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Whole fresh off the vine vs Pellets

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Shamrock28

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Pros and Cons? Also, is the rule of thumb for recipes, half as much wet for dry hops
 
Off the vine you have to use right away. So only once a year can you brewlike that. If you. Mean leaf vs pellet, then it's all up to you. I like pellet for my boil additions and leaf for dry hopping. You have to use more leaf to get the same AA then if you use pellets.
 
Fresh off the vine hops are full of chlorophyll and can make your beer taste grassy. You will get the best utilization and shelf life out of pellet hops.
 
You are comparing apples and oranges. Pellet hops are just pelletized forms of dried hops. They are popular (even with big breweries) because they take up less space, and are easier to strain out of the wort.

Fresh off the vine hops are considered "wet hops". They are not dried out like normal hops. Some microbreweries do a "wet hop" beer every year right at the harvest. Wet or fresh hops usually aren't available to homebrewers unless you grow your own.
 
Whole hops fresh off the vine make a nice 'hop harvest' beer in the Fall, but you have to use a LOT of them! I did one a couple of years ago - literally pulled them off the vine during the mash and boil!

Most hops are dried to make storage and utilization better. Kinda like dried vs. fresh peppers. .
 
I love whole hops (called leaf hops though they are not). It is easier to strain them out, work great for dry hopping. Plus since I grow hops all my recipes and equipment are set to use those already.
 
You can't compare fresh (wet) hops to dried whole hops or pellets. The drying process drives off the lightest aromatic oils.
 

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