Hop amount questions: pellets vs. loose

[zonabb]

Is 1 oz. of loose leaf hops equal to 1 oz. pellets? Or do I need to substitute like you would DME and LME?

 

[SRFeldman79]

pellets are 20% more than whole leafs i think.

 

[sirsloop]

yeah, its like somewhere between 10-20% lower IBU's for leaf.

 

[cheezydemon]

Weight should be the same fellas. Unless they introduce some foriegn matter or dry them more.

(Reminds me of the girl that told me that her boyfriend weighed a full lb more with an erection. Stupid B*tch.)

 

[HP_Lovecraft]

Pellets do provide more bittering potential because the pelletizing process breaks apart the plant glands. A good rule of thumb is that using pellets add another 15% alpha acids

nick

 

[sirsloop]

Weight should be the same fellas. Unless they introduce some foriegn matter or dry them more.

incorrect...

Does 12 ounces of orange juice concentrate contain the same amount of citric acid as 12 ounces of orange juice?

 

[cheezydemon]

Fair enough. Broken glands....hmmm. So whole leaf should be crushed or shredded for greater utilization?

 

[sirsloop]

I suppose that would work... kinda like how crushed ice melts faster than one big block.

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

Increase surface area, increase utilization, makes perfect sense.....

now watch it be wrong...

 

[Yooper]

Well, an ounce is an ounce of course. But yes, pelleted hops are more potent than leaf hops, ounce for ounce. I have been just substituting them equally, however. I usually buy an ounce at a time, and don't have an extra 1/4 ounce to add. This seems to work just fine.

I tend to use pellets for bittering, and leaf hops for the later additions and dry hopping.

 

[zonabb]

incorrect...

Does 12 ounces of orange juice concentrate contain the same amount of citric acid as 12 ounces of orange juice?

That's a bad analogy because a concentrate removes the water, leaving everything else behind, your changing the actual composition of the liquid.

Hops ground and made into pellets don't seem to altered other than that from leaf hops.

So I guess I'll use them interchangebly. I found a decent source that has some hops at decent prices but they don't have some types in the pellets I typically use.

 

[cheezydemon]

That's a bad analogy because a concentrate removes the water, leaving everything else behind, your changing the actual composition of the liquid.

Hops ground and made into pellets don't seem to altered other than that from leaf hops.

So I guess I'll use them interchangebly. I found a decent source that has some hops at decent prices but they don't have some types in the pellets I typically use.

Agreed, and also I said "unless they dry it more" which covered concentration...as in concentrated juice.

But in the end he was right and I was wrong! Good analogy or not.

 

[wihophead]

Here is what I read on the subject....take it for what it is worth...


Question:
What is the difference between hop pellets, hop plugs, whole leaf, and extract?

Answer:
Hop pellets are highly processed hops consisting of finely powdered hop cones compressed into pea-sized tablets used in both home and commercial brewing. Regular hop pellets are, by weight, 20 to 30% stronger than the same variety in loose form; one pound of hop cones yields about 10 to 12 ounces of pellets. Concentrated pellets, as used in the brewing industry, are first processed to remove the non-resinous material, thus reducing the weight and volume. Standardized pellets are made from blends of hops to obtain a specific and consistent alpha acid level. Hop plugs are whole flowers that have been dried and compressed into a plug. They are reported to impart a better aroma and flavor than the pelletized hops but you will have to decide that one for yourself. Hop plugs have less surface area exposure to wort and thus are less efficient for bittering, i.e. more of it is required to impart an equal amount of bitterness compared to pellets or extract. Whole hops are the whole flower dried and uncompressed. They also are reported to impart a better aroma and flavor than the pelletized hops. Again, you will need to make the determination yourself on this one. Whole hops also have less surface area exposure to wort than pellets and are less efficient for bittering, i.e. more of it is required to impart an equal amount of bitterness compared to pellets or extract. Hop extracts are the liquid bittering essences of hops and are used for convenience in the brewing industry. Some liquid hops extracts are processed with a wide variety of chemical solvents that dissolve the hop resins into solution and chemically "isomerize" alpha acids (to isomerize, means to chemically rearrange the molecular structure of alpha acids so that they are soluble in water and thus impart their bitter qualities.) There are also hop extracts available that are not isomerized. Also the non-isomerized hop extracts do not come into conflict with any German beer purity laws if this is a particular concern of yours. The chief advantage of using the hop extracts, especially for large breweries or where storage space is limited, is that they occupy considerably less space. All hop extracts must be used sparingly and care must be taken that they are well mixed to ensure that they are dissolved. Hop products keep better when stored in a sealed container (preferably airtight), out of sunlight and at 54 F. Whole hops, hop plugs, and pellets can be put in a mesh bag to avoid the ensuing mess. If you decide to use a bag, you may wish to add 10% more hops to adjust for a diminished hop bitterness utilization.