brockettbrews
Well-Known Member
which do you think is better???
leaf hops vs pellet hops
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I have used both quite a bit and I've never felt I got any less or any more from either. Biggest advantage of pellets for me is the comparatively small storage space requirements. Currently I have about 10 lbs of leaf hops and 15 or so pounds of pellets, I have no problem using them anywhere in the boil or for dry-hopping.
Whichever is fresher, of course! If I know when American varieties are harvested and how they've been stored, I go for whole. For anything European, I always prefer pellets since they keep better. Most commercial brewers I'm aware of use pellets for the same reason.
brockettbrews
Well-Known Member
i did this thread before sorry i do alot of german lagers too. the leaf hops are like twice as much though???
If you mean twice as expensive, no. If you mean use twice as much, no again.
brockettbrews
Well-Known Member
evpensive mhbs it is twice as much to buy leaf hops
Denny said:
One local hbs they are more expensive, but at all the others they seem to be about the same.
I noticed a lot more gunk, surprisingly, from leaf, but then I was doing a barleywine with more oz of hops too.
devils4ever
Well-Known Member
I like using pellet hops since they don't clog up as easily as whole hops.
Bob
Well-Known Member
Prefer whole hops.
I find they are no more or less expensive than pellets; price depends on variety and many other factors.
I find I get bright bitter wort with whole hops, far less turbidity than with pellets alone; I strongly suspect it's due to the whole cones forming a nice filter bed to trap all that break material. Yes, I lose more wort to kettle loss than with pellets, but I also lose less beer in trub in the fermenter. So what I lose on the swings I make up on the roundabouts.
Plus there's just something about rubbing a hops cone between my palms and letting the smell out. It's visceral, prophetic, sensual.
Anyway, now matter how you slice it, that doesn't mean I think whole hops are "better". In fact, these sorts of "What's better? X or Y?" are always self-defeating and pointless. What I think is best is immaterial to how you brew, what your aims are as a brewer.
Cheers!
Bob
I find they are no more or less expensive than pellets; price depends on variety and many other factors.
I find I get bright bitter wort with whole hops, far less turbidity than with pellets alone; I strongly suspect it's due to the whole cones forming a nice filter bed to trap all that break material. Yes, I lose more wort to kettle loss than with pellets, but I also lose less beer in trub in the fermenter. So what I lose on the swings I make up on the roundabouts.
Plus there's just something about rubbing a hops cone between my palms and letting the smell out. It's visceral, prophetic, sensual.
Anyway, now matter how you slice it, that doesn't mean I think whole hops are "better". In fact, these sorts of "What's better? X or Y?" are always self-defeating and pointless. What I think is best is immaterial to how you brew, what your aims are as a brewer.
Cheers!
Bob
I like using whole hops since they don't clog up as easily as pellet hops.
However, I have a false bottom in my kettle, and use a CFC. The whole hops on the false bottom act as a wonderful filter, and prevent the CFC getting clogged.
Before the CFC, I used to use pellet hops most of the time because they were commonly available, and they worked fine.
-a.
