Typically when I open a bag of hop pellets, I have dark green pieces that are loose, separate and dry. But occasionally I have a bag (Saaz and Ultra come to mind) where the hops seemed to have expanded, gotten soft and are almost stuck together. If you emptied them into a bowl to weigh them or whatever, they would probably come apart but some may still be stuck together. The resulting beer (in pretty much all cases) is just fine. But is this a matter of old or mishandled hops or is it something about the makeup of certain varieties that would cause this? I am expecting a shipment from Farmhouse Supply today and there will be Ultra, Saphir, Willamette and Crystal. I'd be interested to see the Ultras because last time all four ounces were in this expanded and soft condition. Cheers Beerheads.