Decided to dry hop a pale ale in the keg that has an underwhelming aroma. I tied off a mesh bag filled with the hops with some fishing line. When I close the lid and and put back on CO2 there is a leak I assume where the fishing line is. I tried running the line under the rubber grommet but it still will not seal properly. Any ideas how I can keg hop and carb at the same time?
I find it strange that such a small line would cause this problem but the keg was sealing fine before this point. It won’t be a big deal to carb it back up after I pull the hops but it would be nice to not have to wait…
Have you tried hitting keg with an insane amount of pressure? I seat my lids with 45+ psi. Some of them seal so well it takes a rubber mallet to knock this lid loose.
+1. Good advice - it usually works if the o-rings are good. Also, on an IPA I usually add an oz or two into the keg (not counting dry hops) in a weighted nylon bag and leave 'em in.
I almost always dry hop in the keg - just throw hops in a hop bag and retrieve after the keg is spent. I’ve never tied it off and never had corny kegs get blocked in any way…yet
Thanks guys. I will give higher pressure a shot. I have heard that if you leave the hops in for too long they can provide a grassy/vegetal character. Is that not the case?
This is just a pale ale. I dry hopped with an oz of liberty but the aroma was next to nothing even though it smelled great in the fermenter. There may have been a freshness issue because the hops were not very aromatic to begin with out of the sealed pack. I used an oz of simcoe in the keg in attempt to add some aroma. Other than that it is a good pale ale for my taste.
You’ll have to try and see what you think. There’s debate here on what temp and length of time extracts grassiness/vegetal character, if at all. People perceive hop character differently. I dry hop ~ 65 -68F, then add an oz or two into the keg and leave it in there. That oz of Simcoe is pretty unlikely to give off vegetal character in such a small quantity IMO. You’ll just have to experiment to see what you like (or don’t). I think you’ll be fine even if you leave it in.
Thanks. Maybe I will just leave it in. I hop at much lower rates than most around here. As you noted, a relatively small amount of hops is unlikely to cause any issues I would think.
The floss is a good idea too but I don’t have any around that is not fluoride coated…haha. Thanks all!
You can also attach a hose clamp around the vent well for some carboy lids. You can then tie the bag to the clamp.
I have not had to remove hops from a keg, but I have removed them when I put in extra hops. I remember my hops bags usually float in the keg anyway. Often I dry hop with whole hops, which might make a difference.
Along the same lines, it sometimes helps to whack the lid with a rubber mallet while it is under pressure but not sealing properly. It shifts the lid a bit and can help it seal. I used to do it all of the time to pressure test used kegs when I was getting them by the hundreds.
Thanks everyone. I can definitely see the plumbers tape or floss working if I choose to do so in the future. I ended up just cutting the line and will leave the hops in.
My only worry now is that the pellet hops will come apart and get through the cloth sack adding a lot of debris in poured glasses. We shall see…
If some debris does come through the cloth, it’ll settle. If you can find a fine mesh nylon bag at your LHBS (or use a paint strainer bag from a hardware store), it’ll contain pretty much everything. No worries.
Cool. I have paint strainer bags that I use when transferring to the fermenter that I probably should have used. These ‘cheesecloth’ type hop bags were laying around so I just grabbed one. They seems to be a bit more fine than actual cheesecloth and the hops are packed in there pretty tight.
I use one of these… so far max I’ve put in is 8oz of pellets at once… still had extra room… You do get some hop material in the bottom of the keg… but after the first pint or 2 you’ll get hop free beer… Would obviously not have to worry about that if you use whole hops…
I bought stainless tea balls about 10 years ago that fit through the neck of a Better Bottle. I’ll use four for dry hopping tied off with floss so I can pull them out. They work just fine in a keg.
You can also get a stainless tea infuser which is larger and made of mesh that would work well in a keg. More exposed surface area and all that.