Dry hopping in fermenter using CO2

[Augusto Sotero]

Hi guys, I have had a problem with an IPA that got oxidized in the past, so I became sort of paranoid with the matter.

I recently bought a CO2 cylinder to use when dry hopping, but I am not sure the best way to do it. Reading a lot of stuff here in the forum, I figured most people have kegs and dry hop there so the process is a little bit different than mine.

I don't have a keg. I don't transfer to secondary either and I use a bucket to ferment my wort.
My process normally is when the activity of airlock is going down, I put my dry hops in a muslin bag and inside the bucket, leave it for 3-4 days than remove the bag and cold crash for 3-4 days and then bottle.

So now I ask, what is the best way to use this CO2 I bought within my process to avoid oxygen pickup when I insert the dry hops and later when I take them out?

Just open the lid of the bucket, purge with CO2 (what pressure and for how long) then insert the hops and repeat in the moment I take them out?

Thanks a lot!

Cheers

 

[LarMoeCur]

Fermenting in a bucket and not kegging don't waste your time trying to purge with CO2. It’s not worth the headache especially when you blow the lid off by adding to much CO2 which will happen.

Make sure you're adding the dry hops before the beer is finished fermenting. Don't wait until its .002 points from complete. Shoot for the last 1/3 of the expected gravity. Don't remove the bag of hops before you transfer it to bottling bucket. It will drip and splash adding more O2. I’d focus on your bottling and transfer procedures before trying to get tricky with CO2. I'd bet that's where you are picking up your O2 from.

 

[andrewbrews]

I wouldn't waste the effort either. Your going to pick up oxygen in your transferring. That's probably a better step to try and adjust. I second adding at the tail end of fermentation. The yeast should do a fair job scavenging any oxygen introduced.

 

[day_trippr]

I agree with all of that, it's difficult to see how flushing a bucket could work without untoward risk.
Do want to reiterate @LarMoeCur's point about not opening the bucket to remove the hop bag before crashing and racking.
There's no need to do that and take the extra O2 hit...

Cheers!