Keg dry hopping

[duffy5018]

I'm new to kegging my beer, and just brewed an IPA I'd like to dry hop with 2 oz of hops. My question is, can I transfer this to the keg after fermentation, hang a hop sock with the hops on it suspended from the PRV or something, and dry hop like that? Any negative impacts anyone can see? I know some hop haze will occur, but I don't filter my beer, so haze is pretty normal anyway. Should I just do the old fashioned way, and dry hop in the primary for a week before transferring?
Thanks for your help!

 

[NervousDad]

Absolutely! For really hoppy beers I'll dry hop in primary then hang a dry hop muslin bag in the keg using some sanitized floss. It works really well.

 

[brokebucket]

I have done this twice with no ill effects. I just threw the hop bag in and let it sink...pull it out when the keg is empty. The two times I did this were last minute calls on blonde ales that I was nervous would have no flavor.

That being said, I think you are better dry hopping in the primary, as the warmer temps will allow more flavor to be imparted. It is also easier to control, and no worries about the hops putting out grassy flavors, as you can take the beer off of them.

 

[Scooby_Brew]

This is my experience with dry hopping in a keg: I tried just about every possible way, and IMHO the only way to do it is with whole hops, pellets simply don't work in a keg. Even with the finest bag the pellets are "leaking" into the beer, make it cloudy and ruining the taste of beer. Whole hops in the keg work just fine - they provide a constant taste and aroma throughout the lifespan of the keg, but they don't make the beer overly cloudy and "grassy" in taste like pellets do. Just put them in a large HD paint strainer bag and let them float on the top till the beer is gone.

 

[duffy5018]

I guess I wasn't super clear what my plans were. I wanted to age this beer about a month or two at fermentation temp anyway. I was hoping I could rack to the keg after primary ended, put the keg in the back of my fermentation fridge at 65F (so I could start a primary of something more immediately available), float the hops in the keg for 10 days or so, then yank them, and let it sit another month or two. All I have are pellets, so would this still cause the grassy problem since I can't really cold crash it then rack it if it's already kegged?

 

[Piratwolf]

Dry hopping is dependent on temp like most brewing processes. At 65F all processes develop SIGNIFICANTLY more quickly than at 35F in the kegerator.

By the way, I regularly put tied off bags of pellet hops in my kegs. Not only does it give great hop character, but in 1.5 years I've not had a single problem with using pellet hops. Looks like in this also, everyone's experience may differ.


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[Weezy]

I use 3" tea balls with pellets, put in immediately before its cooled, then let it carb and cool with the tea ball(s) in there. The balls do a good job of hob gunk management. I get good extraction at this point as well, while it cools.

 

[FuriousE]

You typically want to dry hop right before you drink. The aroma will fade with time. Also, IPAs are typically better fresh, vs aged, for much the same reason.

 

[tootal]

I haven't done this yet but the last time I dry hopped an IPA I ended up leaving the bag of whole hops in there but did get some grassy flavor. I didn't see anything good to tie it off with so I was thinking about making the bag float by putting some sanitized ping pong balls in the hop bag so after 3 days or so I could just pull them out and repressurize the keg.

 

[Piratwolf]

I've keg-hopped beers as long as thirty days before without grassy flavors. It's all about temp--at 38F (my serving temp) the process is exponentially slower than at cellar or room temp. YMMV of course.


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[day_trippr]

I don't think the OP's plan fits with any of the classic modes of dry hopping.

Hopping in the fermenter is typically done at "room temp" (ie: high 60s°F) for 1 to 5 days or so before pulling/crashing out the hops, while keg hopping is best done at dispensing temperature and can literally be left in the keg for a month without grassy notes appearing before the keg kicks.

Dry hopping and then aging seems counter-productive, given that aroma is the most volatile of characters...

Cheers!