Brew Bucket users who dry hop naked

[brew703]

I normally dry hop in a bag but want to try just tossing in the pellets. Is there anything I can do to prevent the pickup tube from clogging when racking to my keg?
If the tube does get clogged what is the best way to unclog?
What are the chances of the liquid coupler getting clogged with hop debris?

I do cold crash before racking, which I am sure will help some. Just don't want an issue when the time comes and want to be prepared to fix it if needed.

 

[BrewerBrad82]

I am a naked dry hopper.

I use wide mouth PET carboys and always cold crash. After the cold crash, the hops tend to stay put on the bottom of the fermentor and I get very little if any hop material into the keg during the siphon.

For a brew bucket, rotate the racking arm so it is pointing upwards to avoid hops.

 

[kingmatt]

I keep the dip tube in my Anvil brew bucket sideways during fermentation and dry hoping to ensure nothing falls into the tube. I dry hop naked (sometimes in my underwear) and cold crash so all the hops fall below my dip tube. I slowly open my valve and run the beer into a clear plastic pitcher while turning spigot and dip tube down, until I see hops/trub start coming out, and I start my closed transfer to the keg from at the lowest point of my clear beer.

I usually don't have any clogging issues with my transfer unless I am brewing a NEIPA with a sh!t ton of hops. In those cases, it is usually the liquid ball lock coupler that gets jammed but that rarely happens if I am careful.

If your dip tube were to get jammed I guess the best way to clear it would be to blow in some CO2 through your ball valve, though I might just pop the top and rack with an autosiphon at that point.

 

[balrog]

Somewhere, someone, @day_trippr , @RM-MN , I can't remember, had a nice pic of a hop sack around a washer, at the end of the siphon, yielding more filter area. I cannot find it. My search fu be weak. Memory says it looked (pardon the drawing apparently done by a rabid intoxicated yak)

[EDIT: HA! Never give up! Never Surrender! It *WAS* @day_trippr , here for instance]

 

[Rodent]

I have no issues hopping commando in the boil kettle, whirlpool, or fermentation ... but refuse to go commando in a keg due to how easily the poppit will clog with even the best efforts/techniques to avoid doing so

 

[Leezer]

I’m glad you found that picture @balrog , I’ve been looking for it too. I am going to try it because I ruined an auto siphon in the past when I bottled a beer made with homegrown hops. Pieces of them got stuck in the bottom part and were impossible to remove.

 

[brew703]

Thanks for the replies.
I'm going commando in the boil keg and brew bucket. I think I will put the dip tube sideways and hope for the best. This brew is only 6 oz hops with half in the boil.
As for transfer, I'll cold crash and transfer as I normally do. If any issues with clogging I may go the auto siphon route.

 

[matridium]

The few times I have dry hopped I went commando. However I transfer with a device I made by modifying the liquid fittings and makeing a sleeve with o rings and a modified dip tube made into a racking caine. This is what it looks like in action. I can post a pic of the device not in use with parts removed. This device is wide open no poppets or springs to clog up.

 

[brew703]

The few times I have dry hopped I went commando. However I transfer with a device I made by modifying the liquid fittings and makeing a sleeve with o rings and a modified dip tube made into a racking caine. This is what it looks like in action. I can post a pic of the device not in use with parts removed. This device is wide open no poppets or springs to clog up. View attachment 637753View attachment 637754View attachment 637755

That's a nice set up. I recently ordered a Clear Beer Draught system so that i can dry hop in the keg. Gonna give that a try to see how it performs. I also ordered a knock off of the CBDS from Ebay that i plan to use when i ferment in one of my spare kegs. That way when i transfer it pulls from the top rather than the bottom.

 

[matridium]

Here is my comple setup. I brew 2.5 gallon batches. So I purchased two of these Anchor Hocking 2.5 gallon jars. They hold just a tad over 2.5 gallons. I then turned a lid that has a Cornelius keg lid O-ring groove. The lid fits down into the opening and the O-ring seals quite well. I cut with a laser the center of a Body Forturace lid. These plastic lids work well, the treads are identical. Only issue is they do not achieve the force needed to seal tight. The lids that come with the jars are aluminum and I have yet to cut them out. The original lids made into rings should seal better since they are made of aluminum.
I use ball lock to 1/2" balkheads with o-rings for in and out.
My transfer device is a modified dip tube. I turned a SS sleeve that is sandwiched between two dip tube o-rings. Once snuggled up, the tube can move freely up and down. The opposite side is a smaller dip tube that has the same SS sleeve system. But this one does not move, it actually seals against a liquid dip tube. I use this to close transfer in kegs and these wide mouth jars. I have very little issues with clogs since the 5/16" diptube is wide. No poppets or springs in the way and I don't use filters. Most hops and other debrie is dropped during a cold crash or in the keg during carbonation.

 

[matridium]

That's a nice set up. I recently ordered a Clear Beer Draught system so that i can dry hop in the keg. Gonna give that a try to see how it performs. I also ordered a knock off of the CBDS from Ebay that i plan to use when i ferment in one of my spare kegs. That way when i transfer it pulls from the top rather than the bottom.

My system pulls from the top and slides down. It is long enough to reach the bottom. I have a mark that shows the bottom is reached. I simply stop about one inch before that mark and only proceed if the liquid is still clear. If I see a few particles I stop and call it good.

 

[snarf7]

i tried hop bags, i tried the steel mesh strainer balls, none of them seemed to expose enough hops to the beer to really get the flavor and aroma I was looking for...so I just toss em in loose and let em settle out, cold crash helps well if you're doing a heavy dry hop...plus I always sit my bucket on a 45 angle so all the trub and sediment falls off to one side, then I just pump my beer from the opposite side and it's fine

 

[bkboiler]

I use a mesh canister (300 micron) which holds enough for my 2.5 gallon batches. I've learned toward larger dry hop charges for shorter periods and even this does not challenge the canisters capacity (6-8oz)