Hops Volume

[jescholler]

For my 1st batch I used mainly pellet hops. For my next batch, I'm thinking about using whole hops.

I don't yet have a good grasp of how much volume 1oz. of hops will take up in my boil. I know it can vary greatly, but does anyone have a ballpark figure?

Can I expect an ounce of hops to take up 1/2 gallon, 1 gallon...?

Since my brew pot can only hold 5.5 gallons, I may want to continue to use pellet hops to maximize the boiled wort.

 

[IXVolt]

You can hold 1 oz of hops in your cupped hand easily.

 

[ifishsum]

Whole hops don't make a significant difference in your boil volume, as IXvolt said you can hold an ounce in your cupped hands (my hands are on the small side, I couldn't do it with just one) and they're not dense at all, very light and fluffy.

 

[IXVolt]

I guess I didn't consider people have different sized hands, lol

I can hold roughly 1.5 ounces in my cupped hand, which is what I usually do for my bittering...

 

[spage]

I used whole hops in the boil before, they're kind of a pain. Besides clogging up your strainer and being a mess, they seem to sponge a lot of liquid which you could otherwise be drinking later.

Since then I've stuck with pellets. YMMV. Some brewers prefer whole hops.

 

[IXVolt]

I've had good results with both, I try to use a hop bag if going with whole hops.

Starting 4 hop plants in the back 40, so I'll be using more whole hops in the future...

 

[jescholler]

Thanks for all the responses. That's actually not as much volume as I thought. This picture got me worried:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/how-long-dry-hop-secondary-115567/#post1277917

I have a buddy at work who grows hops, so I really want to use them. Maybe I'll compromise and use pellet hops for bittering and 1oz. of whole hops for flavor. For dry hopping, I'm leaning towards 1oz. of pellets just to make them easier to shove in the carboy (that's another topic though).