Dry hopping kegs

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ifearnothing0

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2012
Messages
208
Reaction score
7
Is it recommended to dry hop in the keg ? .. I be tried it once with no ill affects , but with my present batch I dry hopped with 3 or 4 oz in a muslin bag and the beer coming insanely hazy and loaded with hop debris .. Also before I pulled the hop sack out of the keg it was almost impossible to pull any beer out of the tap because it had sunk down to the bottom of the keg and clogged the out tube
 
I've dry hopped in the keg many times. I tie the hop bag with some dental floss so it hangs halfway down.


Never any problems with hop debris ? Did you dry hop after force carbing or before ? What force carb methods do you use ?
 
I dryhop all the time in the keg. For pellets, I need those very fine muslin bags to contain the debris, but for whole hops I use anything I have, from tea balls to medium/fine bags.

I don't weigh mine down, nor do I tie them to anything. I've never had a problem yet in over 100 kegs done that way.
 
You need to use a finer mesh. A muslin bag is too coarse. I use fine mesh nylon hop sacks to no ill effect. I think cotton-based products will stretch when wet, allowing debris out to clog the dip tube and cloud the beer.

Be careful using line to support the bag. I've used fishing line to support hop sacks and oak chip sacks. Never used dental floss, but the line I used wouldn't hold CO2 pressure. I never leave bourbon Oaked chips in for more than 5-7 days, but I do leave hop sacks in through empty with no strings attached.
 
I've dry hopped in the keg many times. I tie the hop bag with some dental floss so it hangs halfway down.


Never any problems with hop debris ? Did you dry hop after force carbing or before ? What force carb methods do you use ?
 
Thanks for the replies folks .. I'm just hoping all that hop debris settles to the bottom and it comes out in 1 pour rather that the 10 pours that I'm going through now lol
 
Interesting , most quick force carbing methods the I've read or watched involve at least a little shaking , or at least forcing the gas through the out tube
 
Interesting , most quick force carbing methods the I've read or watched involve at least a little shaking , or at least forcing the gas through the out tube

I like to let the beer sit and clear, and shaking it doesn't allow that. Then, it's foamy besides.

There are two ways force carbing works well for most people. One is to set the keg in the kegerator, and leave it at 11 or 12 psi, for the life of the keg. That always works.

If someone is in a hurry, the keg can go into the kegerator and be set at 30 psi for 24-36 hours. Then purged, and reset to 11 or 12 psi for the life of the keg.

The first pour, either way, will have some sediment in it. So I pour about 3 ounces and discard. After that, no new "stuff" comes out unless the keg is moved.

By shaking at a higher pressure, it's likely to overcarb the keg. By shaking at 12 psi, the beer won't be overcarbed but it will be foamy and sediment filled. And then, it may need some time do get rid of that "carbonic acid bite" from quick carbing and shaking. So it really doesn't speed up the beer serving.

If I scan the 'problem' posts here on the forum, most of the issues are from people shaking the keg or trying to otherwise force carb differently (through the "out" post for example). If there is sediment or hops debris in the keg, shaking the keg will only cause problems and could even clog the out posts or diptube.
 
I actually had problems with the my dry hop bag clogging the out post of my keg . I had to clean and sanitize my arm and reach down the keg to pull it out lol .. I didn't want to rush the kegging process but was trying to tap it on IPA day .. I also didn't think that " set and forget " would work in 24 hours , def going to try that method next time
 
I actually had problems with the my dry hop bag clogging the out post of my keg . I had to clean and sanitize my arm and reach down the keg to pull it out lol .. I didn't want to rush the kegging process but was trying to tap it on IPA day .. I also didn't think that " set and forget " would work in 24 hours , def going to try that method next time

It won't be ready in 24 hours, but at 36-48 hours it would be pretty good.
 
Right on , I'll try to be more patient .. I just left it in my primary longer than I planned and when IPA day came around I had to keg ; dry hop ; carb and tap all in 24 hours lol .. I need to get a pipeline going so I won't rush anything
 
Back
Top