Dry hopping in a keg - How long is too long?

[fat_astronaut]

I have a carbed keg that I want to dry hop with 4 oz of leaf hops. The keg will be at room temp until the day of the party. Is this too long to dry hop? Should I wait a few days before adding the hops?

Also, is it a problem that I am carbing at room temp? The C02 will still go in solution the same way, right?

Lastly, should I purge the hob bag with C02 in a bucket before adding it? Does it matter, is the amount of 02 negligable?

 

[giraffe]

In theory 5-7 days. In practice, people leave them in for months with no reported ill effects. YMMV.

Also theoretically, you can crank your regulator up, and if following a chart, get the beer to carb at room temp. In practice it works better at closer to freezing. (also cold conditioning helps most beers.) In my experience you are likely to have overly foaming flat beer, YMMV.

Dont worry about purging the bag, thats will not practically matter.

 

[jcorn]

Keg hopping citra for longer than a week or 2 will give a very overpowering grassy/flowery taste. Only hop I have ever keg hopped though..

 

[Beer-lord]

I've left some in for many weeks and haven't noticed a strong flavor difference until the very end. For the most part, I finish my kegs before I need to take them out......about a month and usually less.
I would just suggest you try it for 1-2 weeks and see if you like the aroma and flavor and based when you remove it on your own taste buds.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

I'd only do it for 3-5 days at room temp. Some people go 7 days or longer, but I usually start noticing off flavors after about 7 days. Taste varies with individuals though.

If you decide to chill the keg down to serving temps to carb and serve, then there should be little issue with how long the bag is in the keg. I've kept the hop bag in the keg for a couple months with no issues... key is to keep the keg cold, and the chances of grassy/off flavors is decreased immensely.

I've had no issues doing this with Citra too, although I find Citra to be a bit odd lately and I'm never sure exactly what I'm going to get from it nowadays. It's changing, and not for the better, imo. I still use it in whirlpools, but no longer as a prominent part of a batch.

That's a story for a different thread though...

 

[Flyboy84]

I like to throw an ounce or two into a mesh bag and leave it in the keg until it's gone; it's nice to see how it changes and progresses as I drink it. Be careful about using too much with this method. If you put too much in, by the time you taste it, it's too late.

As for carbing at room temp. If you plan on leaving the keg at room temp while carbing up, using a CO2 tank and regulator gets a little tricky. CO2 volume is very reactive to temperature and expands greatly as temperature increases. I'm sure there is a math problem that can be solved to tell you how much charge to give your keg, but honestly, I'm 4 beers in and in no shape to contemplate physics.

What I started doing recently when I have a keg an no space in the kegerator is priming the keg just like I used to do with bottles. Google how much to sugar to add to get the CO2 volume you want for 5gal, add it straight to the keg with the brew, slap on the lid and shake it up. In about 7 to 10 days it's ready to be chilled and served. This is also a good way to boost the ABV and thin out an IPA.

This does create a little more yeast than normal in the bottom of the keg and could benefit from a cold crash for a few days but it's a good way to carb up a keg outside of a CO2 tank.