Leaf or Pellet

[Pjam]

Whats the difference? I used leaf in my last beer ............ but that choice was based on ........ I don't know what :?


I've got lots of daft newbie questions like this

 

[joe1002]

I think there was a similar post on here recently.

Anyhow, I have only ever used leaf hops. I have some pellet hops to try. I'm not sure on the difference it makes to your beer.

 

[Pjam]

I'm not sure on the difference it makes to your beer.

Nor me Joe. Could it be that pellets sink better?

 

[joe1002]

I can't find the post I was thinking of.

I have read that they sink when used to dry hop. I also seem to recall reading they block some hop filters but not sure which ones.

Do you have some hop pellets then?

 

[Pjam]

Do you have some hop pellets then?

No, but I was wondering if I need them. They look a bit processed to me but I could be missing a trick.

 

[jonnymorris]

I don't believe there is much difference though pellets are no good for filtering the wort at the end of the boil.

 

[bobsbeer]

I don't think there is much difference except that pellets are very finely chopped leaf hops and then compressed into pellets. The result is more of a muddy sludge in the bottom of your kettle, so no good as a filter bed. From a commercial point of view they take up less storage space and are easier to handle, weigh etc. They are very common in the USA, and that was all I could get from my local HBS when living in Florida. There I syphoned from the kettle after the hot break so was able to take off the wort above the trub leaving the hops and other trub behind rather than filter. The use of a sock on the racking cane also helped.

 

[thedrayman]

I understood it was the mechanical action of whole hops in a rolling boil that helped break up the protein clumps in the wort ensuring a good hot break. Am I wrong, or are pellets just as good for this?

 

[calumscott]

The prolonged heat is what cause the protein to denature, it can then flocculate. The hops have no bearing on this AFAIK.

I like whole hops for the kettle (for the filtering effect noted above) and pellet for dry hopping as you have more surface area for extraction, the structure of the leaf (or are they actually petals?) is broken, again helping the flavour get out and finally because once they get saturated they sink nicely into the trub making it easy to get clear wort off for finishing.

 

[Pjam]

It was when I was dry hopping I wondered if I might be better off with pellets.

And yes, of course, they are flowers so petals would be more accurate I'd have thought.