Late Dry Hopping

Hey everybody-

I brewed up a batch of Amber and want it to have a little more hop aroma. Its in the keg and ready to go. Can I throw some hops in the keg this late without contaminating the whole batch? If so, should I just throw the hops in or put them in a hop bag? I dont want to clog the dip tube but I also dont think I want that bag in there for the next couple weeks.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Matt

I frequently dry hop in the keg.  I pout the hops in a sanitized bag and tie the bag to the diptube with monofilament.

Thanks, Denny. Sounds like a plan!

What kind of bag do you use?  I was thinking of just throwing a tea ball in there with an ounce or so of hops in it.

Like Denny, I use a hop bag (like cheesecloth almost), sanitize, put the hops in, tie it up and chuck it the keg.  I don’t tie it to the dip tube.  Some folks have had issues with it clogging the tube.  I have only had that happen once, but it was easily remedied by taking my mash paddle and pulling it away from the tube. YMMV.

Ditto here.  I think that the keg is actually the best time to dry hop.  I’ve done the bag thing, but also for the past few years using a “SureScreen” applied to the business end of the liquid tube.

Either way, great results.

Would you guys take them out after a specific period of time or let em ride til the keg blows?

You can either leave the in the whole time or take them out when it tastes the way you want it to, it’s your call.  I like to remove them after 3-14 days, depending on the flavor I’m going for.  But lots of people leave them in for the whole time, and it’s a worthwhile experiment for you to do to see when you think the flavor peaks and tails off, if it ever does.

Dry hop In the keg is traditional for real cask ale.  I say go for it!

I use leaf hops and I also toss a stainless steel ball bearing or two into the hop bag to keep it submerged.

Typically it’s whole hops in a sanitized muslin bag in the keg for at least a couple weeks but I’ve left them in for the duration.

I know some folks that like to use teflon tape tied to the bag and left hanging out through the lid for retrieval.

I wound up dropping an ounce of whole leaf Centennial in yesterday! Looking forward to the results! Thanks for the tips. Very much appreciated.