Hello all…it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, but in the meantime I have gone ahead and purchased all I need to keg! 
. I’ve done a search on the topic but couldn’t find much. My question is about dry hopping with pellets in your keg. I’m going to be kegging my first beer in the next couple weeks and plan on doing this. My silly question is this: how do you keep the hop trub from clogging up your keg? Does this happen even in a hop bag? Or should I just dry hop before I keg? I would like to do it in the keg but what will happen if it takes me three weeks to drink it? Silly questions I know…
You can put your hops in a bag and then suspend the bag in the keg with a piece of floss (unflavored) by tying one end around the top of the bag and the the end to o e of the keg handles. The lid will still seal and you can easily contain and remove the hops when you need. I actually prefer to dry hop at room temperature though. I feel it gives a better aroma.
I like to dry hop the proper beers in the secondary AND in the keg. It gives you that extra freshness and hop nose. In the keg, I use a ss mesh teaball and just let it sit in the bottom for the duration of the keg. No problems. Use 1/2 oz per ball only. Sometimes I use a muslin bag but a few times, the bag sunk and blocked the keg pickup tube. Had to fish it out with a long sanitized nylon spoon.
I cleaned a white labs vial really well, sealed it up, sanitized it, and put it in the muslin bag with the hops. It floated, and I just pulled it out after 7 days and then tapped the keg. It was a bit of a pain, and I worried about how sanitized it really was, so now I have a dedicated keg for keg-hopped beer on which I cut an inch off of the liquid out dip tube. I sacrifice a couple of pints, but it works.
I think the best method is to use the cheapo nylon stockings you can pick up at Walmart for like a quarter. They come in the little plastic eggs, like you get in vending machines. Go for the white ones, and submerge them in StarSan for a while. I sometimes just let them soak/float in the keg with no tether. I’ve also weighted them down with a big stainless nut. Some guys tie them up with dental floss.
I’ve successfully crammed 8 oz of keg hops into one of these stockings, and it had plenty of room for the beer to steep and filter through.
[quote=“El Capitan”]I’ve successfully crammed 8 oz of keg hops into one of these stockings, and it had plenty of room for the beer to steep and filter through.[/quote] :shock: Now that’s a boatload of hops for a keg. I’d like to taste that.
I also use the little el cheapo stockings in secondary. I just might add some Cascade in a stocking in the keg on my next batch. I’ve read where It can be hung say, half way down the keg so doesn’t overpower the beer if that is possible.
That was for a IIPA (Jamil’s Hop Hammer IIPA from BCS). After one week @ room temp keg-hopping, I put it on the gas. A week later, it was unbelievable. Heavenly.
Just this morning I kegged up a hacked version of Surly Furious, with 8.5 oz of keg hops inside the massive hop torpedo! I’ll post a pic later on. 5 oz chinook, 3 oz cascade, and 0.5 oz Warrior. Should be phenomenal!
:cheers:
Were the 8 ounces of hops leaf?
I used to use the stainless tea balls, but recently had one come open inside my keg (pin holding the clasp on fell out) causing a hop clogged mess. I’m a believer in the knee high pantyhose method now. Either way I’ve never tried to tie them to the top, I just throw them in and let them rest on the bottom.
Nate, do you get hop particles in ur pints?
Nope. I use pellet hops and still no problem. Same was true with the tea ball method, only reason I switched is because of the clogged keg disaster.
I use leaf hops in a nylon sack or just let the swim free with a surescreen on the dip tube.
Leave them at cellar temps (50-70) and taste each day. When it is good (3-14 days) put it in the fridge.
Yep - 8 oz of homegrown leaf. It’s verging on insanity. Can’t wait to pull that first pint!
As you can see, I took full advantage of Movember. Now I’m moving on to Decembeard and Januhairy. :cheers:
