I would like to dry hop a portion of my cider. I am considering just a mesh bag in a keg.
Any advice on techniques or favorite hops for cider?
I used a muslin bag in the keg. I think American fruity, citrusy hops work well.
Resurrecting a zombie thread here - did you ever make your dry-hopped cider? I tried it a couple of times, and Nelson Sauvin was definitely my favorite hop variety for this. The vinous character meshed well with the cider, and the grapefruit notes were pretty nice on top of the acidity of the cider.
That said, there was a bit of a grassy/vegetal/tannic bitterness from the hops that I couldn’t quite get past. I was bottling and not backsweetening my ciders at the time, so the dryness probably accentuated this, but it was enough where I enjoyed my non-dry hopped ciders a lot better.
As far as technique goes, I just threw them in the fermenter loose like any other dry hop. If you’re using buckets or carboys that should be fine - the hops will settle out with the trub and you can rack off of them.
Yes, I added a couple ounces of citra in a couple large stainless tea balls in a keg that I backsweetened with a little apple juice concentrate. It went pretty fast as my wife and I both liked it. The hop character was way different than in a beer. The aroma was not really detectable but it really added a different flavor that honestly I never could quite describe. I don’t think it made it come off as drier but it added something really different and pleasantly interesting to the finish that changed the nature of the dryness at the end. Like I say, couldn’t quite put my finger on it.