Leaf hops vs. Pellet hops

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Dave the Brewer

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I'm going to start a brew this week using leaf hops for the first time. Whats the difference as far as hopping technique, or what will I do different from when I was using pellets. Is there a difference in taste, anything? Give me the pros and cons of leaf hops and pellet hops!! I'm looking at the leaf hops, I just want to tear the bag open and smell!!!!
Thanks:ban:
 
Did you use a hop bag of some sort when you used pellets. If not you might want to as it will keep a lot of the leaf hops together and make straining the wort easier.
 
I made the switch about 6 months ago. The key consideration is adjusting your hop amounts to get the right IBUs (1oz pellets does not equal 1 oz whole leaf). If you've made the right conversion, just throw them in per your hopping schedule, there is no special technique, just throw them in.

The other thing to keep in mind is that leaf hops absorb more water during the boil, so you may need a larger pre-boil wort to end up with the same batch size.
 
TheJadedDog said:
I made the switch about 6 months ago. The key consideration is adjusting your hop amounts to get the right IBUs (1oz pellets does not equal 1 oz whole leaf). If you've made the right conversion, just throw them in per your hopping schedule, there is no special technique, just throw them in.

I never learned how to get my desired IBUs, so a conversion is from another world. I just compare to different recipes and styles to figure out my hop schedule. Does it take more leaf hops to get the same IBU as pellets with with same AA.

How do I figure out what my IBUs will be with blank amount of hops and blank AA percentages?
 
Davesbrew85 said:
I never learned how to get my desired IBUs, so a conversion is from another world. I just compare to different recipes and styles to figure out my hop schedule. Does it take more leaf hops to get the same IBU as pellets with with same AA.

How do I figure out what my IBUs will be with blank amount of hops and blank AA percentages?

It takes slightly more leaf hops to get the same IBUs as pellets but I am not sure of the exact conversion factor. I'd recommend downloading some brewing software (ProMash has a free trial, Beersmith might as well) to use when developing your own recipes.

It's not a huge difference so you'd probably be okay with a 1-1 substitution, but you might notice a difference.
 
Wow, how odd this question came up as I just stopped by the LHBS and they only had leaf hops in my variety. I only needed 1.5oz and got 2 total, so I hope that I got enough.
 
It shoud be unless the AA% is way off. The amount is only about 10% difference in weight. 1.5 oz of pellets might require 1.625 oz or maybe up to 1.75 oz of leaf if the AA% is about the same.
 
+1 for BrewSmith, add about 10% to your pellet spec to figure out how much leaf hops to buy.

I find leaf hops leave fewer particles on the floor of the bottle, but someone else posted it first. I like the flavor of leaf hops a little better, but I can't prove why.
 
Poindexter said:
I find leaf hops leave fewer particles on the floor of the bottle, but someone else posted it first. I like the flavor of leaf hops a little better, but I can't prove why.

Awesome... these are the things I was hoping to hear. Thanks for all the info guys. Unfortunately I'm probably not going to get to brew this week, my girl friend has family coming in so I have to socialize. But after that :mug:
 
Can someone explain why an 1oz of leaf hops isn't the same as an ounce of pellet hops?
is there something different about the processing of pellet hops, that you get more bang per ounce?

I'm not saying you're not correct...I just wanna know why. I never fell for the question "which is heavier, a pound of bricks or a pound of feathers", and since we're not talking about volume of hops...

I'm just curious and my Palmer book is all the way upstairs.
 
Good information in this post. I've been wondering about this myself. I've only used pellets and would like to get some leaf once I get through my current pellet inventory.
 
From what I've read, the 10% increase on whole leaf vs pellet is due to surface area.
It's kinda like cooking a thick steaks versus a thin one. The thin on while not neccesarily having more surface area, has a better surface area to mass ratio.

edit: bradsul's answer sound much better :)
 
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