Hop preference poll

[Janx]

What form of hops do you like to use most?

Probably everyone knows I like whole hops (cause I'm such a loudmouth ) for their flavor and convenience. Downsides are they're harder to find and harder to find quality, and they're bigger to store and take up lots of room in the fridge.

 

[user 574]

Hmm, I think I want to vote whole however I haven't used them so not sure... If the poll was what do you use I'd say pellets as its all I've used. So I must abstain from this poll

 

[Janx]

I should add...let's talk about varieties in this thread as well. List some of the hops you've used and liked or disliked. Hopefully we can get a really good resource thread going.

Cascade - The best flavor/aroma hop for American ales. A modern classic.

Columbus - The best bittering hop in the world, especially for American styles

Fuggles - a polite hop, perfect for Engils ales and bitters...not too bitter.

Saaz - great aroma hop for German, Belgian styles. Low alpha

Chinook - Pretty bitter. I'm not yet sure I'm a fan.

Centennial - AWESOME hop. Like a beefier Cascade. Great for bittering, aroma, flavor.

East Kent Goldings - THE hop for British beers. Polite like Fuggles.

 

[zprime]

Being the dweebs that me and my brew crew are after our first whole hop usage(to go along with the first all grain). We each grabbed a spoonful of spent whole hops (some fuggles) and chomped down on them.

I now have a greater appreciation for hops and the part that they play in beers.

 

[Tony]

My next batch will be with whole hops and I will not be using pellets any more. They are to messy, and not as god as the whole hops.

 

[Hatzie]

I use whole hops when I can get what I need from the LHBS, other wise I will use plugs and then pellets.

I am not the type of brewer that likes a couple of types of hops, I have used Centenial, Yakima, Saaz, Kent Goldings, Fuggles, Cascade, Willamette, Styrian Goldings, etc. I love throwing the whole hops into the boil and smell them as they change the character of the wort.

 

[Tony]

I use whole hops when I can get what I need from the LHBS, other wise I will use plugs and then pellets...

I see that not too many people use plugs. Wouldnt these be better to use than pellets if you cant get whole hops?

 

[BitterRat]

Whole hops for me!! Plugs when I can't find whole, and pellets only when something I'm looking for is not available in any other form.

 

[jhudson]

I'm assuming that whole hops aren't quite as strong as pellets is that correct? I would assume that pellets are a little more concentrated than that of whole hops. However, I can see the advantages of using whole hops and how they can be better. How can you determine the freshness of whole hops? All I've ever used is pellet hops and I am EXTREMEMLY interested in trying whole hops on my next batch which I'm hoping is a stout.

 

[Janx]

Pellets aren't more concentrated. They just grind up the whole hops to make them. They may produce more bitterness because they are so finely ground and thus are more in contact with the wort, but they're not more concentrated per se.

In whole hops, look for vacuum sealed, oxygen barrier bags. Look for a good green color and a nice fresh smell (reminds me of buying something...can't recall... ) Also look for a minimum of yellowing, which is alpha acids oxidized.

Homebrew stores are often kind of bad places to look for whole hops because they have open bags stored improperly. Ordering from a place with good whole hops like hoptech.com or others is the way I go. Cheers!

 

[uglygoat]

i've only ever used pellets cause my local hbs does not carry whole, and says they go bad before they can move enough stock to turn a profit, and i'm leary about getting hops online with out being able to inspect them meself....

i am satisfied with the pellets i've used...atm i am more concerned about getting my mash and sparge techniques proper... i'm down to using two lbs of of dme in my batches now, and will be off the 'dme' soon...

this summer, after i move the brewery (to my wife's delight!) out of the kitchen into the garage, i'm gonna get some whole hops online and see how i like them.

 

[BitterRat]

i've only ever used pellets cause my local hbs does not carry whole, and says they go bad before they can move enough stock to turn a profit, and i'm leary about getting hops online with out being able to inspect them meself....

i am satisfied with the pellets i've used...atm i am more concerned about getting my mash and sparge techniques proper... i'm down to using two lbs of of dme in my batches now, and will be off the 'dme' soon...

this summer, after i move the brewery (to my wife's delight!) out of the kitchen into the garage, i'm gonna get some whole hops online and see how i like them.

If you want whole hops, I have found Freshops ( no affiliation, yadda, yadda) to be of excellent quality, and they have a decent selection too!!

 

[wwgiese]

whole all the way

 

[wwgiese]

whole hops all the way

Sazz for pils

east kent for british ale

tetnang for kolsch and hefe (my favorite)

 

[DragonTail]

Generally I like to use pellets for brewing and whole for dry hopping. I'm going to try to grow my own this year. Ordered 4 Cascade 'zomes from Freshops. Yield won't be a lot this year but I should be in the "green" next year.

 

[scottlo]

Recently having returned to brewing (2 batches of beer todat)I have used pellets, and leaf(is that the same as whole? ) I had bad luck with the first batch, nothing to do with the hops, mostly my mistakes. I don't completly understand the differences. So I don't have a preference as yet.

- Scott

 

[Rhoobarb]

I have always used pellets in the past and have had no qualms about it. Nor, have I had any problems. That said, I recently got some fresh whole hops from my LHBS. Turns out, they were from Freshops and I used them in the last batch I brewed, an IPA.

I have to say, even though the beer is still in the primary, from what I tasted when I took the original gravity readings, the whole, fresh hops made a definite difference. I have used pellets for dry hopping, and have had great results. But, I would like to give whole hops a try in the secondary.

Here is another thread on the subject: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=685&page=2

 

[msleeve_ak]

Pellets aren't more concentrated. They just grind up the whole hops to make them. They may produce more bitterness because they are so finely ground and thus are more in contact with the wort, but they're not more concentrated per se.

In whole hops, look for vacuum sealed, oxygen barrier bags. Look for a good green color and a nice fresh smell (reminds me of buying something...can't recall... ) Also look for a minimum of yellowing, which is alpha acids oxidized.

Homebrew stores are often kind of bad places to look for whole hops because they have open bags stored improperly. Ordering from a place with good whole hops like hoptech.com or others is the way I go. Cheers!

------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok,

are leaf hops the same as whole. I saw them on austin homebrew supply and was just curious. Also, is it the same ratio for whole hops to pellet when following a recipe?

Hope i am not asking too many questions, this website is really beneficial and kicks ass!

msleeve_ak

 

[92greenyj]

need an option for mix. we use pellets and whole hops. basically because more types of hops are available in pellet form. so we mix n match between whole hops and hop pellets. We have about 6 different types from our last couple of batches sitting in the fridge right now. fortunatly we have two refrigerators, the outside one being the beer/drink/big item fridge, it seemed only right we take over a shelf or two with brewing supplies

 

[BitterRat]

------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok,

are leaf hops the same as whole. I saw them on austin homebrew supply and was just curious. Also, is it the same ratio for whole hops to pellet when following a recipe?

Hope i am not asking too many questions, this website is really beneficial and kicks ass!

msleeve_ak

Sorry nobody answered your question, yes, leaf and whole are the same!!

 

[andre the giant]

I love Cascade and Willamette hops. And I prefer whole hops to pellets or plugs. But I'm not that choosy. I keep my hops stored in the freezer, and they seem to stay fresh for a lot longer.

 

[Turricaine]

Goldings hops is very good. The smell is very addictive and you might want to use lots. This would be foolhardy however as no more than 2oz / 5 gal is needed.

 

[boozeboy]

i prefer vaccum packed hops it locks in as much flavour as possible

 

[Darth Konvel]

I voted "whole", simply because that's all I've used so far. I'm lucky that I have a LHBS not too far from here that has nice, fresh whole hops Only used Columbus and Cascade so far, and love them both.

 

[justbrewit]

i've only used pellet hops myself. i'd like to try the whole hops some time. i'll be growing them in the near future. as for my favorite, i've only used northern brewer and cascade hops, i love the smell of the northern!!! makes my mouth water!!

 

[seansbrew]

I like whole hops because I have an awesome copper false bottom in my kettle.

 

[rewster451]

Look for a good green color and a nice fresh smell (reminds me of buying something...can't recall... )

And how. They even have that acidy funk that brings me right back to college. I'm a newbie, and I've only used whole hops once, williamette. I used them for the finishing hops, and pellets for everything else. The whole williamette was definitely easier to strain out, and in my mind was just cooler to use.

But I have to admit, I've never seen or heard of plugs before. I just skimmed this thread, so maybe this has already been talked about. But what are they?

 

[ScottT]

But I have to admit, I've never seen or heard of plugs before. I just skimmed this thread, so maybe this has already been talked about. But what are they?

Compressed whole hops. Look here: http://www.williamsbrewing.com/DOMESTIC_IMPORTED_HOP_PLUGS_C161.cfm

 

[rewster451]

Cool. That does sound better than pellets in my opinion.

 

[jeffg]

I use pellets for their simplicity, whole hops when I can get them. I don't know why but I am addicted to Chinook hops--they go in every pale ale variety I make.

 

[brewmaster27]

As for myself, I've only made a few batches of beer. But my experience with Chinook hops was that they imparted a good aroma and citrusy (?) taste to my Christmas Ale, but boy are they potent (10-14% AA)! The CA I made with them must have been a billion IBUs. If I used them sparingly I'm sure they would have been ok.

 

[Genghis77]

I keep a supply of between 10-15 different types of hops, mainly in pellet form. But generally have three types of whole hops for finish and dry hopping.

 

[cgravier]

i use both plugs and pellets. i use pellets for bittering, and i like to add at least 1 ounce of finish plugs to the wort, its my version of a poor-mans hop back cuz. i strain my wort through the whole hops into the fermentor, i feel this reducers my trub in the primary. i also feel, probably mistakenly, that plug, or whole hops in the last 5 or 0 minutes of the boil will give off a better aroma/flavor than pellets. i do dry-hop however with pellets, and i cant see putting 3 oz. of plugs into my secondary can be as easy as with pellets.

 

[habanero]

I try to use whole (flower) hops whenever possible. I lose a bit of bittering potential that way, but I've found the overall end result is superior to pellets. This especially holds true for flavor and aroma. Even my local homebrew store (LHBS) switched a lot of their kits from pellet to whole for aroma and flavoring.

The biggest drawback I've found is dealing with the massive amounts in "big" beers like imperial IPAs. Instead of dry hopping in the secondary carboy, I've found it quite a bit easier to put my dry hops in a bag and dunk the bag in the keg. I leave it there until the keg runs dry. It makes for an awesome IIPA!

Tom

 

[Walker]

I'm not voting here because I prefer different things at different times.

Pellets are small and keep well.

Whole flowers seem more 'natural' to me and are easier to handle in the pot, but take up more storage space and don't keep as well as pellets, too.

Plugs are whole/flowers pressed into a disc (and they open up as soon as you get them wet). that solves the space problem with whole/flowers, but DAMN those plugs are EXPENSIVE compares to the other two.

-walker

 

[Truble]

I've only used pellet thus far, but I've used a bunch of different types: Cascade, Nugget, Fuggles, Centennial, Chinook, Kent Goldings. I like a hoppy brew, so I am not stingy.

 

[cgravier]

I've found it quite a bit easier to put my dry hops in a bag and dunk the bag in the keg. I leave it there until the keg runs dry. It makes for an awesome IIPA!

Tom[/QUOTE]

the advantages of having a keg! i believe that plugs were invented just for that purpose, just before plugging up the cask they would throw a few plugs in. i cant imagine a better way to get fresh hop aroma...

 

[pigpen]

This will be my second year using my home grown hops.How awsome! Cascade,fuggle,tettnang,and wilamette. Definetly need a seperate freezer. The flavor and aroma are unmatched by pellets,or plugs.I still use them though! They dont yield alot the first year but i had enough to let my bro use some for a few batches.Looking forward to this years harvest.Super easy to grow.Boy do they grow fast. Anyone out there growing hops? Sure would like to hear from you.

 

[cgravier]

Boy do they grow fast. Anyone out there growing hops? Sure would like to hear from you.

when i lived in cali a friend got some rhizomes and planted them to see what would happen. we had three kinds, english, german and american and sure enough the american ones grew the best. they grew fast too, as much as an inch a day! we got a few buds off but not much more than an ounce.i cant remember using any, i think we ate them and he put some in his pillow and had really weird dreams...

 

[Dude]

Anyone ever used Glacier?

I ordered a pound today from Hopsdirect. Seems like (from the descriptions I've read) it will be a nice smooth flavoring hop--which might go decent in a future APA......

Also got a pound of Phoenix. Never used those either--can't wait!!!