Dry hopping in a corny keg

[NPi]

Won't opening the keg to remove the hops introduce oxygen?

I use a hop spider that the dip tube slots into. Except the hops go outside of it, giving more contact to the beer.
View attachment 29637

The process.

1) Put the hops in the keg, seal and purge.

2) Rack the beer into the keg via the beer out tube.

3) Leave for 2 days at fermentation temperature then chill somewhere between over night or a couple of days.

4) Transfer beer to another keg for carbonation.

Forgive me, for I've not done this myself, but it seems the two are similar. In Sessions method you load the hops in a hop bag, attach to lid with maget on the outside, ferment as normal in the keg, drop the magnet when you want to dry hop, then transfer to another keg for carbonation.

I think the only difference is that the second method does not allow for fermentation in keg prior to adding the dry hop.

 

[Sadfield]

Forgive me, for I've not done this myself, but it seems the two are similar. In Sessions method you load the hops in a hop bag, attach to lid with maget on the outside, ferment as normal in the keg, drop the magnet when you want to dry hop, then transfer to another keg for carbonation.

I think the only difference is that the second method does not allow for fermentation in keg prior to adding the dry hop.

Yes, indeed. My reply was to the original post which initially mentioned removing the hops.

 

[Leard]

Right, I see how it works. Although I'll be fermenting in a normal bucket and then transferring to the corny for conditioning and hopping. So my plan was to attach the hop bag to the inside of the keg, transfer beer in, and then remove the hops when dry hopping is complete. Attaching the hop back to the underside of the lid means I can quickly remove the lid and the bag to minimise oxygen exposure. However to prevent it entirely I could just leave the hops in the beer and never reopen the keg.

 

[Braufather]

This is the hop spider I have (bought it elsewhere) HERE and the lid is the same as this HERE I bought a keg with it already on.

Ok, so if I’ve got that correct you have to open up the keg when you switch lids? Or just remove the spider.

ive got those spiders, but currently use them in my fv, dropping them in 3 days before racking. I was considering putting them in the keg as it would allow me to purge them, and then do a closed transfer to another keg.

I like the idea of fixing the spider around the dip tube Though so that they can hang loose.

 

[Braufather]

Won't opening the keg to remove the hops introduce oxygen?

I use a hop spider that the dip tube slots into. Except the hops go outside of it, giving more contact to the beer.
View attachment 29637

The process.

1) Put the hops in the keg, seal and purge.

2) Rack the beer into the keg via the beer out tube.

3) Leave for 2 days at fermentation temperature then chill somewhere between over night or a couple of days.

4) Transfer beer to another keg for carbonation.

So you don’t bother with a spider or bagging them,

Won't opening the keg to remove the hops introduce oxygen?

I use a hop spider that the dip tube slots into. Except the hops go outside of it, giving more contact to the beer.
View attachment 29637

The process.

1) Put the hops in the keg, seal and purge.

2) Rack the beer into the keg via the beer out tube.

3) Leave for 2 days at fermentation temperature then chill somewhere between over night or a couple of days.

4) Transfer beer to another keg for carbonation.

Is the chill just to minimise trub in the serving vessel?

 

[Sadfield]

So you don’t bother with a spider or bagging them,


Is the chill just to minimise trub in the serving vessel?

No, the spider acts as a filter around the dip tube with the hops loose in the keg for maximum contact with the beer. The beer is racked from the FV, off the majority of the trub into the keg for hopping. The spider has a solid base with a lip, so I find chilling after dry hopping drops the hops down through the beer, tight on the bottom of the keg, to where this base sits, leaving the mesh of the filter clear. The filter is a taller version of this one.

Here's a good piece from Scott Janish, who had the same idea and improved on it. My Favorite Way to Dry Hop Loose In Primary and Kegs - Scott Janish

 

[Brew_DD2]

Won't opening the keg to remove the hops introduce oxygen?

I use a hop spider that the dip tube slots into. Except the hops go outside of it, giving more contact to the beer.
View attachment 29637

The process.

1) Put the hops in the keg, seal and purge.

2) Rack the beer into the keg via the beer out tube.

3) Leave for 2 days at fermentation temperature then chill somewhere between over night or a couple of days.

4) Transfer beer to another keg for carbonation.

This is awesome. I like my hops in the corny for the duration that the beers lasts, but this is a really elegant dry-hopping solution. No clogging?

 

[Session]

Isn't your keg lid aluminum, mine is and therefore no ferrous so the internal magnet would not stick to the lid without the help of the external magnet.

There is no internal magnet

 

[Sadfield]

This is awesome. I like my hops in the corny for the duration that the beers lasts, but this is a really elegant dry-hopping solution. No clogging?

It's not a technique I use on every brew, but I haven't had any issues yet. It's brewing though, so if it can go wrong it probably will at some point. However, as it a sealed system, I think the worst scenario would be fixable with a bit of agitation and then time to resettle, or if anything manages to make its way to the poppit valve, a squirt of C02 would shift it.

The thing to check is the clearance between the end of the dip tube and the base of the filter, depending on the keg type. I have a spare dip tube that I trimmed at 45 degree angle, so there's no danger of the base sitting flush to the end of the tube.

 

[Session]

Won't opening the keg to remove the hops introduce oxygen?

I use a hop spider that the dip tube slots into. Except the hops go outside of it, giving more contact to the beer.
View attachment 29637

The process.

1) Put the hops in the keg, seal and purge.

2) Rack the beer into the keg via the beer out tube.

3) Leave for 2 days at fermentation temperature then chill somewhere between over night or a couple of days.

4) Transfer beer to another keg for carbonation.

I don’t remove the hops. I ferment in the keg, saving the trouble of transferring the beer to a new keg and all the associated cleaning etc.

My process:

1. Add wort and yeast to keg, attach dry hops to the underside of the lid as previously discussed, seal with a quick squirt of CO2

2. Ferment

3. Remove magnet, dropping the dry hop charge into the beer

4. Leave for 48-72 hours, then transfer to serving keg

 

[Andrew Taylor]

There is no internal magnet


Sorry, but you mentioned if 2 magnets were used, one on the inside and one on the outside, the hops wouldn't drop when the external magnet was removed. But if the lid is aluminium, the hops would drop as the internal magnet wouldn't stick ti the lid. Just saying

 

[eyuptm]

Won't opening the keg to remove the hops introduce oxygen?

I use a hop spider that the dip tube slots into. Except the hops go outside of it, giving more contact to the beer.
View attachment 29637

The process.

1) Put the hops in the keg, seal and purge.

2) Rack the beer into the keg via the beer out tube.

3) Leave for 2 days at fermentation temperature then chill somewhere between over night or a couple of days.

4) Transfer beer to another keg for carbonation.

Now, I DO like that idea!! Diptube inside hop filter next time, for me!!

 

[Session]

There is no internal magnet


Sorry, but you mentioned if 2 magnets were used, one on the inside and one on the outside, the hops wouldn't drop when the external magnet was removed. But if the lid is aluminium, the hops would drop as the internal magnet wouldn't stick ti the lid. Just saying

Fair enough! I don’t use two magnets, so don’t really know about this to be honest. As you say though, if the lid is aluminium (I haven’t checked mine), you shouldn’t have a problem anyway.

 

[Leard]

Thanks for all the useful tips here. I think I'm going to go with my original plan and try and tie a hop bag to the beer out tube or the bottom of the lid with a magnet (I need to buy some strong magnets to attach a drip tray to my kegerator anyway). Then just leave the hops there until I finish the beer. Doesn't sound like this would have too much of a negative impact on the beer. I only have two cornys that I both use in my kegerator and so can't use one of them to ferment.

 

[phildo79]

You’re very kind @NPi !
It’s very easy really - just pop the hops in a hop bag, together with a stir bar, and stick this to the underside of the keg lid with a magnet (the magnet goes on the outside of the lid).

When you’re ready to dry hop, just remove the magnet and the hops (which are now purged by the CO2 produced during fermentation) will drop happily into your beer.

Easy!

What size of magnet and stir bar do you use? I am looking online and can find powerful magnets ok but the stir bars seem tiny. Will they be enough to hold up the weight of the hop bag?