Concerns about switching to pellets

[Nyrkki]

I've always used leaf hops. I've never even tried using pellets, and never seen anyone try them. Because it is quite difficult to obtain high quality US hops in Finland I have decided to try pellets. There is more variation available and because pellets have better storage properties, they are probably fresher than the leaf hops.

Anyhow I was wondering how I should change my brewing process. Nowadays with leaf hops I just throw them in the kettle and allow them to roll freely as the wort boils. I don't use any hop bags at this stage. After cooling the wort I pour it through a hop bag that catches the leaf hops. With a very hoppy beer whilrpooling doesn't seem to work. There's simply too much solid material in the wort. As for dry hopping I'm putting the leaf hops in a bag with some weight.

I'm guessing that these techniques will not work with pellets. Is whirlpooling a valid technique or should I filter the hop gunk somehow? Should the pellets be in a hopbag while boiling the wort or allowed to float freely? What about dry hopping? And does the hop gunk just sediment itself with the yeast if it is not completely removed by whirlpooling/filtering?

Advice is very welcome. I thank in advance.

 

[Hammy71]

I use pellets almost exclusively anymore. Just dump them in, bags are a pain in the rear. The whirlpool will/should make a nice cone in the bottom of your kettle. I also just dump them in my secondary when I'm dry hopping. After a week of dry hopping most of the material has settled to the bottom. If I still have some 'floaties', I just crash cool the fermenter over night. No worries.

 

[Nyrkki]

Okay thanks. This actually sounds easier than with leaf.

 

[Odin_Brews]

I almost always use pellets. I don't even whirlpool, the majority of hop/trub gunk settles when Im cooling and then I pour everything into the fermenter through a metal strainer. That functions as my aeration process. THe last bit in my kettle gets thrown out as it's more or less what I'd expect to leave from a whirlpool.

 

[Hammy71]

Okay thanks. This actually sounds easier than with leaf.

Really depends on your system. But for me they are. No clogs in the pump and no need to strain. :rockin: