Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: Hops  (Read 2046 times)

Offline synthesis

  • 1st Kit
  • *
  • Posts: 2
Hops
« on: December 16, 2012, 08:28:38 am »
Would someone be able to give some insight on the difference between the hops pellets, plugs, and whole hops?

Offline denny

  • Administrator
  • Retired with too much time on my hands
  • *****
  • Posts: 27070
  • Noti OR [1991.4, 287.6deg] AR
    • Dennybrew
Re: Hops
« Reply #1 on: December 16, 2012, 10:38:46 am »
Hop plugs are whole hops that have been compressed.  Pellets are hops that have been ground up and run through a pelletizer.  IMO, no one form is necessarily better than another.  I tend to prefer pellets when I buy continental hops becasue they keep better.
Life begins at 60.....1.060, that is!

www.dennybrew.com

The best, sharpest, funniest, weirdest and most knowledgable minds in home brewing contribute on the AHA forum. - Alewyfe

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell

Offline hopfenundmalz

  • Global Moderator
  • I must live here
  • *****
  • Posts: 10675
  • Milford, MI
Re: Hops
« Reply #2 on: December 16, 2012, 10:54:23 am »
Hop plugs are whole hops that have been compressed.  Pellets are hops that have been ground up and run through a pelletizer.  IMO, no one form is necessarily better than another.  I tend to prefer pellets when I buy continental hops becasue they keep better.

And they take up less space, so that you can get obsessive amounts of German/Czech hops in your freezer. I know this to be true.

My system works a little better with whole hops, though.

Edit - Plugs are harder to find these days. They were used in England for dry hopping in the cask, just put the correct number in and fill the cask. Those were 1/2 oz. plugs.
« Last Edit: December 16, 2012, 11:58:59 am by hopfenundmalz »
Jeff Rankert
AHA Lifetime Member
BJCP National
Ann Arbor Brewers Guild
Home-brewing, not just a hobby, it is a lifestyle!

Offline erockrph

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 7786
  • Chepachet, RI
    • The Hop WHisperer
Re: Hops
« Reply #3 on: December 16, 2012, 11:43:16 am »
You get a little bit better utilization from pellets than whole cones. Pellets absorb less wort, so that may be an advantage in beers that use a large quantity of hops.
In favor of whole cones is that there is the potential to lose some of the delicate hop oils during the pelletizing process, and although I haven't been able to distinguish a difference in my experience. Whole cones are also better suited to things like hop backs and Randalls.

I prefer to buy pellets when I can to save space in my hop hoard, but I wouldn't think twice about buying whole hops if that's the only way to get a certain variety.
Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer

Offline BrewArk

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 575
  • Rick - Newark, California
    • BrewArk
Re: Hops
« Reply #4 on: December 17, 2012, 04:15:20 pm »
Home grown hops are usually whole.  :P
Beer...Now there's a temporary solution!

Na ZdravĂ­

Offline davidgzach

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1698
Re: Hops
« Reply #5 on: December 18, 2012, 10:03:12 am »
+1 to everything above.  I find whole hops to be easier to clean up.  I use muslin sacks and just toss in, drain and throw out when done.  Straining to primary is much easier and my wort is very clean.  I make a lot of light lagers and reuse my yeast so this is important to me, not necessarily the brewing process itself.

Dave
Dave Zach