Pearlfisher
Landlord.
Are there any advantages in using one against the other ? :?
Hops ? pellets or leaf?
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DirtyCaner
Landlord.
I found the pellets that I used were clogging up my hop strainer and I was losing a few litres per batch because of this. Might be ok with a different filter. Mine as a premade Viking HopStopper. Excellent apart from when I use the pellets.
DirtyC
DirtyC
calumscott
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leaf for the boil, pellets for dry hopping. :thumb:
Pearlfisher
Landlord.
Thanks both ,leaf it is then. :thumb:
Stihler
Well-Known Member
Both hop pellets and whole hops are advantages and disadvantages.
Hop pellets are compact and take up less storage space. Being finely ground they once in the wort they have a great deal more surface area than whole hops to interact with the wort during the boil. Generally speaking, with all things being equal one should use about 10% less hop pellets than whole hops.
Being compressed into pellets the surface area to volume ratio of the dry hop pellets is less than that of whole hops. As a result, pellets tend to store better; there is less area to react with any air that might be present.
I find hop pellets good for most purposes but unlike calmscott I don't particularly like using hop pellets for dry hopping. Because of the fine grinding, hop pellets are more difficult to contain. This is not to say they cannot be contained in a muslin bag but I had problems the times I've used hop pellets for dry hopping.
Whole hops take up a bit more space in the freezer and are not as stable in terms of storage.
One advantage to using whole hops is that they form a filter bed when pouring the cooled wort into the fermenter and help keep at least some of the hot break out.
I would say, however, the greatest advantage of whole hops over pellets is a matter of aesthetics rather than practicality. You are not using something that has been processed. You can clearly see that whole hops were once part of a living plant. There is a connection with history. Brewers have been doing exactly what you are doing for hundreds of years.
Cheers,
Scott
Hop pellets are compact and take up less storage space. Being finely ground they once in the wort they have a great deal more surface area than whole hops to interact with the wort during the boil. Generally speaking, with all things being equal one should use about 10% less hop pellets than whole hops.
Being compressed into pellets the surface area to volume ratio of the dry hop pellets is less than that of whole hops. As a result, pellets tend to store better; there is less area to react with any air that might be present.
I find hop pellets good for most purposes but unlike calmscott I don't particularly like using hop pellets for dry hopping. Because of the fine grinding, hop pellets are more difficult to contain. This is not to say they cannot be contained in a muslin bag but I had problems the times I've used hop pellets for dry hopping.
Whole hops take up a bit more space in the freezer and are not as stable in terms of storage.
One advantage to using whole hops is that they form a filter bed when pouring the cooled wort into the fermenter and help keep at least some of the hot break out.
I would say, however, the greatest advantage of whole hops over pellets is a matter of aesthetics rather than practicality. You are not using something that has been processed. You can clearly see that whole hops were once part of a living plant. There is a connection with history. Brewers have been doing exactly what you are doing for hundreds of years.
Cheers,
Scott
calumscott
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Stihler said:
Ah! I don't try to contain them... Just chuck them in 5 or 6 days into the ferment. They bob about, break up, eventually get waterlogged and sink into the yeast cake...
It doesn't get easier!
bobsbeer
Well-Known Member
I think it's a pond thing TBH. I started my AG brewing in the USA where hop pellets are the most common form available. Then moved back to the UK where leaf is the most common. TBH I find leaf to be the best when it comes to filtering at the end of the boil, but storage is another thing. Pellets are easier to measure and less bulky. When brewing in the USA I used a disk hop filter with 1/8" holes with no problem. So I would say try them if you can get pellets.
