How to add Hop Extract Cold Side O2-free?

[joshbuhl]

I‘ve recently acquired several hop extracts meant for cold-side use (BrewGas and Quantum from Abstrax) which are „ideally added post-fermentation at the coldest point in the process, e.g. in the bright tank.“

Does anybody have a tried and true method for doing so with virtually *zero* O2-ingress? „Opening up the fermenter and dumping it in“ is not what I‘m wanting to do (and please nobody give me any lines about „blankets of CO2“.) I have a fermzilla with hop bong and beer and gas ports. Floating dip-tube on beer-out. I bottle and fill one 5L mini-keg.

Two ways occur to me: 1) drizzle the extract onto the dry hops in the hop bong and hope it still goes into solution and is not absorbed by the hop matter. 2) dilute in (boiled) water and pump in with CO2 through the beer-port.

Any other ideas?

Cheers

 

[Zadkiel]

Are you planning this in advance, or is the fermenter already running?

I like low-tech solutions, my first thought was a test tube with a strong magnet glued to it, and another magnet on the outside of the fermenter to hold it in place. when I want to add the addition, simply pull off the exterior magnet to drop it in. But now I'm writing this I realise that I know nothing about hop extracts and maybe they need to be kept sealed in order to not lose efficacy.

 

[joshbuhl]

Are you planning this in advance, or is the fermenter already running?

Planning.

I like low-tech solutions, my first thought was a test tube with a strong magnet glued to it, and another magnet on the outside of the fermenter to hold it in place. when I want to add the addition, simply pull off the exterior magnet to drop it in.

So what, glue the magnet to the testtube and then you have the glue in your beer? Magnet thru the thin testtube glass and let it fall ito the beer with the magnet, possibly breaking? Even if the testtube with extract falls into the beer, how will you get good mixing?

But now I'm writing this I realise that I know nothing about hop extracts and maybe they need to be kept sealed in order to not lose efficacy.

Yes, the extract shouldn't sit for days open in the testube.

I'm not opposed to low-tech if it works well, but no, no "magnet" solutions for me. Thx tho.

 

[Zadkiel]

plenty of food safe glues, and tubes are generally made of pyrex-like materials, not glass, plus you're dropping it into liquid. and don't see how the mixing would be any different from dropping in from a hop bong which was one of your proposals. but that all seems irrelevant given the most important part, that it shouldn't stay open. I dunno, I just like low-tech sometimes Just realised that you wouldn't need to drop it, could just slide it down, or even maybe rotate it in place to tip it out. But still irrelevant if it being open ruins it.

 

[jschein]

You can use a syringe setup like this from one of the site vendors https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/syringe_60_kegdosekit.htm

Here is a post with some examples of homemade ones https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/syringe-for-injecting-gelatin-into-keg.675402/

 

[Bobby_M]

With only 2mL or so to inject, I'd probably thread the PRV out of the fermzilla lid and inject it through there. It's a 3 second operation and the oxygen ingress would be infinitesimally small. If it's under pressure, take the gas hose off a grey QD, inject into the hole of the QD with a blunt needle syringe, then put the gas connector hose back on and pressurize prior to snapping on to the gas port.

 

[Gary25]

Joshbuhl,

I just bought some Abstrax Quantum (Citra and Galaxy) and am planning to give it a try on my next batch. I was planning to add 5ml to a 5 gallon keg and will unscrew the pressure relief valve and use a syringe to dispense the extract. I’m also going to use a fair amount of whirlpool hops as well.

Just wanted to check in to see how your Abstrax use is going.