Setting up for my brew club's first big brew party...

[QuixoticDevice]

So, my homebrew club's first big brew party is coming up and I've used that as an excuse to get into kegging. I found a Sanyo 4912 on craigslist and have kegeratorized it (I'll post some pics once I get all the pretty parts finished.), so I should be set for dispensing. I've got two batches that I'm bringing, a Superior Strong Ale from a Midwest kit and my Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principale Ale (I use my homegrown hops in it, so I'm never sure how it'll turn out, but I know exactly how fast it's going!) and I've got a few questions on how best to run everything in kegs:
First, the strong ale has been fermenting since late November and has hit its final grav, I think. It still tastes a bit off, but it still has a month to sit so I'm hoping it'll come into its own. I've racked it into a corny for some pre-party conditioning. When I racked, I got a bit more trub then I would have usually taken if it was going into a bottling bucket. My plan is to let it clear a bit in this keg and then jump it to another clean keg before the party. What I'm wondering is, if it's just in this keg to clear and condition a bit, should I chill and carbonate it now and transfer it just before the party, let it sit uncarbed at cellar temps for two weeks then jump it to a new keg two weeks before the party for carbing, or some as yet unnamed third option? Also, as I don't have an altered dip tube in there, I'm assuming that the first thing coming out of the keg when I jump will be everything that's settled out. Should I pull a pint to clear the trub before I jump to a clean keg for transport and serving?
Secondly, the HUP Ale is still in primary and has some homegrown Cascade to sit on for a while before it'll be ready to serve. The party isn't until Feb 5th (Woo! Febtoberfest!) so I've got the time. My usual SOP is primary for about 12 days, put in a secondary with the hops in a bag for another 10-14 days, then into bottles for a couple of weeks. But now that there are kegs to play with, I'm unsure of how to proceed. My initial thought was to go my normal route with kegging and force carbing taking the place of bottling, but now I'm wondering if I could just put right into a keg with the dry hops as a secondary. Could I carb while dry-hopping? Could this result in a fresher hop nose in the final product?

I realize there won't be clear-cut answers for most of these but I'm keen to see what you folks think.

Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Death threats?

 

[Grizzlybrew]

What I'm wondering is, if it's just in this keg to clear and condition a bit, should I chill and carbonate it now and transfer it just before the party, let it sit uncarbed at cellar temps for two weeks then jump it to a new keg two weeks before the party for carbing, or some as yet unnamed third option? Also, as I don't have an altered dip tube in there, I'm assuming that the first thing coming out of the keg when I jump will be everything that's settled out. Should I pull a pint to clear the trub before I jump to a clean keg for transport and serving?

Could I carb while dry-hopping? Could this result in a fresher hop nose in the final product?

#1 Throw it in the keg and don't worry about transferring it again. The risk of oxidation is worse than the threat of potential autolyization. Carb it naturally over a week or so and then pull a pint or two to clear trub. As long as you're not jostling the kegs, you should have clear beers after that.

#2 Of course you can dry-hop while carbing, before or after fully-carbed. I think a lot of us had beers that never got the nose or lost the nose we were looking for. I've opened kegs that I've been drinking off of for a few days and dropped an extra ounce in in a muslin bag. And, the later you wait (and closer to the event), the hops will be brighter. Just remember, at coler temperatures, it will take longer for the oils to com eout of the hops and into the beer. I'd give it at least a week at serving temperature.

Good Luck!