I've read several threads and comments using the search function, but haven't found the information I'm looking for. Are the SS mesh cylinders more or less efficient than using multiple nylon bags at 2oz per bag for large keg dry hops of 4-8oz using pellets?
Dry Hopping in the Keg - Nylon Bags versus 300 micron SS Mesh?
- Thread starter Azura
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Honestly, I don't think there's much difference. Both restrict the hops to a confined space.
I think a better choice if you want to keg hop is to use a floating dip tube device. I've had good luck with the Clear Beer Draught System, but there are others as well. Instead of a dip tube going all the way to the bottom of the keg, they have a sealed floatation piece with a dip tube intake attached to it. Then you run a silicone tube between the intake and a short metal dip tube piece (similar to what's on the gas side) in the keg post. This keeps the dip tube intake just below the surface of the beer. You can even put a mesh filter on the intake if you want. Then you can just throw the hops into the keg and let them float freely.
Another alternative is to put a mesh tube around the regular keg dip tube. That will keep most of the hop material out.
I've used hop bags, hop tubes, mesh tubes around the dip tube and a floating dip tube. The best, by far, is a floating dip tube. 2nd best is the mesh tube. I didn't notice much difference between a hop bag and a hop tube.
I think a better choice if you want to keg hop is to use a floating dip tube device. I've had good luck with the Clear Beer Draught System, but there are others as well. Instead of a dip tube going all the way to the bottom of the keg, they have a sealed floatation piece with a dip tube intake attached to it. Then you run a silicone tube between the intake and a short metal dip tube piece (similar to what's on the gas side) in the keg post. This keeps the dip tube intake just below the surface of the beer. You can even put a mesh filter on the intake if you want. Then you can just throw the hops into the keg and let them float freely.
Another alternative is to put a mesh tube around the regular keg dip tube. That will keep most of the hop material out.
I've used hop bags, hop tubes, mesh tubes around the dip tube and a floating dip tube. The best, by far, is a floating dip tube. 2nd best is the mesh tube. I didn't notice much difference between a hop bag and a hop tube.
I have a mesh canister and they have much bigger holes in the top which allow hop dust and material to escape if you do not do something to keep the top above the surface. If I use it I put my hops in a nylon bag first, so my canister is just an expensive weight. My vote is for the nylon bag and a couple big SS nuts to keep submerged.
I've used a nylon grain sack for over a decade. It works well and has a very fine mesh that is more likely to keep the hop fines in the sack and not in the beer. Dump in the hops, tie a loose single knot at the end and dump it in.
I wondered about those holes on the lid that appear to be a lot bigger than 300 micron. They definitely let some material escape, eh. Good to know. Thanks.
Nothing escapes from bags. I'm tired of using bags, tho.
I use the Clear Beer Draught system. Able to throw my hops in and it doesn't clog. http://www.shop.clearbeerdraughtsystem.com/CLEAR-BEER-DRAUGHT-SYSTEM-CBDS.htm
That's true. Bags work fine for dry hopping the keg. I've used them hundreds of times for this purpose. Sinking them to the bottom often resulted in good aroma for the first 4 pints, then the rest of the keg was disappointing. Inverting the keg before cold carbonating helped with this issue.
Occasionally, I'd get a bag stuck in the dip tube that blocked flow completely. Then I added a screen to the dip tube and occasionally would get really slow pours. Then I started suspending the bags in the middle of the keg with some floss. That eliminated clogs.
Then my problem was tying off and suspending multiple bags (2-4) with 4-8oz of hops total was an irritating process. Cleaning the bags has always been irritating. That's why I'm looking at other options now.
Some of the hop filters have the same 300 micron mesh on the top holes also. I have a couple like this, work well for me.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06W555VSQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
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Using pellets, I've used nothing but cold crashing to effect a clean transfer after dry hopping - the pickup tube from my corny was nipped just a bit off the bottom, can't recall the exact amount. And it worked really well so I never worried about anything else. I made a slurry first.
Do you do a closed transfer from the primary to a purged keg thru the CBDS? Do you fill the keg with sanitizer before purging? Does the CBDS remove all the sanitizer?
I have been intrigued by the clear beer tap system but I would need quite a few as I carb and serve from the same keg with multiple taps.
One other thing about the canisters is hops seem to form a solid block at the bottom. Not sure if it really matters but it seem if they stayed looser it would give better transfer of hop flavor and aroma.
I hear people mentioning loss of hop aroma from kegs with time, I think it is not lost it is just inside the increased head space of the keg. My pale ale and IPA kegs always smell so good when I open them even though the last pint was not a aromatic as the first.
One other thing about the canisters is hops seem to form a solid block at the bottom. Not sure if it really matters but it seem if they stayed looser it would give better transfer of hop flavor and aroma.
I hear people mentioning loss of hop aroma from kegs with time, I think it is not lost it is just inside the increased head space of the keg. My pale ale and IPA kegs always smell so good when I open them even though the last pint was not a aromatic as the first.
The picture of the product you linked has very large holes on the lid. Much larger than 300 micron. Do you know where similar products with 300 micron holes on the lid are offered for sale. I've never seen them.
The relatively huge holes on the lid are not a deal breaker for me. The fine hop material that escapes thru the lid will crash to the bottom and there shouldn't be a lot of it beyond the first pour. Correct me if I am wrong. Thanks.
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The plug the hops form at the bottom of a 300 micron filter seems less than ideal, but the hops float long enough to extract plenty of aroma. 80% of extraction happens on day one at 70F for free floaters.
Hops in bags clump together too. Bags are closer to 50 micron, so they have less flow and the material absorbs some aroma. SS mesh seems like it should work a little better than bags. They do in the boil for me. Not sure about dry hop.
CBDS seems like it should do what I want, but being skeptical about something new is automatic for me.
Yes to all.
The hop pellets in the bottom of the canister were much more compact than hops in a bag. Shaking did not get them out, they needed to be broken up to get out
. Maybe pressure in the kegs compacted them as the level of beer dropped, I don't know. I think you are right about the speed of extraction, I have tossed hops into a full carbed keg and the flavor and aroma changed in hours.
The CBDS has been out for a while you should be able to get reliable reviews and feedback by now. I have bottled beer in clear bottles before and you can easily see the stratification as the beer aged so I think the idea behind it make sense.
Yes, there are large holes in the lid, but the mesh is on the inside of the lid. Description says
"The Only Dry Hopper With Mesh Over The Holes In The Lid"
Here are a couple pics I just took of the inside of the lid.
Attachments
I learned quite a while ago that dry hopping in the keg is not the way to go. The beer has to be separated from the hops after a few days to avoid creating grassy flavor. I have a Blichmann conical expressly for the corny lid that it has that allows me to drop in a big bag of hops a few days before transferring the beer to keg.
I've never had a problem with cleaning the bag after use. I dump out the hops and rinse it a couple of times inside and out. All the trub and hop matter comes right off. Of course, the bag is a lovely tea-color after all these years. The bag gets boiled before each use.
I've used the CBDS maybe 10 times. I don't get to brew that much but I always use CBDS, even for beers with no hops in the keg. It just helps prevent sucking up sediment.
I'd say I've gone up to about 12oz of keg hops. They will eventually settle out as the beer cools, but with the mesh filter on the CBDS, every pull of beer is super clean until you get to the very bottom of the keg.
@Azura
I do closed transfers with the CBDS as well. Fill up the keg with sanitizer. Put the lid on. Take off the PRV and add as much sanitizer as you can to fill it as full as you can. Put the PRV back, add 1-2psi CO2 to the gas post and push out as much sanitizer as you can. It should leave maybe 6-8oz max of sanitizer. Carefully turn the keg upside down. With 1-2psi still going in, release the PRV a few times to get the remaining solution out. You'll be left with just a little bit of sanitizer at that point. Then do a closed transfer like normal.
I do closed transfers with the CBDS as well. Fill up the keg with sanitizer. Put the lid on. Take off the PRV and add as much sanitizer as you can to fill it as full as you can. Put the PRV back, add 1-2psi CO2 to the gas post and push out as much sanitizer as you can. It should leave maybe 6-8oz max of sanitizer. Carefully turn the keg upside down. With 1-2psi still going in, release the PRV a few times to get the remaining solution out. You'll be left with just a little bit of sanitizer at that point. Then do a closed transfer like normal.
I didn’t like using the canisters. The pellets compacted in the bottom and the interior hops were nearly dry. I only use those for oak and coffee type additions. I’ve not had that trouble with large size bags. I tacked some stainless rod under the keg lid. I tie it and leave it. I want some Clear Beer setups to try.
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I'd rather not leave 6-8oz of sanitzer in the keg. Inverting it to blow out the rest is a good tip that I did't think of. Thanks.
Grassy flavors are things that I have either never experienced or they don't bother me. Dry hopping in the keg produces better results for my palate. We have different palates.
Same here. My dry hops stay in the keg till it kicks.
I guess I'll find out since I just tried this for the first time yesterday (to address a chilling snafu that robbed my IPA of flavor/aroma). I'm guessing if the keg is kept cold it's not much of an issue. Time will tell.
It wasn't an error per se. My normal chilling process is to hook up a garden hose to my Hydra and let the output run down the driveway. On brewday it was 4 degrees F and snowing, so that wasn't an option. I knew that ahead of time and ordered a pond pump from Amazon prime. It was supposed to arrive on Thursday, was delayed to Friday (my planned brew day). Mail usually arrives by 11am so I planned my brew day to complete the boil at 1pm, leaving a two hour cushion to get the pump working and everything set up.
Apparently with the snow, mail was delayed so the pump didn't arrive until two. I tried to chill as best I could (fully open the garage door, whirlpool with hoses running through ice water) but the chilling that normally takes 5 minutes to 170 took 20-25 minutes. My concern was much greater isomerization than planned.
I guess my error was banking on the arrival of the pump and/or not adjusting my hops additions knowing that it hadn't arrived yet.
We may also have different consumption rates. My kegs tend to linger in my fridge for many months. A keg that is consumed in a month is not likely to develop grassy flavor.
My consumption rate for hop bombed beer is 3-5 weeks.
jmcquesten
Well-Known Member
I use the stainless filter for my keg hop, but after 5 days, I pressure transfer out of the keg hop keg, into a purged serving keg. I've had pretty good results doing this.
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