Help: hops blocking liquid post

[Jrrj]

I’ve just kegged the G&G NEIPA FWK a couple of weeks ago and when I tried to sample it today, I found that the keg liquid post is blocking with hop matter. I’m using the coil-spring type ball-lock poppets (replaced them recently) and they tend to catch a build up of hops pretty quickly.

This FWK has a lot of pellet dry hops and even though I left it in the fermenter for two weeks after the last dry hops, and racked it carefully to avoid the trub, there is still a lot of hop matter in suspension.

Has anyone got any solutions to this problem that I can try after the beer is already in the keg?

So far I’ve made an almighty mess in the keezer removing the liquid post five or six times, cleaning the poppet, then replacing it to find it clogs again immediately. I don’t want to cut the dip tube short but will consider doing that as a final option.

Ideas?

Thanks.

 

[altone]

I’ve just kegged the G&G NEIPA FWK a couple of weeks ago and when I tried to sample it today, I found that the keg liquid post is blocking with hop matter. I’m using the coil-spring type ball-lock poppets (replaced them recently) and they tend to catch a build up of hops pretty quickly.

This FWK has a lot of pellet dry hops and even though I left it in the fermenter for two weeks after the last dry hops, and racked it carefully to avoid the trub, there is still a lot of hop matter in suspension.

Has anyone got any solutions to this problem that I can try after the beer is already in the keg?

So far I’ve made an almighty mess in the keezer removing the liquid post five or six times, cleaning the poppet, then replacing it to find it clogs again immediately. I don’t want to cut the dip tube short but will consider doing that as a final option.

Ideas?

Thanks.

Well you could just bend the dip tube up instead of cutting it - then bend it back down when you're done.

Might be enough to get you out of your jam.

 

[Wolfman1]

Have you got another keg?
You could degas it and rack it to another keg through the top and cut your losses.
If you purge the other keg then the air exposure would be limited

 

[find_another_slave]

Have you got another keg?
You could degas it and rack it to another keg through the top and cut your losses.
If you purge the other keg then the air exposure would be limited

I have done exactly this with success.

 

[Wobbly74]

De-gass. Remove poppet and replace post. Take a liquid disconnect attached to a brumby tap and remove the pin / spring from the disconnect and reassemble it. Connect to the keg and return to serving pressure. Tap off beer through the brumby house to a glass container until it runs clear enough, then cap the container and stick it in the fridge. De-gas again, return poppet to post and resume normal service. The excess in the fridge will probably drop clear enough to drink in a few hours.

If the brumby tap clogs it's easier to de-gas and clear. If you don't have a brumby tap then you can use an open line with light repressurisation of the keg to give you enough time to depressurise when wanting to stop.

 

[Jrrj]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys.

I do have spare kegs and so the transfer idea did appeal to me. I didn’t have a way to rack other than through the liquid post, so I tried a variation of what Wobbly suggested (unfortunately I only saw that response later).

I degassed and removed the poppet entirely and tried to run off the flight beer through my Pluto gun, but I didn’t remove the spring from the disconnect and so immediately clogged the disconnect.

Having already wasted hours messing around with it, and having had immense trouble in the past trying to disassemble keg king SS disconnects, I decided to cut the dip tube after all and the problem is now solved.

I’ll lose the last few litres of the keg, but I’ve got five kegs on tap atm and don’t drink much, so by the time I get to that point in several months the beer will be past it’s best anyway.

 

[Tony M]

Next time, contain the hops. I have used the foot of one of my wife's stockings tied and weighted with a hefty stainless steel nut to make sure it sinks, or, if you want to make it more high tech, a couple of small strainers zip tied together to make a hop ball. The sock is the easiest and works well. Leave plenty of room.

 

[pirateagenda]

i've had this happen a few times. get a stainless filter for the end of the liquid diptube, haven't had the issue since fitting them to my fermenters.

like these:
http://www.brewmart.com.au/brewmart...=16426+C711&QOH=3&CATID=153&CLN=2&pageCount=2

 

[goatchop41]

i've had this happen a few times. get a stainless filter for the end of the liquid diptube, haven't had the issue since fitting them to my fermenters.

like these:
http://www.brewmart.com.au/brewmart...=16426+C711&QOH=3&CATID=153&CLN=2&pageCount=2

They don't get covered in hops and block up at all? My first reaction to seeing something so small would be to worry at it would clog up itself and then flow through would be severely impaired

 

[goatchop41]

I have seen something like this used, but not as it is intended. In order to let the hops roam free and not be contained, I've seen a small hole cut in the top, then it slipped over the end of the liquid dip tube. Therefore it acts as a filter over the dip tube, much like the 'pure screen' posted above, just much bigger.
I've also seen it used inside of a kegmenter, so that one can make NEIPAs with huge dry hop additions, then transfer under pressure to the serving keg

 

[pirateagenda]

They don't get covered in hops and block up at all? My first reaction to seeing something so small would be to worry at it would clog up itself and then flow through would be severely impaired

nope mine haven't clogged up once with the screens on.

i have silicon dip tubes, not normal keg ones, the screen hangs off the end of the tube by a few cm so there is a fair bit of surface area to avoid clogging

 

[stevonz]

I had this happen also. Replaced the dip tube with a gas in tube and used a cask float from craftbrewer. The hops fall to the bottom of the keg and this floats on top of your beer all the way to the bottom. Also good for 9L kegs on side in fridge

 

[Wobbly74]

https://www.kegland.com.au/fermentasaurus-ss-float-60cm-silicone-dip-tube.html

 

[stevonz]

or this: https://craftbrewer.com.au/cask-widge-float-red-9-11g