IPAs losing hop flavor in keg

[bendog15]

I brew 10 gal all-grain batches. It’s mostly for personal consumption. So I keg up two 5 gal kegs for my keezer and drink away. I usually don’t get around to the 2nd keg for about 2 weeks or so.

Lately I’ve been getting into IPAs. I late wort hop, dry hop, all that stuff. The first keg is awesome. Super citrusy, piney, all that stuff. I keep all my kegs on gas. 35 psi for 2 days. Then I bleed off the pressure and put them on 15 psi serving temp. The 2nd keg sits on 15 psi for around 2 weeks before I tap it. It has usually lost a lot of the hop flavor by then. It tastes pretty much like a hoppy pale ale.

What am I doing wrong? I figured as long as the 2nd keg is on gas, it wouldn’t lose a lot of the hop flavor. But it’s gone baby, gone.

 

[Miraculix]

I think this is just the nature of the beast. Hoppy ipas are best fresh, they will rapidly loose hop flavour after some weeks.

 

[GPP33]

It’s possible to maintain a nice hop aroma and flavor, I noticed things really improve when I started correcting my water and taking O2 exposure seriously.

 

[seilenos]

People talk of hops "dropping out" and I am not sure if that is a different process than oxygenation or not.

As an experiment have you considered naturally carbing your second keg to see if that changes anything?

 

[Kyle]

I'm in the same boat as you. Ever since I started 10 gallon batches the 2nd keg always has dramatic hop loss. Been getting a little better lately trying to naturally carb my 2nd keg and trying to limit O2 exposure.

My last batch when I knew my 1st keg had about a week left I added a charge of dry hops to the 2nd keg and just left them in there for the duration of the keg. It helped a fair amount especially if you drink it within a few weeks.

I think the best way is to go all out on limiting oxygen. I haven't gone that far into it yet cause it seems like you'll burn through your co2 tank in no time but it might be the best way

 

[Iseneye]

Oxidation. A workaround is to keg hop. That seemed to keep the flavour going in the days before I got on top of oxidation.

 

[Upthewazzu]

An IPA should last for months without noticeable hop degradation. Losing it after two weeks is crazy.

Do you purge your kegs with CO2 and do a closed transfer? If not, you should.

Also, no need to bleed the pressure after 2 days, just lower the pressure to ~10 or so PSI (15 PSI seems high, I usually keep it around 8-10 PSI) and it will fall naturally as the beer absorbs more CO2. The first couple pours might be foamy but it'll be fine after that.

 

[couchsending]

Being crazy diligent about O2 pickup will solve this. Explain your process of transferring. If you do it right you don’t need keg hops.

 

[bendog15]

I do not do closed Oxygen transfer. I simply rack the carboys into kegs using an auto Siphon. I then purge the keg with CO2. That might have a lot to do with it, i don’t wanna buy more equipment plus I’m just too lazy to do the closed oxygen transfer. I will try dry hopping the second keg before I tap it, that may bring a little more hop flavor to it.
I will also experiment with Naturally carbing the second keg and/or not bleeding off the carbonating pressure, simply lowering it to serving pressure.

 

[bendog15]

Oxidation. A workaround is to keg hop. That seemed to keep the flavour going in the days before I got on top of oxidation.

When u keg hop, Do you just throw the hops in the keg? won’t that clog the dip tube? I have dry hop bags and glass marbles, but I am wondering how to fish that out once I start serving the keg.

 

[Kyle]

When u keg hop, Do you just throw the hops in the keg? won’t that clog the dip tube? I have dry hop bags and glass marbles, but I am wondering how to fish that out once I start serving the keg.

Flat unscented dental floss tied to the rubber handle and under the o ring. Don't use fishing line I tried it leaks. Once you put it in the keezer you can leave it in for the duration of the keg. I just did mine and I haven't seen any particles and it's almost gone with no grassy flavors

 

[GPP33]

If you don’t want to do closed transfers don’t expect much in the way of lasting hop presence. You can fish out a hop bag using a stainless wire (I use a 1/16” TIG welding rod) or you can hang it using dental floss. I have tried to leave them in using a Muslin bag and had hop gunk flushing out for a few pints so I pulled the bag.

 

[bendog15]

If you don’t want to do closed transfers don’t expect much in the way of lasting hop presence. You can fish out a hop bag using a stainless wire (I use a 1/16” TIG welding rod) or you can hang it using dental floss. I have tried to leave them in using a Muslin bag and had hop gunk flushing out for a few pints so I pulled the bag.

When you hang the bag in the keg using dental floss, do you string it through the large lid (not the gas valve or beverage valve) and simply close the lid on the dental floss? Never done that before, so just wondering.

 

[Pkrd]

Yes you can just string the floss through the lid. Some lids have a loop underneath for this too.

Or instead of bags you can use a stainless dry hopper:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/400...ewing-Filter-Hop-Strainer-m/32858972200.html?

 

[GPP33]

When you hang the bag in the keg using dental floss, do you string it through the large lid (not the gas valve or beverage valve) and simply close the lid on the dental floss? Never done that before, so just wondering.

Yep, just run it through the lid. You can tie it off on the handle. I no longer dry hop in the keg though, too much O2 in introduced every time you open it and no benefit over dry hopping in primary.