Dry Hopping in Keg

[SB]

Hi,

I recently kegged and American Pale Ale but found that it is not quite as hoppy as I'd hoped.  Has anyone ever dry hopped in the serving keg and if so what were the results like?
Will I get any off flavours from leaving the hops sitting in the keg for more than a couple of weeks?

Any advice would be appreciated.

[irish_goat]

You can dry hop in a keg no problem but there is a general belief that you will start to get "grassy" flavours off the hops if they're left too long (2+ weeks). Get yourself a muslin bag and a bit of string and you can add hops then fish them out after a week or so.

[Dr Jacoby]

I've done it before and it worked well. I just threw some pellet hops in. My dip tubes are cut about one inch up from the bottom so this helped to avoid too many bits making their way into my glass, but the beer was hazy. I wouldn't leave the hops in for longer than two weeks though. You're likely to get unpleasant grassy flavours (some people like that grassy effect but I don't).

[SB]

I will give it a try so, thanks a million for the replies lads

[LordEoin]

if you think the beer will be in there for a long time, you can just use leaf hops in a muslin bag, then tie some thin thread to the bag and up through the cornie opening under the seal.
After a couple of weeks, just open the keg again and pull the bag out. Immediately close and purge.

[SB]

Good idea, cheers LordEoin

[Garry]

After you pull out the old hops, you can always throw in a fresh batch of hops for another couple of weeks 

What temperature is the keg at? If it's too cold, I don't think you will get the full benefit of the dry hops? I also don't think you'll get grassy flavours at cold temperatures but that's just my opinion. I'm open to correction.

[irish_goat]

What temperature is the keg at? If it's too cold, I don't think you will get the full benefit of the dry hops? I also don't think you'll get grassy flavours at cold temperatures but that's just my opinion. I'm open to correction.

It's mentioned in "For the Love of Hops", can't remember the exact details but I think the jury is out on dryhopping temperatures i.e. some breweries do it at fermentation temp and some do it at cold chilling temps. I'll read up on it when I get home.

[Dr Jacoby]

I think a lot of US breweries drop to 17C to help clear some yeast and hold steady at this temperature for dry hopping (Stone do this for example). Some people say you can dry hop at colder temps with no problems but that it takes a little longer.

As Irish Goat says, there is no consensus on these issues. It seems there is no one right way to do things. A lot depends on the style you are brewing, your set-up and the effect you're after. It's ideal territory for experimentation!

[John_C]

if you think the beer will be in there for a long time, you can just use leaf hops in a muslin bag, then tie some thin thread to the bag and up through the cornie opening under the seal.
After a couple of weeks, just open the keg again and pull the bag out. Immediately close and purge.

A word of warning, I tried this once and I couldn't get the key to re-seal properly. It needs to be a very thin piece of string.

[Dr Jacoby]

You could try using flavourless dental floss (in the corny that is )

[SB]

Thanks for all the replies. Added a muslin bag with thread on it so will see how it goes. Probably will take a while to notice any difference due to the colder temperature as mentioned