Just pulled the trigger on 3 lbs of hops

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JoeMama

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Oh boy... This is a first for me. As it sits now, I have little baggies of 1/2 oz 'assorted hops' from other brew sessions and one time recipes. I settled on Cascades, Centenials, and Magnums. (Yeah, I guess Im kind of fond of the IPAs eh?)

Im excited to have to many hops to play with!!
-Me
 
Fresh or pellet? Is that a dumb question?
Do you guys who have been brewing for a long time see a difference between pellets and fresh hops?
I have only used pellets so far, but want to buy some fresh.
Did you buy them online or local?
 
Fresh or pellet? Is that a dumb question?
Do you guys who have been brewing for a long time see a difference between pellets and fresh hops?
I have only used pellets so far, but want to buy some fresh.
Did you buy them online or local?

You mean leaf, right?

"Fresh" would be either wet hops or mayube a stretch to right after harvest.

As for leaf, I like them. They do good to filter trub and are easier to clean up BUT, they do soak up a LOT of wort and they aren't available in as wide a variety.
 
I did mean leaf.
How long do the keep in the freezer? Ziplock bag I guess. Or food saver?
 
Fresh or pellet? Is that a dumb question?
Do you guys who have been brewing for a long time see a difference between pellets and fresh hops?
I have only used pellets so far, but want to buy some fresh.
Did you buy them online or local?

At about 7:00 minutes into this video, Larry Sidor, the head brewer for Deschutes, gives a great description on the difference between kilned hop flowers, fresh hops and pellets




It's an older video, so the beer he's describing is called "Hop Harvest," a precursor to their "Hop Trip" Pale Ale.
 
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I ended up going with the pellets as they were on sale with Nikobrew. I used 1.5oz of leaf (well cones) of some Northern Brewer when I did my Fat Tire clone. I think I will like the selection of hops that I bought. My (I)PAs have been rather tasty with these suckers. Now its time to play a little with them. Maybe do a couple of SMaSHes. :)
Wooooo fun!
-Me
 
I'm close to pulling the trigger on a 1lb each of Cascade, Chinook, Magnum, Columbus, Willamette, and Liberty. There's a lot of different things I can do with that variety.
 
Im excited about my purchase! You know what this means next right?
Gonna have to get me some grains that compliment the hops.
Then gonna have to get a mill to mill my grains.

Jeez. I am getting progressively worse...
This is great!
I love it!
-Me
 
I just got two pounds of cascade pellets from Hopsdirect (Puterbaugh Farms) and couldn't have been happier. I ended up getting about 6 ozs extra in the deal.
 
Yep, at first, you just go for that little baggie, but that's not enough for very long. Then, you step up to a pound. Then, it's more than one pound. The next thing you know, you have a whole shelf of an upright deep freeze packed with 13 different hops. Then, sud*denly there's a ter*ri*ble roar all around you, and the sky becomes full of what look like huge bats, all swoop*ing and screech*ing and div*ing around your brewing rig. You're in, now. You're in for good.

As for the difference between leaf (or whole or whatever you want to call them) and pellets, I find it's more a matter of personal taste. Leaf hops are more romantic, more attractive, and they tend to smell a little better when you rub them. However, compared to pellets, they have lower utilization (roughly 10%), take up more space, are more difficult to measure accurately, and are not as stable for long storage. Some folks say that leaf hops are better than pellets for dry hopping. They may be right about that (I don't know -- I really haven't compared the two that strictly), but pellets work well.

Just about every time I buy hops in bulk, I buy pellets. The good points outweigh the bad for me. I used to brew exclusively with leaf hops, and I still do not mind using them one bit. I certainly won't go out of my way to use pellets when perfectly good leaf hops are ready and available. I can go either way, but all else being equal, I tend to go with pellets.

On storage, heat and oxygen are your hops' enemies. Keep them cold, and keep them away from air. The freezer is the best place for them. Baggies work, but vacuum sealing is much better. You cannot stop degradation, but you can slow it down a great deal. I keep my hops in the original package and then vaccuum sealed in a Foodsaver bag in the freezer. I have some three-year-old hops that are still quite fit to use.


TL
 
Im excited about my purchase! You know what this means next right?
Gonna have to get me some grains that compliment the hops.
Then gonna have to get a mill to mill my grains.

Jeez. I am getting progressively worse...
This is great!
I love it!
-Me

You've really blossomed, Joe!
 
ahhh i remember my first pound of hops from niko.... now i have 6 in the freezer right now, with 5 more on the way :) its easier to spend the money on bulk ingredients because you are actually SAVING money.... right...right ?!? thats what i tell myself anyways.
 
You've really blossomed, Joe!

The journey of homebrewing is a fascinating one. I still remember how it all began, and even after numerous batches under my belt (see in my belly) there is always something new that happens that I have either never seen before, or I have seen numerous times that still fascinates me.

Glad to be here cap'n!
-Me
 
a week and a half ago got a pound each of US Golding, Fuggle, Cluster, and Hallertau from hops direct, each with at least 2 oz extra. My first time buying Hops in bulk know exactly how you feel:ban: my wife just rolled her eyes and walked away:mug:
then I showed her the Grizzly Mill I got and converted (last months purchase)
 
Pellet hops are just as fresh as, well... leaf hops. Most likely they are fresher since they store better due to lesser surface area resulting in less oxidation.

Fresh hops or Pellet... oye.

I prefer the pellet as they store easier, better, and soak up less tasty wort.
 
i have bought both, and i must say the if you are looking for consistency from brew to brew, use pellets, they are almost always the same alpha acid wise from brew to brew. "fresh hops" tends to lose IBU's faster than pellets since they are not rendered and pressed to small pellets.

i like using fresh flower hops for late additions and dryhopping, but pellets are neccesary for bittering in the first addition.
 
Just sealed the deal on 1# each of: Cascade, Chinook, Columbus, Fuggle (UK), Liberty, Magnum, Saaz (US), and Willamette.
 
Mmmmmm, I went out and got the handy dandy food sealer last night as well. I was in hop heaven as I broke out my lbs into ozs. The sealer doesnt work when I make the bags too small, but it definitely did the trick! I still have a lb and a half to break out - LOOOOVE that smell :)
-Me
 

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