Hop material, then none, then hop material

[hlmbrwng]

I dry-hopped an IPA in a keg and refrigerated right away. After 6 days, I removed the hops, which will suspended in a paint strainer bag.
As I expected, after letting sit for a day, the first couple of pours were full of hop material. Then it cleared up.

I decided to bottle some of the beer. The keg was pressurized at about 14 psi (i don't have the fridge super cold). I released the pressure, set the pressure to 2 psi, filled the bottles, then set the pressure back to 14 psi.

The next morning, there was a lot of hop material again at the bottom of the keg. Why is this?
The last IPA I dry-hopped, by the time I got to the end of the keg, there was a ton of hop material. So, in this case, did depressurizing then resetting the pressure of the keg cause the floating hop material to drop?

Next time I might just add to secondary without a strainer, then rack of the hops. I was trying to cut down time by force carbing while dry-hopping.

 

[Stillraining]

A very good question, and along the lines of what I have posted about with dispensing issues once equilibrium has been disturbed on a resting keg. There are so may things going on inside a keg it is foolish to think you have it all figured out. I'm still learning every day.
What you described sounds very plausible as to what might have happened.
Its still strange to me that your pellet hop bags float after the hops absorb water and go through fermentation/secondary..if anything you would think the exact opposite, that they would float first and sink later....Nope!.............go figure.
Lots to absorb so little time to bumble along.

 

[plazola86]

Did you move the keg at all? Maybe depressurizing might have been enough to throw everything in suspension again.

 

[hlmbrwng]

A very good question, and along the lines of what I have posted about with dispensing issues once equilibrium has been disturbed on a resting keg. There are so may things going on inside a keg it is foolish to think you have it all figured out. I'm still learning every day.
What you described sounds very plausible as to what might have happened.
Its still strange to me that your pellet hop bags float after the hops absorb water and go through fermentation/secondary..if anything you would think the exact opposite, that they would float first and sink later....Nope!.............go figure.
Lots to absorb so little time to bumble along.

Someone needs to make a see-through keg that can handle beer serving pressures! I would love to see what's going on in there.

The hop bag is suspended by a string inside the keg. If it starts to sink, it only goes about halfway down. After I remove the bag, then there is still plenty of hop material that is suspended. This residual hop material is the stuff that is getting on my nerves. I need a beer...

 

[hlmbrwng]

Did you move the keg at all? Maybe depressurizing might have been enough to throw everything in suspension again.

Yeah, the keg gets shifted a bit. I pull it slightly out of the fridge so I can get to the CO2 regulator that is normally hidden by the kegs.

 

[plazola86]

Yeah, the keg gets shifted a bit. I pull it slightly out of the fridge so I can get to the CO2 regulator that is normally hidden by the kegs.

That would do it, it should settle out in day or 2 though.

 

[Stillraining]

Someone needs to make a see-through keg that can handle beer serving pressures! I would love to see what's going on in there.

The hop bag is suspended by a string inside the keg. If it starts to sink, it only goes about halfway down. After I remove the bag, then there is still plenty of hop material that is suspended. This residual hop material is the stuff that is getting on my nerves. I need a beer...

I should have used the word "our"..not "your" when I refereed to the hop bags floating in primary, as mine do, I have moved onto SS screened hop cartridges for both fermentation and keg hopping to cure the issue, no more weight or strings needed.. Well that's not totally true I float a cork on mono filiment so I can retrieve one out of a full keg if I want to. But if one goes in a keg its usually there till it kicks.

 

[SanPancho]

also, depending on how much you drank/bottled, the hop bag may now be only partially submerged, at which point any hop material clinging to the exterior of the bag will now slough off and float around in the beer for a bit before dropping. if the beer got all the way below the bag i can envision hop juice dripping from the bag as it hangs.

you got about three choices typically-
use clarifier like biofine, gelatin, etc. after dry hop.
buy a filter and use it
get another keg with shortened tube and crash in that, then rack to serving keg.

time, money, or effort. unfortunately the solution to this takes at least two as i see it.

 

[Stillraining]

a) Money Effort
b)Money Time
c) Time Effort

Choice seems easy its C.

If Im spending money it better be effortless and quick...

 

[bleme]

You could try using a finer mesh, like the stainless mentioned above or a Wilser Bag. Of course the easiest solution is to decide you LIKE the hop particles floating in there....