Would it not be better to use the secondary carboy for dry hopping and then siphon the beer to the keg to keep out the trub? I have never kegged but I was assuming it was best to filter out as much as possible before putting it in the keg.
Tom
Shoot for 5 gallons because I believe that’s what the kit is designed for. You don’t have a handle on your efficiency yet but I believe the kits assume low and you may get better efficiency so you may be adding water to get the gravity your kit calls for. Or you can let it ride and make a stronger beer. This is what’s so much fun about all grain. If you can pick up some DME or keep some sugar on hand Incase you end low. Do you have a hydrometer?
Thanks Brewcat, yes I have a couple of hydrometers, the basic wide range and another narrow that I use for measuring FG.
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If I end up low on the OG, how would I add sugar ? Boil in some water and then add to the wort?
Yes. I just wrote a long post about adjusting it preboil but it got to complicated so I deleted it. Let’s just go with what you get unless it’s really low then you can add the sugar.
I dry hop directly in the keg in a muslin bag and leave it for the duration. I let it sit at room temp for the allotted number of days for the dry hop then put in kegerator and start carbing. With the 1 oz of dry hop in that kit, you shouldn’t have any issues with dry hopping directly in keg if you want.
Rad
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I have the Dead Ringer in primary about done right now. My plan is to dry hop in the keg using a spice ball and prime the keg with table sugar. This way I can dry hop and carbonate at the same time.
I started using the spice balls after a muslin bag got sucked into the dip tube. If anyone decides to try them don’t buy the cheapest one (like $5) whatever the rivet on the clasp is made out of they corrode and fall apart. I replaced the rivets with stainless wire but would have gone another $5 for a better one had I known. I don’t think they are big enough to dry hop with whole hops unless you go with a few of them. After the keg is empty just dump it out, knock out the spent hops in the trash and wash it or toss it in the dishwasher.
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See Palmer How To Brew, 4th edition, pages 1 - 600.
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You are so that guy.
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Maybe he doesnt want any luggage ? Possible… could be… Well just imagine it…
Fill-lotsa-fermter… Sneezles61
That sounds like a good plan. When you carbonate in the keg do you purge with c02 and seal it with the pressure ? I guess you would have to in order to be sure it’s sealed tight. Does the spice ball hang off something inside the keg? This batch will be a number of " first times" for me with all grain and going into a keg.
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To avoid O2 as much as possible, fill the keg with water or sanitizer, and proceed to disperse all of it with CO2. I have a “beer out” attached to the end of the hose on my racking cane set up. I will purge my keg of gas (pin lock I have to depress the poppit) Then, just as I get ready to start siphoning, I will loosen the lid, and rack away. Then when done, give it a shot of CO2 to set the lid. I will then cold crash a few days. After that, open it up and I will add the gelatin, as done by Brulosophy, and seal the keg again, but apply and keep 12-15 PSI to it and let it sit… A sample from time to time to see how the carbonation is doing… Once I’ve reached my desired happy point, I will release the pressure just put the tea ball 2/3 full of hops into the keg, no strings attached and pressurize to my desired carbonation point… 10-12… Seems like APITA, yet I believe its well worth it… Sneezles61
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You can also unscrew the PRV.
Not my coke pin locks… nuttin honey!!
Sneezles61
No kiddin?
I’ll toss my 2 cents in as well on the kegging. I start with a clean keg. I spray the top of it with Star San, pop the lid and toss it in the Star San bucket. I use my racking cane and tubing to transfer some sanitizer into the keg, taking the opportunity to make sure all internal and external surfaces of the cane and tubing as well as my hands get sanitized. I put the lid on the keg and shake the bejesus out of it, invert it and pull the pressure relief till I get sanitizer out of it. I spray my gas connection with star san, hook it up, and gas the keg a little. Some more shaking and then sanitize and hook up a picnic tap and blow the star san out of the keg back into the bucket. I vent the pressure off and remove the lid, tossing it back into the sanitizer. I position the keg, resanitize my hands and put the tube in the keg so that it reaches the bottom making sure not to contaminate anything and rack the beer in. Once I’m done transferring I put the lid on, spray the gas connections with sanitizer again and hit it with gas, usually adjusting up to 30 psi. I vent it by pulling the relief a few times to purge it, run it to 30, shake it a little and then once it stops taking isolate it since I have other kegs I want to put back online, The next day I run it up to 30 again, shake it a little and again isolate it once it stops taking. After a few cycles of this, I adjust to my normal 8-10. If this were my only keg, I’d probably keep it on 30 for a couple of days and then take it to 8-10.
I’ve not dry hopped in the keg but like the idea. I’m not overly concerned with clarity so have not used gelatin but have noticed over time the beer will clear. The time it takes or even if it will clear may be different if you dry hop it in the keg. I don’t have experience at all there.
Guess that was more than 2 cents but I guess you could say when I keg I focus on sanitation and not introducing oxygen.
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Yes that was 3¢. I clean the keg sometimes sometimes just push more beer in. Mostly I dump 5 gallons of sanitizer in and then out through all the fitting in hot water then sanitizer. Reassemble fill and just purge the head space.
Done that a few times when I had a freshly emptied keg. Just rinse it out with water and rack new beer in. It should still be clean. Not much can grow in the CO2 and alcohol. Not something I do often or with an empty that has been sitting but works in a pinch.
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If it kicks I don’t even open it just push more beer in. Nothing’s growing in there. I don’t do it with a dry hopped beer mostly a clear lager
