Brewing with Whole hops vs Pellets

[CUSTOM-441]

A friend of mine recently gave me 3 large ziplock bags of hops from vines at his house. They grow every year, and he has no use for them. They definitely aren't ornamental and they smell like cascade but I'm not positive. I'm drying them out on a screen with fans in my basement, and will vacuum seal and freeze them until I'm ready to brew. My issue is, I've only ever brewed with hop pellets. Is there anything I NEED to know when brewing with whole hop cones? Is there a golden ratio for whole hops : pellets when it comes to adjusting recipes? Any guidance here would be very much appreciated!

 

[jtratcliff]

The problem is that you won't know the AA%... So using them for bittering will be a crap shoot ..

Probably best to use them at/near flame out or for dry hop...

https://brewchatter.com/blogs/brewchatter-homebrewing-blog/whole-cone-hops-vs-pellet-hops

 

[CUSTOM-441]

The problem is that you won't know the AA%... So using them for bittering will be a crap shoot ..

Probably best to use them at/near flame out or for dry hop...

https://brewchatter.com/blogs/brewchatter-homebrewing-blog/whole-cone-hops-vs-pellet-hops

Thanks for the reply and the article. Just what I was looking for!

 

[Sammy86]

Also, they are wort sponges...be prepared for more loss then you are generally used to.