keg conditioning/dry hopping

[sherwicf]

I know this topic has been done to death, so the best thing to do I thought, was to bring it back up. I've always had an issue with aroma in my beers - its never big enough, regardless of how much dry hopping I do, so after some research I've come up with the following idea, and I'm here just to sanity check it:

Current process: Brew -> Ferment -> Dry Hop -> Cold crash -> transfer to keg -> carbonate -> serve

Proposed process: Brew -> Ferment -> Cold crash -> Transfer to keg(with a weighted bag of dry hops in there) -> Remove Hops and carbonate -> Serve

I'm not too concerned about oxygen uptake during cold crashing as I have a 2 step blow off system(from my fermenter, I run a hose to a large mason jar, and then from the mason jar I run a hose to a bottle of star san solution. The mason jar acts as a Co2 reservoir)

 

[xpops]

i recently started kegging. my first batch was a two hearted ale clone, 10gal. i decided i would try dry hopping in the keg with 5 gal, and typical dryhop in primary with 5gal. For the keg 5gal, i suspended the hopsack and let it sit in the keg at room temp for 5 days under pressure, then transferred to fridge and began cooling/carbing to serving temp.

with the 5gal that i dry hopped in the primary, i let it sit for 7 days, then transferred/cooled/carbed.

My experience was that the 5gal that was dry hopped in the primary was WAY more aromatic/flavorful than the 5gal that was dry hopped in the keg. I assume it has something to do with the pressure and temp, but would be nice to hear other peoples experience with this difference?

i know for myself, i'll continue to dry hop in primary, then transfer to keg afterwards.

cheers,

 

[sherwicf]

Interesting, thanks for the feedback.

Would also be interested to know what other peoples thoughts are. On googling I came across a few differing opinions:
The mad fermentationist:
"8. After fermentation is complete cold condition for a few days to remove most of the yeast before dry hopping, this prevents the yeast from stripping the dry hop aromatics from the wort. You could add gelatin to speed this up, but I haven't found that this to be necessary."

Beer advocate:
“1. Clean sanitize keg and auto syphon
2. Fully assemble keg (add more hops now)
3. Connect co2 for 10-15 sec sealing lid, purge once or twice
4. Purge co2 until lid comes loose
5. Rack beer from fermentor to keg, avoid spashing, keep tubing on bottom of keg.
6. Once full, put lid back on
7 Hit c02 around 10-15 PSI.
8. Purge the O2 out with pressure relief, most people say 2-3 times but I am a bit OCD with it and go probably 5-10 times."

 

[pvpeacock]

I have dry hopped in primary after fermentation has stopped using mesh bags; I've dry hopped with loose pellets in primary; I've dry hopped during fermentation's peak (NorthEastern IPA) and again after fermentation is complete; I've dry hopped in the keg with a mesh bag; I've left the dry hops in the keg for 5-7 days and I've left it in for the entire life of the keg; and, I've mad hop tea and poured it in the keg. My current preference is to dry hop twice in primary with loose pellets about 5-7 days apart and not to dry hop in the keg. However, if the hops start to fade, I will either throw a mesh bag with hops in it into the keg and leave it for the life of the keg or make hop tea and pour it into the keg. This refreshes the hop flavor and aroma quite well. My one recommendation is not to scrimp on dry hops. If you are not getting enough flavor or aroma, add more dry hops next time or add more to the keg now.

 

[bajaedition]

Interesting, thanks for the feedback.

Would also be interested to know what other peoples thoughts are. On googling I came across a few differing opinions:
The mad fermentationist:
"8. After fermentation is complete cold condition for a few days to remove most of the yeast before dry hopping, this prevents the yeast from stripping the dry hop aromatics from the wort. You could add gelatin to speed this up, but I haven't found that this to be necessary."

Beer advocate:
“1. Clean sanitize keg and auto syphon
2. Fully assemble keg (add more hops now)
3. Connect co2 for 10-15 sec sealing lid, purge once or twice
4. Purge co2 until lid comes loose
5. Rack beer from fermentor to keg, avoid spashing, keep tubing on bottom of keg.
6. Once full, put lid back on
7 Hit c02 around 10-15 PSI.
8. Purge the O2 out with pressure relief, most people say 2-3 times but I am a bit OCD with it and go probably 5-10 times."

basically they are both telling you to rack it off the yeast, what do you want to know?
They both are saying get rid of the yeast and dry hop.

If you have a bag of popcorn, just post up a thread asking if a secondary is necessary. Sit back and watch the flames fly

Both your sources are good and thy tell you to rack that beer

 

[radwizard]

This is my process for Hoppy Ales:
Brew - Ferment - Dry Hop (on about day 7ish) - Keg - Cold Crash - Dry Hop in Keg - Serve - Remove Keg hops if needed - Continue Serving.
I don't feel like my hoppiness could be better then it is in my process. I also do a two stage whirlpool that I'm sure is a factor here.

 

[xpops]

i've also found that since i started whirlpooling, i get much more out of my hops. I still feel like i get more out of dry hopping in primary vs keg. that's the beauty of homebrewing - to each their own!

OP - everyone's tastes are different, everyones systems and processes are different. You really just need to experiment with your own setup and do what works best for you!

cheers,