My last brew I used whole hops for the first time. I was a little intimidated at first having never used them before and didn't know what to expect. Had read some good and some bad about them. Well I racked over to secondary yesterday and at the bottom of the primary was the cleanest yeast cake I have ever seen. Hardly no trub. Granted when I first brewed it a couple of weeks ago the hops did absorb a lot of beer, but it was worth it to be able to end up with such a clean yeast cake that I then pitched my next brew onto. I also dry hopped with 1 oz of whole hops and again I'm sure it will asborb more beer than pellets would but expect it to be much cleaner as well. Don't have to worry about getting the hop bag out like I always did with pellets. Just need to get the little filter thingy that goes over the end of the racking cane and I should be good to go. I don't see any reason to ever use pellets again. Whole hops are cheaper and with my first batch I think I have cleaner beer.
I will never use pellet hops again
- Thread starter dmbsteve
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Germelli1
Well-Known Member
Personally, I would rather enjoy more beer than have a cleaner yeast cake, but I understand where you are coming from!
Yeah, I thought you were going to talk about how much better it tastes, and then I'd be all concerned about whether I'm missing something by using pellets...
But if it's just about less trub and a cleaner yeast cake? I'm not concerned about any of that!
But if it's just about less trub and a cleaner yeast cake? I'm not concerned about any of that!
skeezerpleezer
Well-Known Member
germelli1 said:
+1
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Put your pellet hops into a hop bag (nylon or muslin) and your trub will be significantly reduced. I've been doing this since a few batches in.
I do agree that you really shouldn't care so much about how pretty the yeast cake is. I do the hop bags more for easier cleanup on brew day, and now to make sure my plate chiller doesn't get any hop particles wedged inside it.
I did dry hop with hole hops the first time and plan to keep doing so moving forward. I don't know how pellet hops will compare flavor/aroma wise, but the whole hops smelled divine. Brew came out excellent too. :rockin:
I do agree that you really shouldn't care so much about how pretty the yeast cake is. I do the hop bags more for easier cleanup on brew day, and now to make sure my plate chiller doesn't get any hop particles wedged inside it.
I did dry hop with hole hops the first time and plan to keep doing so moving forward. I don't know how pellet hops will compare flavor/aroma wise, but the whole hops smelled divine. Brew came out excellent too. :rockin:
wildwest450
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Wait until you taste your beer and find it's half as bitter as it should be, then tell us how you'll never use pellets again.
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Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Nice wildwest450
IMO:
Hop pellets: Use in the boil/brewing.
Whole hops: Excellent for dry hopping.
Of course, these are not set in stone, and each brewer will find the combination that works best for them. I know of brewers that dry hop with pellet, and others (myself included so far) with whole hops. It's really more a personal choice.
BUT, IMO, when you're brewing you need stable hops, where the AA% is more reliable. IMO, pellets are a better choice. Plus, you can get the desired weight with significantly less volume.
If you use good software to figure out what you'll get from the hops (during the boil) then you should be able to get the desired result by using either.
IMO:
Hop pellets: Use in the boil/brewing.
Whole hops: Excellent for dry hopping.
Of course, these are not set in stone, and each brewer will find the combination that works best for them. I know of brewers that dry hop with pellet, and others (myself included so far) with whole hops. It's really more a personal choice.
BUT, IMO, when you're brewing you need stable hops, where the AA% is more reliable. IMO, pellets are a better choice. Plus, you can get the desired weight with significantly less volume.
If you use good software to figure out what you'll get from the hops (during the boil) then you should be able to get the desired result by using either.
Well, gee guys...thanks for stealing my thunder...jk
I was mainly excited about the clean cake because I pitched the next beer right on to it, and didn't have to worry about any leftover trub from the previous beer. I guess it's not big deal. What I failed to mention is that even though the hops seem to absorb a lot of beer, I actually ended up with more beer in the primary (and secondary...so on). With the whole hops I was able to siphon every drop of beer I could possibly get out of the kettle and with the pellets I am probably overcautious about letting too much of the trub get into the primary and leave behind more beer than I probably should.
I was mainly excited about the clean cake because I pitched the next beer right on to it, and didn't have to worry about any leftover trub from the previous beer. I guess it's not big deal. What I failed to mention is that even though the hops seem to absorb a lot of beer, I actually ended up with more beer in the primary (and secondary...so on). With the whole hops I was able to siphon every drop of beer I could possibly get out of the kettle and with the pellets I am probably overcautious about letting too much of the trub get into the primary and leave behind more beer than I probably should.
Then you could use hop sacks in the boil/dry hop. then use a strainer when you pour the wort into the FV.
xxsn0blindxx
Well-Known Member
I second this. I started useing hops bags very early on because I can't stand the trub taking up that much space in the fermentor. That's lost space for more bottles of beer! I haven't tried whole hops simply because Northern Brewer (my LHBS) has a huge selection of pellet hops compared to whole and I would rather just buy from them the day before I brew than mail order.
wildwest450 said:
I get great utilization from whole hops. Why don't you?
I got great utilization from my whole hops. BUT, I bought them online from a vendor sealed an vacuum packed, then kept leftovers in the freezer, vacuumed again! I think many don't account for aging though.
My local Homebrew shop keeps their whole hops in big bags in a fridge, unsealed and open. I think all the local brewers think they are doing 40 IBUs in a brew when they are really doing 20.
samc
Well-Known Member
I only use pellets when I can't find the hop I want in whole leaf.
My beers bitter up just fine. Any leaf hops I've purchased from Freshops and some of the LHBS's have all been excellent and store well sealed and frozen.
My beers bitter up just fine. Any leaf hops I've purchased from Freshops and some of the LHBS's have all been excellent and store well sealed and frozen.
wildwest450
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Never have, even with my software making adjustments for leaf additions. It's just not reasonable to think you're getting a consistent bittering unit from bits and pieces of hop cones and leaves as you do from pelletized hops.
Just my experience.
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I use both, and don't really have much of a preference. I used to prefer leaf hops because they'd filter the break material out of the kettle, but my new system has a pump that will clog if even one little leaf gets through, so now pellets seem a bit easier for me at this point.
I'm so happy to get simcoe hops right now that I don't care if they are pellet or leaf anyway!
I'm so happy to get simcoe hops right now that I don't care if they are pellet or leaf anyway!
