Ferment+serve in a corny keg vs using fermenter and transferring

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RyPA

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I am prepping to do an IPA that will be pressure fermented and served in a corny keg, without ever being opened. My plan is to use magnets to dry-hop. Has anyone done this, if so, what type of magnets did you use?

Edit: See below
 
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Potentially re-thinking my plans. Can someone with experience please weigh in? From what I've read, there are plenty who ferment and serve out of the same keg with no issues, the same can be said for keeping the dry hops in the keg for the life of the keg. I prefer option 1 due to the simplicity.

Option 1 - Ferment in keg, dry hop in keg, serve in keg
- Ferment under pressure
- Naturally carbonate
- No transferring needed
- No chance of oxidation
- Beer sits on yeast cake and dry hops for life of keg
- Dry hopping may be difficult due to limited headspace

Option 2 - Ferment in fermonster, dry hop in fermonster, closed transfer to keg
- Cannot ferment under pressure
- Cannot naturally carbonate
- Transfer needed
- Little to no chance of oxidation
- Beer does not sit on yeast cake or dry hops
- Plenty of room to dry-hop using a 7 gallon fermonstar
 
I think you know my opinion on this, so its a bit repetitive to give it. However, for the consideration of others who might read this thread I'll reiterate it. I have been fermenting exclusively in kegs for several years now (my SSBrewbucket with FTS system is collecting dust). I dry hop ~80% of my beers in the same fermenting keg. Every time I do this I intend to do a closed transfer into a serving keg, but about 25% of the time I get lazy and just serve straight from the fermenter. This has worked well for me and there is lots of anecdotal evidence from others that it works well for them. So, Option 1 works just just fine. Oh, and you forgot to mention less things to clean with Option 1 :) But I did want to point out that with Option 1 it is also SUPER easy to do a closed transfer to a purged serving keg using a beverage out-to-beverage out jumper. The only issue - as you point out - is the headspace needed for your dry hopping approach. You could get around this by getting a hold of some 6 gallon or 10 gallon kegs, or by doing 4 gallon batches in a normal corny.
 
Yes, and thanks again for jumping in. I am considering grabbing a larger torpedo keg in the future, but for now I can only work with my 2 corny kegs, one of which is getting 5 gallons of stout this weekend.

Thinking through the dry hopping, I am considering cutting a muslin bag to eliminate the excess material, making it only large enough for the hops, a metal object, and to seal it up; I am thinking this will eliminate a lot of dead weight after being dipped in sanitizer, making it easier for the magnet to hold.

I will be pressure fermenting and got some anti-foam that I plan to use, hopefully that, paired with 10 -12 PSI, will keep my krausen at bay. I want to fill the keg up to the welds (4.75 gallons?), so I will have only a few inches of space, and if I can get the hops attached closely to the underside of the lid, I think I'll be in good shape.
 
Yes, and thanks again for jumping in. I am considering grabbing a larger torpedo keg in the future, but for now I can only work with my 2 corny kegs, one of which is getting 5 gallons of stout this weekend.

Thinking through the dry hopping, I am considering cutting a muslin bag to eliminate the excess material, making it only large enough for the hops, a metal object, and to seal it up; I am thinking this will eliminate a lot of dead weight after being dipped in sanitizer, making it easier for the magnet to hold.

I will be pressure fermenting and got some anti-foam that I plan to use, hopefully that, paired with 10 -12 PSI, will keep my krausen at bay. I want to fill the keg up to the welds (4.75 gallons?), so I will have only a few inches of space, and if I can get the hops attached closely to the underside of the lid, I think I'll be in good shape.

Hops swell a lot when they go into the beer - you want lots of loose space in the hop bag or they won't get utilized very well.
 
i ferment and serve all of my beers in the same keg, and under pressure. i do not dry hop in the same keg. i have two kegs i use a serving kegs that i dryhop in, then serve in those

i do not open the kegs after pitching until the keg kicks

if i were to dryhop - i would proceed with option 2
 
i ferment and serve all of my beers in the same keg, and under pressure. i do not dry hop in the same keg. i have two kegs i use a serving kegs that i dryhop in, then serve in those

i do not open the kegs after pitching until the keg kicks

if i were to dryhop - i would proceed with option 2
Thinking about option 2, but kind of interested to try out pressurized fermentation. If I am primarily only losing the nose of the IPA, I may just live without it for this batch. I am looking forward to having a non-oxidized IPA, as all I have brewed in the past tasted like crap.
 
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I ferment in a 15 gallon torpedo keg and I love it. The only problem so far is when it comes to dry hopping. I tried this My Favorite Way to Dry Hop Loose In Primary and Kegs - Scott Janish - which was a disaster and I will never do that again. I plan on brewing a hazy ipa this weekend. My plan is to dry hop loose in the fermenting keg and then transfer from a floating dip tube after cold crashing. I hope this works. I will open the keg to add the hops while purging gas.
 
I ferment in a 15 gallon torpedo keg and I love it. The only problem so far is when it comes to dry hopping. I tried this My Favorite Way to Dry Hop Loose In Primary and Kegs - Scott Janish - which was a disaster and I will never do that again. I plan on brewing a hazy ipa this weekend. My plan is to dry hop loose in the fermenting keg and then transfer from a floating dip tube after cold crashing. I hope this works. I will open the keg to add the hops while purging gas.

I also tried that method.. ..and also found it to be a disaster. I use the Torpedo keg-style floating dip tubes but put a ~1-2 inch cone of stainless steel mesh over the intake of the floating dip tube. Works well to keep the tube submerged and to filter out hops. I actually cut up the keg dry hopper to make the mesh cones :)

Edit: I tried the cold-crashing approach before I went the dip-tube filter and unless I cold-crashed for >1 week always ended up with clogged poppets. YMMV.
 
I thought about running a strand of dental floss through the PRV on the keg lid and tying the hop bag to that, has anyone tried this? May be considered risky, but if you have a spunding valve hooked up, you technically have 2 outlets.

For any IPA going forward, I'm aiming to never expose it air once fermentation kicks off. It may be overkill, but..beer.
 
The filter at the end of the floating dip tube worries me for the same reason Janish’s method failed me. The mesh clogged. Though it has worked for you so I’ll consider it.

I understand your desire for an oxygen free dry hop. I have the same desire. My strategy for this is to purge as I’m removing the lid and dry hopping. I understand that a bit is likely still making it in. I refuse to put a dry hop bag in my finished beer. Idk why, I just don’t want to do it. The best way to do it would be to get a conical, but been there done that and don’t wanna go back. I’d rather open the lid 😁.
 
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Call me crazy, but this seems like overkill just for aroma. If my beer was headed to a show where judges would be critiquing it, fine, but this will be drank 90% by me. If someone has an issue with the smell of it, they don't have to drink it. Not worth the risk of oxidation and a bad 5 gallons of beer, plus jumping through hoops to dry hop, just for the smell.
 
Are you referring to the Janish method? Or purging? Conical?

Purging is very simple with a keg. Just hook up the gas line and apply a few pounds of pressure while opening and dry hopping.
 
The filter at the end of the floating dip tube worries me for the same reason Janish’s method failed me. The mesh clogged. Thought it has worked for you so I’ll consider it.

I understand your desire for an oxygen free dry hop. I have the same desire. My strategy for this is to purge as I’m removing the lid and dry hopping. I understand that a bit is likely still making it in. I refuse to put a dry hop bag in my finished beer. Idk why, I just don’t want to do it. The best way to do it would be to get a conical, but been there done that and don’t wanna go back. I’d rather open the lid 😁.

I dry hop exactly the same way. Seems to work pretty well.. ..to the point where I feel that hop quality is the biggest factor in getting good flavour and aroma.

Strangely, the mesh at the end of the dip tube doesn't seem to clog under normal operation. It has when the floaty-ball came off, but then the dip tube was buried at the bottom of the keg :( Now that I have said this I'll probably have a string of clogged dip tubes.....
 
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