Help understanding pellets vs leaf hops use.

[finished1]

I just made my first brew this past weekend and used leaf hops during boil. Everything went very well and the primary fermentation is off to a good start at day 3. I am getting ready for my next batch and want to do an IPA. The hops involved are plenty and want to do a dry hop also. What is better to use? Pellets for dry hopping? Leafs for boil? Does it matter?

 

[motosapiens]

i have used both. pellet hops are a little more efficient, and also a little less hassle when racking. whole hops seem to me to result in a very slightly clearer beer. basically my strategy is to use pellets unless that year's pellets haven't been processed and made available for sale yet. They are just so much easier to store, use, and filter out.

 

[Dcpcooks]

Whole leaf hops will float, absorb water and swell. They can be tricky for a dry hop especially for a big dry hopped IPA in a carboy since they are larger. Pellet hops will dissolve into fine particles and sink faster.

If you have a bucket or large opening in your fermentor you can bag whole leaf hops and toss a few stainless nuts or bolts in the bag to weigh them down. Then its basically a toss up between pellets or whole leaf.

 

[ESBrewer]

Yes there's a lot of threads. Basically it is up to you which one you want to use. Pellet hops are a processed form and can be stored a little longer maybe and I think this is the main reason why they are used and offered so often. Whole cones are traditional and you need to use some 10% more compared to pellets. As people already mentioned, they tend to float on top. In a primary or a full carboy, you may want to put hop cones in a weighted bag to submerge them. Cones release less small hop particles (that eventually drop to the bottom anyway) compared to the pellets.