How to make AMAZING IPA

[Ruckusz28]

I've really enjoyed reading this thread. There's been an IPA craze going on in my brewroom as well. This last batch of southern hemisphere IPA that I did is going in the right direction. A few friends who love my beer have been pushing for me to do something a little different. A split batch may be in order to show the "traditional" yeast vs. London III vs. Brett and let them decide.

Thanks for the inspiration.

 

[marshall_tucker]

i was reading an article (currently misplaced) about cask/firkin conditioned beers the other day, and regarding the carbonation in the beer, it was stated that the British traditionally used to rely on the primary fermentation to create it, rather than a separate addition of sugar. So they would throw the beer into the cask before it was done fermenting out. Talk about having to know your s##t! Timing is certainly key on that practice, probably explains why you'll hardly ever see it done anymore (as opposed to priming with sugar and new yeast if req'd).
(by the way, please don't quote this as gospel, i could be mistaken with what i said here)

It did make me think though...imho, it's safe to say that bottling an IPA is almost a waste of the huge hop additions that go into it, because by the time it's ready to drink, you're already two steps behind on that luscious aroma. I do agree that kegging is king when you want that in-yer-face, arse-kick hop character. so that being said, if anyone were brave enough to exbeeriment (not me ), consider this...bottling a batch of beer before primary is complete. bear with me...

PROS:
- Reduced time from grain to glass
- Potential for better hop character in finished product
- Potential for imitating firkin/cask characteristics in finished product
- save $ on sugar/dme

CONS:
- Potential for bottle bombs if bottled too soon (from ferment C02 pressure)
- Incomplete fermentation if bottled too soon/too much yeast withdrawn from beer. Low cell levels in bottles could also lead to insufficient carbonation.
- Along with point #2, you may need to intentionally rack some of the cake into the bottles, to ensure fermentation can complete.


obviously, this looks daunting and it's probably not worth spending time on. it would only be worthwhile if you don't have a keg available. but ain't nothing wrong with a little creative thinking

 

[StopTakingMyUsername]

on the Brett/Amarillo IPA :
Bottled a few to give to friends. Didn't experience any problems with bottle bombs, and we still have a couple sitting in the garage.
Not sure if there's sacch, but it's definitely got that signature brett brux 'horsey' vibe to it.
Claussenii would be a better choice going forward.

on the Azacca single hop IPA:
man this beer faded FAST!
Filled a couple growlers and bottles off the keg to share, and the growler I opened had maybe HALF the hop flavor/aroma presence as it did when we first started drinking it out of the keg.
In addition, it had a light medicinal/plastic/phenol thing going on in the finish (after swallowing the beer and breathing out). I'm chalking that up to maybe my palate was off from eating mushroom/olive stuff at thanksgiving, or the growler wasn't fully sanitized? I'll open a bottle and compare...
Pretty disappointed, though.


I'm wondering if maybe O2 killed the hops quickly?
What do you guys think? Why would it fade so quick? I know commercial IPAs have a good shelf life of at least 3 weeks - 1 month.

Is there a good way to transfer to kegs without any O2 introduction? We've just been opening the bucket lid and racking over to an open keg. I lay the CO2 hose down in the keg and leave it on 1-2 psi while doing this, so there's a constant influx of CO2 going into the keg, then put the spear back in, and seal it up. I purge a little CO2/O2 off the coupler before letting it carbonate too.

Also, what is the best way to stop fermentation at a target FG?
If I rack off the big yeast cake, will there be enough yeast in suspension to continue cleaning up byproducts and off-flavors?
Should I just build the SG higher to anticipate the FG I want based on the yeast's attenuation?

 

[StopTakingMyUsername]

i was reading an article (currently misplaced) about cask/firkin conditioned beers the other day, and regarding the carbonation in the beer, it was stated that the British traditionally used to rely on the primary fermentation to create it, rather than a separate addition of sugar. So they would throw the beer into the cask before it was done fermenting out. Talk about having to know your s##t! Timing is certainly key on that practice, probably explains why you'll hardly ever see it done anymore (as opposed to priming with sugar and new yeast if req'd).
(by the way, please don't quote this as gospel, i could be mistaken with what i said here)

It did make me think though...imho, it's safe to say that bottling an IPA is almost a waste of the huge hop additions that go into it, because by the time it's ready to drink, you're already two steps behind on that luscious aroma. I do agree that kegging is king when you want that in-yer-face, arse-kick hop character. so that being said, if anyone were brave enough to exbeeriment (not me ), consider this...bottling a batch of beer before primary is complete. bear with me...

PROS:
- Reduced time from grain to glass
- Potential for better hop character in finished product
- Potential for imitating firkin/cask characteristics in finished product
- save $ on sugar/dme

CONS:
- Potential for bottle bombs if bottled too soon (from ferment C02 pressure)
- Incomplete fermentation if bottled too soon/too much yeast withdrawn from beer. Low cell levels in bottles could also lead to insufficient carbonation.
- Along with point #2, you may need to intentionally rack some of the cake into the bottles, to ensure fermentation can complete.


obviously, this looks daunting and it's probably not worth spending time on. it would only be worthwhile if you don't have a keg available. but ain't nothing wrong with a little creative thinking

My biggest concerns would be:
- how to dry hop?
- too much yeast cake on the bottom/mixed into the beer while pouring

 

[m00ps]

For me the hardest part to nail down would be predicting EXACTLY where it's going to ferment to. Even a difference of .001 or 2 will be enough to create bottle bombs

 

[jammin]

For me the hardest part to nail down would be predicting EXACTLY where it's going to ferment to. Even a difference of .001 or 2 will be enough to create bottle bombs

Just do a forced ferment test

 

[mmengele]

The magnum contributed kind of a light earthiness from the sample I pulled, but going forward I'd probably skip FWH/60/etc and just add the hops at 10 mins and then a huge whirlpool and dry hop.

I'm curious - if hop additions don't start until 10 mins, is there any need to do a 60 minute boil? I wouldn't mind shaving 45-50 minutes off of my brew schedule, especially if I'm adding 30-60 minute hop stands at the end. With less evaporation one would obviously need to make the necessary adjustments to hit the target OG.

 

[akthor]

Dump it down the drain. That would be the most amazing IPA

 

[StopTakingMyUsername]

For me the hardest part to nail down would be predicting EXACTLY where it's going to ferment to. Even a difference of .001 or 2 will be enough to create bottle bombs

Keep em somewhere safe, in a cardboard case to avoid glass projectiles?
I guess it is a gamble, but we haven't had any problems yet! Crossing fingers.

I'm curious - if hop additions don't start until 10 mins, is there any need to do a 60 minute boil? I wouldn't mind shaving 45-50 minutes off of my brew schedule, especially if I'm adding 30-60 minute hop stands at the end. With less evaporation one would obviously need to make the necessary adjustments to hit the target OG.

My concerns would be water volume adjustments to plan for "no boil".
I could be wrong here (experts chime in please) but I think there are a lot of proteins that develop or restructure in the boil, so it may effect body, clarity, or head retention if those are under-developed?
that's just a guess though, I don't really know as I've never tried it.
I have done 10 min boils on berliners, though... so it is certainly possible!

If that works, I'd love to shave off the extra 45-50 mins!

Dump it down the drain. That would be the most amazing IPA

guessing you don't like the style.
different strokes, bro.

 

[StopTakingMyUsername]

Any thoughts on why my Azacca single hop fell off so fast?

I mean, seriously, just a matter of days and it went from a creamy, peachy/pineapple bomb to watery nothingness with a tiny bit of hop aroma and a phenolic finish.

Any advice on how to CO2 xfer on homebrew setups? Would that help?

 

[jammin]

Any thoughts on why my Azacca single hop fell off so fast?

I mean, seriously, just a matter of days and it went from a creamy, peachy/pineapple bomb to watery nothingness with a tiny bit of hop aroma and a phenolic finish.

Any advice on how to CO2 xfer on homebrew setups? Would that help?

some hops die ULTRA fast. Mosaic is the first one that comes to mind. My latest Azzaca dominant IPA dropped off fairly quickly too.

on the flip side - Simcoe has mad legs. might be one of the reasons its the most highly sought after hop by commercial craft brewers and also saw the largest increase in production this year.

 

[beerkench]

Any thoughts on why my Azacca single hop fell off so fast?



I mean, seriously, just a matter of days and it went from a creamy, peachy/pineapple bomb to watery nothingness with a tiny bit of hop aroma and a phenolic finish.



Any advice on how to CO2 xfer on homebrew setups? Would that help?

Have you tried dry hopping in a secondary after the yeast has begun to floc out? In my experience, flocculating yeast is the death of an IPA. It takes all the oils with it on its way down. I also think the yeast cake is like a big sponge.

 

[StopTakingMyUsername]

Have you tried dry hopping in a secondary after the yeast has begun to floc out? In my experience, flocculating yeast is the death of an IPA. It takes all the oils with it on its way down. I also think the yeast cake is like a big sponge.

Actually, no. We usually just leave it in primary for 2 weeks - one to ferment, and then dry hop in the primary (in a muslin bag) for 5-6 days and then cold crash for a day, and keg.

That makes a lot of sense. I'll have to try that next time. Maybe cold crash after stable gravity, then rack off and dry hop in a different bucket/carboy?

I just worry about introducing O2 every time I have to open the lid to the bucket or cap to the carboy.

 

[beerkench]

Actually, no. We usually just leave it in primary for 2 weeks - one to ferment, and then dry hop in the primary (in a muslin bag) for 5-6 days and then cold crash for a day, and keg.



That makes a lot of sense. I'll have to try that next time. Maybe cold crash after stable gravity, then rack off and dry hop in a different bucket/carboy?



I just worry about introducing O2 every time I have to open the lid to the bucket or cap to the carboy.

There's an oldish interview with Vinnie Russian River talking about how he cools the beer to 50f and holds for 2 days to let the yeast floc out and then dry hops for 7 days letting the temp free rise to room temp during that period. I know though that some breweries like to dry hop while there's
still some fermentation going on but breweries can drop the yeast
cake before they add the hops.

 

[beerkench]

Do you have co2? A good way to avoid oxygen when using a secondary is to ferment in a vessel with a spigot, and transfer from the primary via the spigot to a purged secondary. Gives a nice smooth transfer although remember to replace the airlock with a stop when chilling the primary to avoid air sucking in.
Another alternative is keg hopping if you keg.
I've never tried chilling the beer and then dry hopping in the primary although I'd be interested in the results. I always found that the dry hop dies off fast if dry hopped with lots of yeast in suspension.

 

[EarthwormJim]

Also, what is the best way to stop fermentation at a target FG?
If I rack off the big yeast cake, will there be enough yeast in suspension to continue cleaning up byproducts and off-flavors?
Should I just build the SG higher to anticipate the FG I want based on the yeast's attenuation?

I don't know that you can stop the fermentation at a given point.

I've seen threads where people have bottled too early and some have said to put the bottles in the fridge to try to stop them from turning into bombs. Cold temps will slow the yeast down, but I don't know know if you can stop them completely. Eventually they'll eat all the sugar.

There's probably a way to kill the yeast but it would probably be more trouble than it's worth and you couldn't bottle condition.

If you increased the OG then used the yeast's attenuation to figure out the FG, the extra alcohol would thin the beer and that FG may not seem sweet enough any more. You might have to go with an even higher gravity to get the result you want.

Best thing is to just increase the mash temp so there is more unfermentable sugar. Any of the calculators should give estimates for FG using different mash temps and yeasts/attenuation. Well, I use Beersmith and it does. I assume others would too.

 

[marshall_tucker]

I'm curious - if hop additions don't start until 10 mins, is there any need to do a 60 minute boil? I wouldn't mind shaving 45-50 minutes off of my brew schedule, especially if I'm adding 30-60 minute hop stands at the end. With less evaporation one would obviously need to make the necessary adjustments to hit the target OG.

If you're using pilsner malt, general consensus is that you definitely want 60 minutes minimum of open top boiling

Other than that i don't know too many reasons dictating the long boil if you forgo fwh and early bittering

 

[marshall_tucker]

Have you tried dry hopping in a secondary after the yeast has begun to floc out? In my experience, flocculating yeast is the death of an IPA. It takes all the oils with it on its way down. I also think the yeast cake is like a big sponge.

I asked a question awhile back regarding this, concerning the effects of flocculation on hop oils contributed by both dry hop and hop stands. Everyone please reference my link below, the discussion didn't really go anywhere so it's a quick read, plus i never came to a conclusion so I'm part guilty. Please do weigh in with any thoughts to offer

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=538740

 

[StopTakingMyUsername]

So I've been trying to do this CO2 xfer method:
http://www.homebrewing.com/articles/closed-transfer-system.php

and it has been an absolute disaster. I need help!
Most of the time what happens is that the beer will flow into the keg for a minute or two, and then for some reason it just completely stops moving. This happens at low pressure (1-2 PSI) and higher pressure (I've done up to 6 PSI).
Then we have to disengage the coupler, slowly open the carboy cap, and vent the gas off, and start again.
Then it goes for another 2 minutes or so, and just stops. Rinse, repeat, until either it just won't go anymore, or we say F THIS and just rack it over (taking all the O2 with it)

Sometimes the caps blow off, the carboy and kegs start gurgling, and beer sprays all over the garage.
Mostly just the first situation though.


We use Sanke's instead of cornys, and I think that shouldn't matter, as the couple with the check valve removed is just as easy to clamp a hose to as a poppit would be.

Any idea what is going on?
I'm not exactly a gas/chemistry engineer, so I don't know if maybe there's a pressure equalization (or un-equalization) issue at hand?

It's really frustrating that it starts going great and then just randomly stops.

 

[beerkench]

Are you releasing the pressure in the keg, and have you tried raising the fv above the keg?

 

[hopsandhops]

subbing to read later...

 

[rmarshall100]

Actually, no. We usually just leave it in primary for 2 weeks - one to ferment, and then dry hop in the primary (in a muslin bag) for 5-6 days and then cold crash for a day, and keg.

That makes a lot of sense. I'll have to try that next time. Maybe cold crash after stable gravity, then rack off and dry hop in a different bucket/carboy?

I just worry about introducing O2 every time I have to open the lid to the bucket or cap to the carboy.

Here's something to try that works really well for me. After you are satisfied that fermentation is complete, cold crash for a few days. Rack to your keg and dry hop with pellets in a muslin bag for 4 days at fermentation/room temperature. I use fishing line to suspend the hop sack from the pressure relief port. You can do a second 4 day dry hop if you wish.

 

[StopTakingMyUsername]

Are you releasing the pressure in the keg, and have you tried raising the fv above the keg?

Yep! I usually purge the keg with CO2, put the spear in, seal it up, and then release the pressure from the valve on the coupler.

Then hook the CO2 up to the contraption we set up on the carboy, and turn it to like 1-2 psi. Carboy is on top of the ferm chamber, keg down on the floor.

it'll go great for a couple minutes, and then it just randomly stops flowing. Then I have to undo the coupler, purge co2 from the carboy, re-attach,and start all over. sometimes it'll go a bit more before stopping, sometimes it won't.

Here's something to try that works really well for me. After you are satisfied that fermentation is complete, cold crash for a few days. Rack to your keg and dry hop with pellets in a muslin bag for 4 days at fermentation/room temperature. I use fishing line to suspend the hop sack from the pressure relief port. You can do a second 4 day dry hop if you wish.

That's kinda what we've been doing... but I'm really looking to eliminate O2 pickup on IPAs.
Ideally, I'd have a 100% enclosed system like a commercial brewery.

The problem there is that you pick up massive amounts of O2 at each of the steps:
- racking to keg
- opening keg to remove hop bag/add new hop bag

plus I haven't figured out a smart way to suspend the bag so it's retrievable in a sanke.
We keg hopped once, and that bag is still in there lol

 

[beerkench]

I'm wondering if 1-2 psi could be too little as you need pressure to push it out and then pressure to push the liquid into the keg. Once the level in the keg starts rising, the resistance will be greater. I've never tried it with a carboy. I have a Speidel plastic fv and I close transfer via the spigot. I also attach a spigot to the top of the barrel and blow co2 in at about 5 psi as it's transferring. It doesn't stop but it sure takes a long time to transfer.

 

[beerkench]

I'm not saying oxidation is not bad for IPA's but I think too many on this forum blame oxidation first as the culprit for fading hoppy beers when in my experience like I said previously, yeast cake and flocculation are higher on the list.

 

[StopTakingMyUsername]

I'm wondering if 1-2 psi could be too little as you need pressure to push it out and then pressure to push the liquid into the keg. Once the level in the keg starts rising, the resistance will be greater. I've never tried it with a carboy. I have a Speidel plastic fv and I close transfer via the spigot. I also attach a spigot to the top of the barrel and blow co2 in at about 5 psi as it's transferring. It doesn't stop but it sure takes a long time to transfer.

I see. So, in theory, could you just release some pressure from the keg that's getting filled, by the valve on the coupler, as you go?
Should be the same thing right?

If I remember gas laws from college, then as the volume increases, the pressure would be as well, so if the pressure in the filling keg > pressure in the transferring carboy, that's probably why it stops.

Intermittent releasing on the filling keg should fix that, yeah?

I'm not saying oxidation is not bad for IPA's but I think too many on this forum blame oxidation first as the culprit for fading hoppy beers when in my experience like I said previously, yeast cake and flocculation are higher on the list.

Good point.
I keep thinking about this, but I'm pretty stumped, as the mad fermentationist and JC from Trillium have both stated that they prefer to hop while there is still some yeast activity occurring. Something about the (still) active fermentation contributes another level of depth to the hop flavor and aroma?

So, if that's the case, then you'd lose some of that hop presence if you crashed it after, and you wouldn't want to crash it prior to the yeast finishing their job.
I'm wondering if maybe I could ferment in a keg, then just transfer the beer on the 3rd or 4th day of fermentation, into another keg with the dry hop bag inside.
That way I could purge out some yeast first, but there'd still be some left to shoot over to the secondary keg w/ the dry hop?


I dunno. its confusing.

One thing is for sure, though... our hoppy beers fade FAST. Like, 1 week fast.

I'm thinking it's due to not having much hops in the boil, and all at whirlpool/dry hop.
Although, I've seen several people say that they have no problems doing that.

I'm lost

 

[Brettomomyces]

I see. So, in theory, could you just release some pressure from the keg that's getting filled, by the valve on the coupler, as you go?
Should be the same thing right?

If I remember gas laws from college, then as the volume increases, the pressure would be as well, so if the pressure in the filling keg > pressure in the transferring carboy, that's probably why it stops.

Intermittent releasing on the filling keg should fix that, yeah?

Or you could do what I do.

Take a gas post, put a short length of hose on it and stick the end into a bucket of sanitizer. Attach the gas post to your purged keg. Now as you're transferring into your keg, the pressure is being vented out the gas post continuously just like a blowoff tube during primary.

 

[slym2none]

One thing is for sure, though... our hoppy beers fade FAST. Like, 1 week fast.

I'm thinking it's due to not having much hops in the boil, and all at whirlpool/dry hop.
Although, I've seen several people say that they have no problems doing that.

I'm lost

I have made a couple of hoppy dark ales, used the hop-stand to get the majority of flavour & aroma, and the bottles that lasted three weeks tasted pretty much like the first one did, maybe a hint of hops dropping off, but nothing that noticeable.

I hope you figure this out!

 

[StopTakingMyUsername]

Or you could do what I do.

Take a gas post, put a short length of hose on it and stick the end into a bucket of sanitizer. Attach the gas post to your purged keg. Now as you're transferring into your keg, the pressure is being vented out the gas post continuously just like a blowoff tube during primary.

Sanke equivalent?

I have made a couple of hoppy dark ales, used the hop-stand to get the majority of flavour & aroma, and the bottles that lasted three weeks tasted pretty much like the first one did, maybe a hint of hops dropping off, but nothing that noticeable.

I hope you figure this out!

Me too, man!

I love hoppy beers, and it's really frustrating when we make a good one, and then I bottle 2-3 days later, and by the time I bring a few to friends on the weekend it's dropped off and it's just watery.

 

[Brettomomyces]

Sanke equivalent?

Done that too

You need to pull apart the sanke coupler and you'll find a little plastic ball under the beer out post, it prevents backflow into the keg. Take that guy out and now you can fill down the spear into the sanke. Then put a hose on the gas in nipple and put that hose into a bucket of sanitizer. No pics unfortunately

 

[beerkench]

I see. So, in theory, could you just release some pressure from the keg that's getting filled, by the valve on the coupler, as you go?
Should be the same thing right?

If I remember gas laws from college, then as the volume increases, the pressure would be as well, so if the pressure in the filling keg > pressure in the transferring carboy, that's probably why it stops.

Intermittent releasing on the filling keg should fix that, yeah?



Good point.
I keep thinking about this, but I'm pretty stumped, as the mad fermentationist and JC from Trillium have both stated that they prefer to hop while there is still some yeast activity occurring. Something about the (still) active fermentation contributes another level of depth to the hop flavor and aroma?

So, if that's the case, then you'd lose some of that hop presence if you crashed it after, and you wouldn't want to crash it prior to the yeast finishing their job.
I'm wondering if maybe I could ferment in a keg, then just transfer the beer on the 3rd or 4th day of fermentation, into another keg with the dry hop bag inside.
That way I could purge out some yeast first, but there'd still be some left to shoot over to the secondary keg w/ the dry hop?


I dunno. its confusing.

One thing is for sure, though... our hoppy beers fade FAST. Like, 1 week fast.

I'm thinking it's due to not having much hops in the boil, and all at whirlpool/dry hop.
Although, I've seen several people say that they have no problems doing that.

I'm lost

Yeah the pressure has to be released on the keg that's being filled. I just leave the pressure release valve open on my corny.

As for dry hopping during fermentation, yes a lot of breweries dry hop with 1-2 gravity points left but they also have the advantage of using conicals, therefore being able to drop the yeast cake before. Like I said previously, I'm of the opinion that the yeast cake acts like a big sponge sucking in all the hop oils, so your suggestion of transferring to a dry hopped keg is a good one although I wouldn't do it mid fermenation.
Breweries can also cap the conicals keeping in the aroma and they also rouse the dry hop by using either a co2 stone in the vessel or by pumping the beer round inside.
I think the best way to imitate this on a homebrew scale is by transferring the beer from the primary into a purged keg with a shorter, cut dip tube that already has the loose hops in it. Then one can dry hop for x amount of days, shaking the keg every now and then to get the oils into the beer, and then cold crashing and transferring to another keg.
If I lived in the USA I think I would buy me one of these http://www.clearbeerdraughtsystem.com and use that in the dry hopped keg to rather drink direct or rack over to another keg.

 

[Braufessor]

In regard to avoiding O2 pickup...... this is what I have been doing with great success.

*Primary ferment (my fermenters have spigots)
*Day 5-7 range, add 1st dry hop to primary
*Day 12 range, Cold crash at 33 for 2 days
*Day 14 transfer via gravity into a CO2 purged dry hopping keg using the set up below for 2nd dry hop
http://www.bear-flavored.com/2014/09/how-i-dry-hop-my-ipas-with-no-oxygen.html
*Day 16 Jump from Dry hop keg to CO2 purged serving keg under pressure.

This works great to drop yeast before second dry hop and also eliminates all hop debris before transferring to serving keg as it is filtered out in the dry hop keg. No oxygen pick up with this method.

 

[mbbransc]

I'm using the same method as Brau except I leave it in the first keg with the 2nd dry hop (no transfer to serving keg). I have the hops bagged in the purged keg before racking beer on top of it.

 

[m00ps]

In regard to avoiding O2 pickup...... this is what I have been doing with great success.

*Primary ferment (my fermenters have spigots)
*Day 5-7 range, add 1st dry hop to primary
*Day 12 range, Cold crash at 33 for 2 days
*Day 14 transfer via gravity into a CO2 purged dry hopping keg using the set up below for 2nd dry hop
http://www.bear-flavored.com/2014/09/how-i-dry-hop-my-ipas-with-no-oxygen.html
*Day 16 Jump from Dry hop keg to CO2 purged serving keg under pressure.

This works great to drop yeast before second dry hop and also eliminates all hop debris before transferring to serving keg as it is filtered out in the dry hop keg. No oxygen pick up with this method.

I remember reading that about a year ago. I even got that dip tube screen, but ended up deciding not to get the dry hop screen since it was expensive. Do you think its really worth it? Ive just been dry hopping and serving out of the same keg. My issue is, I would need like 3 or more of each of those with the number of IPAs I usually have. Otherwise, it wouldnt be fair to my other IPAs

 

[Braufessor]

I brew a lot of IPA's too. They are really only spending 2 days in the dry hop keg and then I transfer to a regular keg with no screen, etc. Clean the dry hop keg and put the next batch of beer in it. That way I only need the 1 set of dip tube screens and I can rotate beers through it pretty quickly.

 

[StopTakingMyUsername]

So I tried doing it in the keg, but like an idiot I forgot that I needed to bleed some pressure off, and I left the coupler disengaged, so when I put it back on it sprayed everywhere and the beer was all foamy sludge.
Lesson learned.
Doing it again now, and I'm just bleeding off a little bit of pressure every couple days.
Didn't run into any issue with the spear clogging (we use sankes so may be different than the dip tube on a corny).

We just transfer the chilled wort into the sanke and then pitch, seal it up, and put on the coupler with a blowoff tube running into a growler of sanitizer.
Then on the 4-5th day of fermentation, we CO2 transfer it to another keg (purged) with a bag of dry hops in it (we weigh them down with a couple sanitized ss fittings).

I dunno if we're doing that right, but seems to be in line with what you guys are saying.
I think if I hadn't forgot to bleed off some pressure, the last one would've worked great.

 

[StopTakingMyUsername]

oh, and i was gunna ask...
when you guys do your whirlpool additions, do you put the hops directly into the wort?

We have a hop spider and just hang a paint strainer bag down in the wort and toss the hops in that (easier to clean up, no clogs from hop matter).

Also, I read on bear flavored that he puts a lid on during the whirlpool?
Does that matter? I guess I could see it "locking in" the volatized hop aromas, but I dunno... I wouldn't think it'd make much difference.

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

oh, and i was gunna ask...
when you guys do your whirlpool additions, do you put the hops directly into the wort?

We have a hop spider and just hang a paint strainer bag down in the wort and toss the hops in that (easier to clean up, no clogs from hop matter).

Also, I read on bear flavored that he puts a lid on during the whirlpool?
Does that matter? I guess I could see it "locking in" the volatized hop aromas, but I dunno... I wouldn't think it'd make much difference.

I just dump them in and start swirling, I don't tend to have clogging problems if I give them time to settle out before transferring. The spider is probably a good idea but I'd make sure the hops are getting hit by the outside flow of the spinning wort so it "washes" the hops and oils into solution (that's just what I would do with a spider).

I leave the lid on during whirlpool just to make sure nothing falls into the wort, not worried about "locking in" any flavor just trying to keep it sanitary.

 

[kevink]

In regard to avoiding O2 pickup...... this is what I have been doing with great success.

*Primary ferment (my fermenters have spigots)
*Day 5-7 range, add 1st dry hop to primary
*Day 12 range, Cold crash at 33 for 2 days
*Day 14 transfer via gravity into a CO2 purged dry hopping keg using the set up below for 2nd dry hop
http://www.bear-flavored.com/2014/09/how-i-dry-hop-my-ipas-with-no-oxygen.html
*Day 16 Jump from Dry hop keg to CO2 purged serving keg under pressure.

This works great to drop yeast before second dry hop and also eliminates all hop debris before transferring to serving keg as it is filtered out in the dry hop keg. No oxygen pick up with this method.

With this method, are you warming the beer back up with something after kegging? If you're just letting room temp warm it up, your second round of dry hops are spending a day at a pretty low temperature.

For my last batch, I dropped trub and put my two dry hop additions into the fermenter at the same time and left them for 3 days at 70 degrees instead of doing two rounds of dry hopping. I then cold crashed at 33 degrees for 3 or 4 days with a half pound of CO2 on the fermenter, kegged to StarSan/CO2 purged kegs, and carbed. This way, I was able to carb very fast since it was already cold. You also get to drink a younger beer since you don't have to wait for the second round of dry hopping. It just seems like more work for questionable benefit to rack off the first round of dry hops, warm the beer, dry hop a second time, then chill it again. You're also adding a second transfer which you might be able to eliminate. Just curious if you have ever tried to do both dry hop additions at the same time in the fermenter. I used to do one round of dry hopping in the fermenter and a second round in a keg and it was no better than my current method. In fact, I will say that the current method works better.

 

[Braufessor]

With this method, are you warming the beer back up with something after kegging? If you're just letting room temp warm it up, your second round of dry hops are spending a day at a pretty low temperature.

For my last batch, I dropped trub and put my two dry hop additions into the fermenter at the same time and left them for 3 days at 70 degrees instead of doing two rounds of dry hopping. I then cold crashed at 33 degrees for 3 or 4 days with a half pound of CO2 on the fermenter, kegged to StarSan/CO2 purged kegs, and carbed. This way, I was able to carb very fast since it was already cold. You also get to drink a younger beer since you don't have to wait for the second round of dry hopping. It just seems like more work for questionable benefit to rack off the first round of dry hops, warm the beer, dry hop a second time, then chill it again. You're also adding a second transfer which you might be able to eliminate. Just curious if you have ever tried to do both dry hop additions at the same time in the fermenter. I used to do one round of dry hopping in the fermenter and a second round in a keg and it was no better than my current method. In fact, I will say that the current method works better.

I may have to revisit again, but I have not found any issues with current process. The extra dry hop in the primary may result in too much debris in my SS Brew Bucket ..... end result - transferring hop material etc. into my serving keg.

I can't say that I alway cold crash the primary - sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Often I pull a sample out of the spigot to check for clarity. If it seems pretty clean, I might not cold crash at all.

It is something I should probably test head to head at some point in the future for a real concrete comparison. For now though, I do know my IPA's are better than they were in the past and I have a pretty good process down - so it just is not much work or effort to do any of it.