Straining hops when kegging

[Lunkerking]

I make alot of hoppy beers, and currently, I just throw loose pellet hops in my fermenter and then when I transfer to a keg I put a mesh hop bag over the tubing that I attach to the outtake on the fermenter. A few problems present themselves, I have to remember to keep the dip tube inside the fermenter in an up position when I dry hop so that it doesnt get clogged when tranferring to a keg. Also, the hop bag option does not seem to be the most sanitary solution as it is not that easy to clean.

What other options should I consider?

Thank you for any advice.

 

[Nagorg]

I'd consider the hop bag a disposable item in that scenario. I used to do the same thing in my carboys but I used whole hops instead.

I now ferment in a conical and I bag my dry hops. I do make sure that I don't overfill the bags so that there's plenty of room for the hops to spread out and I weight the bag to keep them submerged.

Aside from that, I'd say keep doing what you are doing and toss the bag afterwards. If you are concerned about waste, look into SS dry hop tubes.

 

[day_trippr]

I use free-swimming pellets for dry hopping, and when I do a CO2-push transfer to a keg I rubber-band a small section of nylon paint strainer bag with an SS washer inside to keep the bag from collapsing or being sucked into the SS cane.

One key in using this is to not drive the cane end all the way down to the trub line at the start, lest the mesh load up immediately. After learning not to do that I start with the end above the beer, turn on the CO2 to flush the cane and tubing, then connect the beer line to the keg, lower the cane tip about halfway down in the beer, and then follow the beer line down to the end. I also block one edge of the fermentor by about an inch and a half to tilt it back creating a "deep spot" and end up with the cane tip in that area. I leave no beer behind

Over the last couple of years 80% of my brews have been neipas with tons of dry hopped pellets. Using this technique I have never plugged up a keg/poppet/QD...

Cheers!

 

[Nagorg]

I've been considering a bouncer inline filter for use with my pressure transfers from the conical. There are finer mesh screens available for it too.

Classic: https://www.amazon.com/Bouncer-inline-beer-filter-regular/dp/B01JWO5RK2
"Mac Daddy": https://www.amazon.com/BouncerMD-inline-beer-filter-Daddy/dp/B01JWO5RLQ

If I set myself up with this, I'd consider letting the hops be free. But on the other hand, the Brulosophy test for this resulted in no significant difference between loose and bagged dry hops. So I find myself wondering if its even worth the effort...

https://brulosophy.com/2017/07/03/loose-vs-bagged-dry-hops-exbeeriment-results/