Pellets or Whole Leaf????????? - Page 2

OLDBREW · 03-23-2010, 11:50 AM

pellets get better utilization and also hold up better storage wise.

Whole leaf are better as far as flavor & freshness when new and becoming a filterbed for racking draining into the fermenter.
If you are buying bulk like poundage you are better off with pellets for keeping longer.

ILOVEBEER · 03-23-2010, 01:23 PM

So in reality the only drawback to pellets is that they are not as fresh as whole leaf hops (in most cases)?

In my case, I don't think I'd ever notice in the boil what is what since I use bags. I do know that whole leaf release a h*ll of a lot LESS particles (fine bag) in my cornies when I dry hop.

Pellets for cooking
Whole leaf for dry hop

Thanks for all the help
Joe

maida7 · 03-23-2010, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILOVEBEER

So in reality the only drawback to pellets is that they are not as fresh as whole leaf hops (in most cases)?

Joe

Not true! In most cases pellets are fresher. Pellets are much more stable under the same storage conditions and will stay fresher for much longer. So whole hops from the same harvest and stored under the same conditions are not as fresh as the pellets.

But, the pellet making process creates heat as the hops are squashed into the pellet shape. This heat causes the hop pellets to loose some of the aroma compounds. Whole hops may have a slight aroma advantage, but only if they are fresh.

Another thing to consider when using whole hops is that the bag is not equal from top to bottom. Much of the oils fall off the flowers and make a sticky dust at the bottom of the bag. The bottom of the bag is much more potent then the top layers. If you have a big bag and just start at the top and work your way down. The first few batches will be under hopped and the last few will be over hopped.

StAnthonyB · 03-23-2010, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILOVEBEER

I just bought three pounds of whole leaf from hopsdirect. I am done with the Cascade and diving into the goldings next. I have used pellet hops before and thought they were convenient, easy to load into the bag and less messy than the whole leaf....aside from needing a "fine" bag, they seemed easier than whole leaf. I dry hop in bags and use bags for all my hop additions since I use a plate chiller...seems to work really well for my application.

Is there a difference in the AA in a pellet form than whole leaf?

Is there a reason I should use whole leaf for anything?

What do you guys prefer?

Thanks

Joe

Pellets for the boil.

Whole flowers for the dry hoppings.

In both cases I use fine nylon bags; so that there is no mess to clean up.

ILOVEBEER · 03-24-2010, 05:23 AM

Awesome...thank you

OLDBREW · 03-24-2010, 09:13 AM

As mentioned, if you can get the flowers/leaf hops fresh, there is nothing better for flavor/aroma additions. But as said, they do not store well, and lose the flavor/aroma to degradation pretty fast. If you are not going to use them up quickly, the pellets store really well and are much better over all when buying in bulk

**lordura** · 03-24-2010, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OLDBREW

As mentioned, if you can get the flowers/leaf hops fresh, there is nothing better for flavor/aroma additions. But as said, they do not store well, and lose the flavor/aroma to degradation pretty fast. If you are not going to use them up quickly, the pellets store really well and are much better over all when buying in bulk

+1... pellets are the way to go

ILOVEBEER · 03-24-2010, 02:04 PM

Cool............ thanks