corny. Instantly I had a huge foam explosion. The foaming was so vigorous that I had a hard time getting the lid back onto the corny. The mess in the bottom the the chamber was probably 1 to 2 quarts worth. The beer however turned out great and most of those who sampled loved it.

Can anyone suggest what caused this issue, and how I avoid it in the future?

Not sure. I did the same with my recent rye IPA. It was fully carbed (30 psi x 48 hr then 10 psi for few days after....) so i released the gas popped the top and put 1.5 oz of pellet hops in a mesh bag and gently lowered it in. There was the tiniest amount of fizz and that was it. Not sure why yours would have reacted like it did?

 

[pablosbrewing]

Thought I'd jump in here with a related question. I am also a new brewer. Last summer I did an american IPA, It was a first time I used a corny in a keezer for a secondary. ( Primary was 2 to 3 weeks ). A few days into the secondary , I remembered that there was about 1/2 a bag of the left over pellet hops from the brewing process in the fridge. Why not, I thought, and put them into a sterilized mesh bag, and after releasing the pressure, dropped them into the corny. Instantly I had a huge foam explosion. The foaming was so vigorous that I had a hard time getting the lid back onto the corny. The mess in the bottom the the chamber was probably 1 to 2 quarts worth. The beer however turned out great and most of those who sampled loved it.
Can anyone suggest what caused this issue, and how I avoid it in the future?

Dry hop while carbing is fine, the dry hop process takes longer at cold temps so you may not want to wait for it to be carbed first