I started dry hopping in my corny keg with those muslin bags but thought I’d save the environment and some cash and go with one of these filter jobbies : Amazon.com
I’ve used it three times now and the hops just seem to swell up and create a solid “puck” in the bottom of the filter. I’m not so sure the hops are being fully utilized either. The last couple batches I’ve noticed haven’t got a lot of hop aroma. Anyone else use one of these? What are y’all using for dry hopping in the keg?
Recently I learned some people dry hop in the fermenter, on the second day of fermentation, when the krausen is high. Not sure I can really do that in my buckets though. High krausen is usually nearly blowing the lid off and I don’t think I’d want to open it up.
I haven’t used bags in years and years, they are a pITA and an inefficient way to extract hop flavor and aroma. Dry hop pellets go right in the primary fermenter and the beer is racked off once they have settled.
I use a reusable bag I got from MoreBeer. I sanitize it, put the hops in, throw it in the keg, taste the beer until I get about where I think it should be, then fish it out with a sanitized small parts grabber.
I have been known to tie some dental floss to the bag and dangle it to where it’s at about the half way mark of the keg and just leave it in. Eventually the hops are high and dry but I figure it saves me the step of fishing it out.
If I dry hop, I do it the English way; namely, in the keg. I use fine mesh bags like are seen at this URL: BAG, 6 X 8" FINE MESH. In a pinch, a section of non-dyed panty hose works well. The bag has to be weighted when using whole cones. I prefer whole cones for dry hopping. In my humble opinion (and it is just that), something is lost during pelletization.
I never found any point in doing it in the keg unless you re just concerned about the extra DO from adding the hops. Just a lot of extra work and if the bags aren’t large enough you have to use more hops to get the same aroma.
I go back and forth a bit about this. More often than not I do as Major suggests and just dry hop in the fermenter until the pellets drop, around 7 days. In fact, after reading this thread I just went and dry-hopped 2 IPAs in fermenter buckets currently 1 week into the ferment, that I had planned to keg hop.
So true that keg hopping is a bit of a PITA.
I still think there is a hop fresh flavor dimension only achievable when keg hopping, and I wonder if some dry hop flavor is lost in the fermenter due to the hops getting immersed in the yeast cake. And of course not a good idea to re-use that yeast. My keg hop process is to add the dry hops in a small -medium size, small mesh nylon bag with nylon drawstring tightly closed and knotted, and hang the bag to a keg lid tab with hole in it welded onto the underside of the keg lid. This keeps the hop bag and string entirely inside the corny keg. I dry hop in the keg the first 3-4 days at room temp, then another 4 days at kegerator temps, and then remove the hop bag, squeezing it some before removing.
Thanks all. I picked up a couple of those nylon bags like BrewBama and others mentioned. I DO reuse the yeast so free-range hops in the fermenter would probably make that process more of a pain.
I’ve been all over the place on this since I started fermenting in kegs. I recently switched to floating dip tubes in my fermenters, but I haven’t brewed an aggressively dry hopped IPA yet to test it out.
Curious, have you tried dry hopping in the fermenter? The folks that are dry hopping during high krausen are trying to introduce biotransformation - that’s not what I’m talking about. Dry hop at the very end of fermentation helps to alleviate DO pick up but you can add them just about any time without any major problems. You should give it a try and see how you like it. The only way I will dry hop in a keg is if I’m trying to fix a beer.
I dry hop with loose pellets, often cryo, at 35F for hours post fermentati9n. I’ve tried many dry hop methods and that works better for me than anything else I’ve ever done.
Intriguing. I have not. I’ve read a lot of different schools of thought on opening the fermenter. Was never sure how much of a problem it really is. I’d be game for trying it after the krausen drops I suppose. Is there any point in salvaging the yeast after tossing in 6oz of hops? I do seem to be accumulating extra yeast (on my fifth starter) off the same original pitch so could probably stand to toss some anyway.
In my experience it’s not as much of a problem as homebrewers have been lead to believe. Just be careful and limit exposure as much as possible, then don’t worry about it.
good thread, because ive been wanting to ask without sounding like a noob.
a lot of people who are highly anti-secondary (note: I only secondary occasionally now), also state they dry hop for a very short time, ie 24 hours or so.
how do you not get major hop sediment in the beer?
my technique has been to add dry hops 3 or 4 days before i am planning to secondary a beer, the hops tend to float on top in my experience. when i transfer the beer, most hops are left behind and the particles that are brought into the secondary fall out quickly. then i have fairly clear beer.
I usually dry hop for about 3-5 days and by then they are all crashed out. For the record I’m no opposed to using a secondary i just think it is best to minimize racking as much as possible. I am opposed to using a secondary routinely for no other reason except for clarity since this is unnecessary. Plus, if a secondary is purged with co2 it isn’t really a problem. While it is true DO can be a problem in finished beer it is much more a problem with commercial brewers who can’t control the beer once it leaves the brewery and need to maintain shelf life as long as possible.
ok, i was close to setting it in a ~34F room but figured it wouldnt make a difference over just a few days. i might be able to try next time i dry hop.