Question for those of you who dry hop in the keg. I have never dry hopped this way and know that many of you do, I was wondering if you put the Hops in a weighted bag on a string and dry hop for 5-7-10 days at room temperature, then pull the bag out, carb and refrigerate? I get the impression however some people just put the bag in, carbonate, refrigerator, and leave it in the whole time. Would that not lead to vegetal taste? How do you all do it?
Thanks,
T
I do not know how much this is going to help you since it is only semi related, but I use kegs for my secondary. When I dry hop, I try to use whole hops in order to cut down on the particulate matter being transfered into my finished beer. I typically dry hop for 7 days, cold crash with the hops still in the keg for another 7 days or so near 34 F and then rack to a clean keg leaving the hops behind.
[quote=“Trapae”]I get the impression however some people just put the bag in, carbonate, refrigerator, and leave it in the whole time. Would that not lead to vegetal taste? How do you all do it?
Thanks,
T[/quote]
That’s what I do and no, it doesn’t lead to a vegetal taste. My experience is that when that happens (infrequently) it’s most often associated with British or continental hops. I only dry hop American styles with American hops and I’ve never had it happen in hundreds of batches I’ve keg hopped. There is no need to weight the bag. It will sink on its own.
[quote=“Denny”][quote=“Trapae”]I get the impression however some people just put the bag in, carbonate, refrigerator, and leave it in the whole time. Would that not lead to vegetal taste? How do you all do it?
Thanks,
T[/quote]
That’s what I do and no, it doesn’t lead to a vegetal taste. My experience is that when that happens (infrequently) it’s most often associated with British or continental hops. I only dry hop American styles with American hops and I’ve never had it happen in hundreds of batches I’ve keg hopped. There is no need to weight the bag. It will sink on its own.[/quote]
Same here. I put whole hops in a bag, tie it shut and tie a length of Teflon tape around it and hold the other end while I close the lid. The tape doesn’t interfere with the lid seal, and I make it long enough that the hop bag would be suspended about halfway down in the keg if it was empty. That way there is no chance of it clogging the pickup tube.
I’ll sometimes store the keg for up to a few months with the dry hops in there. Only time I’ve ever gotten a vegetal taste was when I tried to dry hop with saaz one time. Won’t do that again.
There was another thread on this topic a few weeks ago, which showed that you’ll get a wide difference of opinion on whether leaving hops in the beer will lead to undesirable (e.g., vegetative or tannin) flavors. I’m in the camp that says they should usually be removed unless you’re going to burn through the keg quickly.
In his book “IPA,” Stone brewmaster Mitch Steele warns that leaving hops in the beer for too long can lead to “stemmy and vegetative flavors” that can mask the desirable flavors.
I suggest experimenting until you find the procedure that works for your palate.
I used to dry hop in a keg (just throwing whole hops in) with a stainless braid on the intake end of the liquid dip tube, and then push the beer to a clean keg after a week. Lately I’ve been using this for a week and then removing it: http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/Dry-Hopper_p_155.html.
I use pellets only as I had several occasions where whole hops gave me a vegetal flavor. I put an ounce in a muslin bag and toss it in. Occasionally, the keg pickup tube will try to suck the bag and then I have to free it with a nylon spoon.
Pellets in a muslin bag, toss it in and it stays there until keg is kicked. I used to weigh them down with sanitized marbles but no longer worry about that.
On occasion (rarely) the bag will clog the dip tube but a sanitized coat hanger will solve that.
I have always used whole hops for this reason. In June I brewed a single-hop Galaxy IPA using pellets, because I was unable to get whole hops. It has been in the keg for a month and I’m still getting hop particles in ever glass. Very annoying.
I use cheap knee high nylons from the dollar store, like 3 pair for a buck, I cut the elastic top off and tie it off. I use pellet hops and never remove the bag, just throw it in, no weights or string, never had any vegetal flavor. A while back I had a black India ale that I wanted to do a second dry hop, the first had been in for around 2 months and I wanted to kick it up, when I relieved the pressure and popped the top, the first sack of hops was floating so I didn’t have to fish around for it.
I’ve only done this twice but liked it both times. I used a small hop back, got 3 glass marbles (boiled and sanitized) and put them in the bag with the hops and used plain dental floss to hang it about 3" from the bottom of the keg. The floss caused no problems with my seal and I noticed a difference in 3 days.
When you do the Black India Ale, do you use black nylons?.. 
