Hops: Pellet vs. Whole

Alright so I just finished calculating an original IPA recipe that I will be brewing soon. In my head, I pictured myself using whole hops, but after poking around at my local hbs, I realized that they stock pellets way more than whole hops. I was wondering what the differences between pellets and whole hops are, the methods for using each, and if I need to alter my quantities if I switch to pellet hops for this recipe. I know it's a lot in one thread, but thanks for the help!

You get better ultilization from pellet hops but the flavour is SUPPOSED to be superior with whole hops.

I have switched from whole to pellet.

Note that some systems work better with whole and some work better with pellet regarding straining them out after the boil.

A figure that I've seen commonly thrown out there is, use 15% less hops when using pellets in a recipe designed for leaf hops.

But then again, there are people that will argue that some of the volatile compounds are lost during the pelletizing process.

Myself, I try to always use leaf hops, as I dislike the sludge that pellets make. I used to adjust my recipes to account for the changes when the LHBS only had the pellets of a certain variety. I no longer do that anymore and my beer still tastes fine. Whether you choose to modify your amounts or not, you'll still make great beer.

boo boo said:

...but the flavour is SUPPOSED to be superior with whole hops.

Click to expand...

I've really heard this argued both ways. Some say that the hops oils on whole leaf hops oxidize more readily whereas in a pellets the majority of oil is encapsulated protecting it from oxygen. Others say that the processing of pellets and heat from machinery damages the delicate hop aroma and flavor. Personally, I use pellets unless I can guarantee the freshness of leaf hops I'm using.

I generally try to use whole hops for aroma and dy hopping, pellets for bittering, and either for flavor additions. I also hate the sludge that pellets form in the kettle, and I use a hanging paint strainer to keep 'em segregated from the wort as best I can.

If beersmith automatically adjusts IBU calculations for leaf/pellet, that's all the adjusting I do, and my beer has been turning out pretty good recently.

Food for thought-

In my experience, dry hopping in carboys with whole flowers is kind of a pain in the butt.