Thinking of using Pellets

[slurp]

NO NO NO NO dont use pellets :nono: well unless they are cheaper :?

 

[steve_flack]

Why?

 

[Rabmaxwell]

Not sure what gauge it is as i use splatter guards at the moment soldered together they are very cheap to make but have found that cheap splatter guards rust when left in water for a few weeks i now hang it up to dry after my brew & it's ok now vossi

 

[mysterio]

I reckon I get more aroma using pellets, with my limited experience. Oddly enough I think the aroma can be different, too, I had Styrian pellets which were much more citrusy than their whole flower counterparts. Could be a different 'vintage' though. Also I reckon dry hopping is better with pellets... no nasty grassy flavours.

I've got some of that inoxia mesh, i'm not doing the hopstopper clone, instead i'm just sewing it around my existing manifold - think that will work? Sewing with metal is a bugger :evil:

 

[slurp]

I actually agree with mysterio re the benefits of pellets plus i guess they are much easier to keep /store but are they as cheap as their whole hop counter parts ? there is also the difficulty working out how much you need in recipes that have used loose hops.I would need to be convinced the beers i brew now would be enhanced by using hops or their was a striaght finanial benefit

 

[steve_flack]

From Hop and Grape they cost about the same. I personally buy most of mine from craftbrewer as even with shipping they're cheaper than buying from UK stores and personally I find the quality excellent...and you can't fault the range he supplies.

 

[MEB]

I actually agree with mysterio re the benefits of pellets plus i guess they are much easier to keep /store but are they as cheap as their whole hop counter parts ? there is also the difficulty working out how much you need in recipes that have used loose hops. I would need to be convinced the beers i brew now would be enhanced by using hops or their was a striaght finanial benefit

You store cones in the same manner you would pellets, so i don't see any extra difficulty placing some hop cones in the freezer as opposed to pellets.

You use hops by weight-1g of pellets weigh's exactly the same as 1g of cones. No difficulty here. If the recipe states 30g hops it doesn't matter if it's cones or pellets, it's 30g.


Pellets are simply mashed up and compressed cones. I'd bet if someone were to test you blind on two identical brews, one with cones one with pellets you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I don't think anyone would.
It's all down to personal preference. I prefer cones cos my strainer doesn't work well with pellets. I use a mixture of both but i prefer cones because they work better for my system.

 

[Aleman]

MEB Utilisation is higher with pellets . . . by up to 5%, so a gram for gram substitution is only half the story . . . . Having a problem with under bittered beers at the mo myself . . . my Premium bitter does not taste any where near as bitter as my ordinary bitter. and the IRS doesn't have a massive bitterness either . . . despite the hop soup that it resembled :wha: :wha: :wha:

 

[MEB]

But that's only accounting for fresh. What about stored? That will be worse. You simply cannot take for granted whats printed on the packets, it's just a guideline. The same for cones really. If you really want to be pedantic then the AA% is only accurate for that batch of cones from that plant at that time surely?
In my opinion there is scarecly noticeable difference between the two in taste or usage terms. The big difference is the effect they have on the brewers strainer. That is the difference, not the taste. Saying that I truly believe that my brews i do with the early season hop cones are superior in bitterness, hop taste and aroma than the same brew done with 3 year old pellets kept in my freezer. But the same could apply in reverse.

I use cones when they are early season and available then i will mix my cones and pellets together throughout my brews. I'd prefer to use cones all year as they work so well with my strainer. But to say pellets are better is absurd IMO. As is saying Cones are better than Pellets. Cones would be, if you could get an endless fresh supply whenever you wanted. But you can't. So the virtues of pellets weigh in heavily with the purity of cones. Either way, with the variety of pellets we have available and the availability of cones(in NZ), the only person losing out is the brewer who doesn't try them all.

 

[Aleman]

Apples and pears

3 year old cones and 3 year old pellets . . the pellets will have a higher AA, and a better aroma (except saaz ) . . . . it is a measurable fact . . . and it has been ad nauseam . . . . . . I will admit though that I would, and do, prefer to use cones when fresh . . .

Also the 5% increase in utilisation of pellets is not because they have a higher AA% it is because that AA is more easily available during the boil . . . so for the same weight of hops or cones, of the same (est) AA, stored in the same way . . . the beer brewed with pellets will have a higher bitterness than that brewed with cones . . . measurably so . . . probably even taste able, the average person can distinguish between beers that are 4-5IBU apart, and I would bet that a 5% difference in utilisation will produce more than 5IBU (for the same weight of hops/duration of boil)

 

[subsub]

I.....I admit I am a pellet user :rofl: