Dry Hopping in Keg w Pellets

beerspitnight · Apr 4, 2011

I asked this question on another thread, but it got pushed to the bottom of the second page - so I figured I would start my own thread and ask.

We are looking to dry hop in the keg for about 7 weeks - over the summer while we are back in the US - I was hoping to use whole Goldings, but my brew brother (who is back in the US right now) only got pellets and some mesh bags. Will the pellets be ok in the mesh bag inside the keg? Will the pellets fall apart and leak out of the bag? Any advice?
Thanks!

studmonk3y · Apr 4, 2011

Pellets will be fine in the mesh bags. Most people don't dry hop for 7 weeks more like 7 days, so you might want to rethink that strategy. I brewed a batch last year where I didn't get around to bottling in time before leaving for a month. 4 weeks of dry hopping with Amarillo left some undesirable vegetal flavors, but I didn't notice them after a few more weeks of aging.

beerspitnight · Apr 4, 2011

studmonk3y said:
Pellets will be fine in the mesh bags. Most people don't dry hop for 7 weeks more like 7 days, so you might want to rethink that strategy. I brewed a batch last year where I didn't get around to bottling in time before leaving for a month. 4 weeks of dry hopping with Amarillo left some undesirable vegetal flavors, but I didn't notice them after a few more weeks of aging.

This will be for an "Export" IPA - based on an article I read on Barclay Perkins, which described casks of IPA that were shipped to India with "loads of hops" inside the casks - and that was a 7 or 8 month journey. Figured 7 weeks, with a 7.5%abv, would be ok. Might need to rethink though...

Yooper · Apr 4, 2011

One of the things we love about IPAs now is that "hoppy" flavor. Back in the days of the beer going to India, the beers were heavily hopped for keeping qualities, not flavor. Hops are a preservative, and heavily hopped beers kept longer. That meant a voyage in a barrel to India wouldn't (always) result in a sour beer. That doesn't mean it's going to give you the best flavor today! It'll be "not very hoppy", as hops aroma fades fairly quickly, and "vegetal" as the left hops turn sort of grassy and "green" tasting.

I like to dryhop 7 days before packaging my beer. I will dryhop in the keg, but only the serving keg kept in the fridge for just a couple of weeks, as dryhopping seems to go slower and take longer at fridge temps. No way would I dryhop for more than 14 days at room temperature!

studmonk3y · Apr 4, 2011

beerspitnight said:
This will be for an "Export" IPA - based on an article I read on Barclay Perkins, which described casks of IPA that were shipped to India with "loads of hops" inside the casks - and that was a 7 or 8 month journey. Figured 7 weeks, with a 7.5%abv, would be ok. Might need to rethink though...

Well you can certainly try it and be true the Export IPA roots. My understanding is the alcohol will eventually help extract other flavors from the hops besides the tasty ones derived from the oil.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/dry-hopping-how-long-do-you-dry-hop-162684/

beerspitnight · Apr 4, 2011

studmonk3y said:
Well you can certainly try it and be true the Export IPA roots. My understanding is the alcohol will eventually help extract other flavors from the hops besides the tasty ones derived from the oil.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/dry-hopping-how-long-do-you-dry-hop-162684/

Not sure what to do now...I like the idea of trying out the style, but fair enough, it might not be the best tasting beer. If we let the keg sit another month or so after taking the hops out of the keg, would the flavor mellow out a bit and be more drinkable?
We'll have to think on this more - and we have another month until we are scheduled to brew it. I don't mind experimenting to see how it goes, but I also want to get back to Beijing and have some good beer waiting for me!

elproducto · Apr 5, 2011

I drop hop lots of my IPA's in the keg for weeks on end with no off-flavors. I just toss the bag of hops in, and retrieve it when I kick the keg. I believe because the beer is cold, you avoid the vegetal.