I can finally dry hop successfully.

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11thStBrewing

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I got into brewing wanting to make hazy IPAs right away and read up quite a bit. Went straight to kegging.

I posted on here about dry hopping hazy IPAs and oxidation. I oxidized some even before transferring to the keg. Some things I read online just don’t align with my real life experience.

I’ve fermented in an all rounder and kegs. Haven’t had any leak issues.

Cracking the lid hasn’t seemed to affect beers too much like lagers. Hazy IPA and heavily hopped IPAs in general have been the problem.

I’ve tried:

-Cracking the lid and dumping hops in with 5-8 SG points left. Lid off for maybe 10 seconds. Usually day 3-4 with A38 juice and 1.060OG. Oxidized very quickly.

-Same as above, but flushing with co2 and after by running co2 continuously for minutes to purge headspace. Oxidized

-Dry Hopping on day 2 by cracking the lid and dumping hops in. Purging with co2. By purging, I mean excessively wasting co2. No oxidation, but it gives the beers some ngarly grapefruit pith type flavor that I really don’t care for. Never had a commercial beer that tastes like that.

-Using magnets to suspend hops in the fermenter. Half the time the hops just drop in. Surely this is a skill issue. Huge PITA for me. The times I’ve been successful I’ve dropped them with 5-8 gravity points left and ended up grapefruit weird flavor again and doesn’t seem to matter which variety. Very odd.

Edit: I think ^ this might work if the hops don’t drop in right away. Maybe drop them after fermentation is complete and you drop some yeast out. I fail 50% of the time with magnets, though.

What I haven’t tried:

-dry hopping with bagged hops, cracking the lid with 5-8 SG points left and slowly lowering the hops in to avoid splashing. I think this is key. This might work, but again I haven’t had good results dry hopping during active fermentation at all yet. Still maybe worth a shot.

What actually worked for me:

I got one of those hop bongs for the all rounder. Brewed up a hazy IPA and let it ferment completely. Cold crashed for a few days to drop out as much yeast as possible.

I purged it by continuously flushing with co2 for probably 2 minutes.

Dry hopped with 12oz in a 5g batch @60F for 24 hours. Also added ALDC. Tasted sample and the hop character was as pungent as commercial beers. Very fresh and no strong grapefruit.

Cold crashed again and transferred 3 days later. Zero oxidation. Maximum hop flavor and aroma. It’s a win. I need to work on the recipe, but it’s some major progress.

I wish I didn’t have to do all this, but I guess I’m just very picky and sensitive to oxidation. There’s some top notch hazy IPAs out there(and hoppy beers in general) so the bar is super high.

I’d recommend getting one of these if you struggle like I do. I’m not sponsored or whatever, just happy I can dry hop now.
 
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Interesting device that should work well. The problem is that it is a $150 dry hop solution for a $70 fermenter (at least for the Fermzilla All Rounder that I use). It also doesn't allow you to get the hops out of the beer after the dry hopping interval. Of course, it is also one more device to clean.

I will stick with my Sous Vide magnets that I stick in small hop socks that I can easily lower into the beer and then raise back up when the interval is completed. This works great for me.
 
I wish I could get magnets to work correctly. Im just too go
Interesting device that should work well. The problem is that it is a $150 dry hop solution for a $70 fermenter (at least for the Fermzilla All Rounder that I use). It also doesn't allow you to get the hops out of the beer after the dry hopping interval. Of course, it is also one more device to clean.

I will stick with my Sous Vide magnets that I stick in small hop socks that I can easily lower into the beer and then raise back up when the interval is completed. This works great for me.
if I could make magnets work reliably I would. Skill issue haha. I’m glad that works for you.
Wow. 12 oz of dry hops in 5 gallon batch.
if you want to make a commercial quality hazy IPA, I think you need somewhere around 2oz/gallon.

I used t90 pellets and I don’t think that’s the best move, as there’s quite a bit of absorption. Will get some Cryo/Lupomax and keep experimenting.
 
What actually worked for me:

I got one of those hop bongs for the all rounder. Brewed up a hazy IPA and let it ferment completely. Cold crashed for a few days to drop out as much yeast as possible.

I purged it by continuously flushing with co2 for probably 2 minutes.

Dry hopped with 12oz in a 5g batch @60F for 24 hours. Also added ALDC. Tasted sample and the hop character was as pungent as commercial beers. Very fresh and no strong grapefruit.

Cold crashed again and transferred 3 days later. Zero oxidation. Maximum hop flavor and aroma. It’s a win.

What is this device - hop bong? what is ALDC?
 
I'm going to try one of these with a corny keg https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805162996645.html and use the keglang hop bong. I'm gong to have to measure my keezer to see if it will fit or have to build a collar to raise it up. I got the 2" hop bong so pellets don't get stuck.

Cornykeg = (1.5tc lid) -> (1.5 to 2" adaptor) -> (2" tc valve) then hook up the 2" hopbong so i can purge with co2 and drop in hops without oxidation.

The issue is the keg lid + adaptor + valve add a bit of height, it would be easier with a 1.5" tc but I'm worried about hops jamming up the 1.5" butterfly valve.
 
I'm going to try one of these with a corny keg https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805162996645.html and use the keglang hop bong. I'm gong to have to measure my keezer to see if it will fit or have to build a collar to raise it up. I got the 2" hop bong so pellets don't get stuck.
I am curious how that lid will work out for you and the quality of construction. An easy way to dry hop in a keg is one issue that keeps me from doing it more. I probably would not go the full hop dropper approach, but it seems like you could easily dump in hops through the port with a little CO2 flowing through the gas post. I could see other uses as well.
 
FWIW I built something similar to the "hop bong" you referenced with a sight glass, stainless reducers and a cap with a PRV to use with my conical fermenter and it has made a world of difference for my hazy IPAs.
 

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