17 replies to this topic

[VirginiaBeach]

Hello all,Just wondering if there is a preference to use hop pellets or hop plugs for bittering/flavor/aroma?My guess is pellets are fine for bittering, but you'd want plugs for flavor/aroma. Just a guess though.Thoughts?

[djinkc]

It doesn't matter. The type of hops and how they have been stored is more important. Personally, the only plugs I have had were suspect at best. I stick with whole or pellets.Some hops are best suited for bittering, some for flavor/aroma. Some can pull double duty.

[chuck_d]

I'm with DJ. Technically it doesn't matter as long as they are both fresh and well handled after production, but I've only very rarely used plugs and they were kind of suspect. They were in ingredient kits, so they basically premeasured for that recipe. Generally, I don't like them because I find them more difficult to deal with. They are harder to breakup into small increments and it's harder for me to judge their quality compared to whole or pellet hops. I choose whole hops first because my system is designed to handle them better than pellets.

[zymot]

To me whole leaf hops = plugs. Plugs look like whole leaf hops that were squeezed into the shape of a giant aspirin. Once they hit the wort, they fall apart and look like whole leaf hops to me. I use them ounce for ounce.As for where they are used in the boil? I guess leaf would be preferred over pellets the closer you get to flame out. The are pre expanded, so you should get full surface exposure earlier. But this is just off the top my head speculation.Some say when using pellets, you should use 10% less pellets than whole leaf hops. I do not know one way or the other. I guess that is should be mostly true, I have heard it enough times.With so many other variables in play, I use them 1 to 1 for leaf vs pellets. Why not? What is the worst that can happen? I make a hoppy and flavorful beer? Oh yeah, that would really suck. zymot

[3rd party JKor]

To me whole leaf hops = plugs. Plugs look like whole leaf hops that were squeezed into the shape of a giant aspirin. Once they hit the wort, they fall apart and look like whole leaf hops to me. I use them ounce for ounce.As for where they are used in the boil? I guess leaf would be preferred over pellets the closer you get to flame out. The are pre expanded, so you should get full surface exposure earlier. But this is just off the top my head speculation.Some say when using pellets, you should use 10% less pellets than whole leaf hops. I do not know one way or the other. I guess that is should be mostly true, I have heard it enough times.With so many other variables in play, I use them 1 to 1 for leaf vs pellets. Why not? What is the worst that can happen? I make a hoppy and flavorful beer? Oh yeah, that would really suck. zymot

Actually, it's the opposite. Pellets are better closer to flame out because the glands containing the oils, volatiles, etc, have mostly been broken open during the milling process, or at least exposed, so they spread their love much faster.

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

I use pellets most often because that is what I have available to me. I do like using plugs a lot though. They can be a pain if you need to use .33 oz of a hop, but that is the only draw back to me. Plugs are just simlpy whole leaf hops compressed into a disk. You can talk about lower utilization, but I really do not care about the changes in utilization. If the beer comes out hoppier than great.Ed

[3rd party JKor]

I use pellets most often because that is what I have available to me. I do like using plugs a lot though. They can be a pain if you need to use .33 oz of a hop, but that is the only draw back to me. Plugs are just simlpy whole leaf hops compressed into a disk. You can talk about lower utilization, but I really do not care about the changes in utilization. If the beer comes out hoppier than great.Ed

You bring up another nice thing about pellets, easy portioning and weighing of random quantities.Early in my brewing career I used mostly plugs, because they were available and I was enamored with seeing the whole hop cones floating around in the kettle . Maybe, I've grown jaded over time , but I don't care much for that any more. IMO, pellets are virtually always a superior form, so that's what I use.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

IMO, pellets are virtually always a superior form, so that's what I use.

I agree. They seem just as good to me and take up a lot less space.

[BrewerGeorge]

I can't say I've ever used plugs, but I use whole almost exclusively. My understanding is this: fresh whole hops are the absolute best option for all uses, but their quality deteriorates the quickest. Pelletizing them makes them take an initial quality hit compared to fresh leaf, but it stabilizes them at that level for a long time and they deteriorate slowly. Plugs are an attempt at a compromise between whole loose hops and pellets. They don't take the initial loss from pelletizing, but don't deteriorate as fast as loose leaf.

[Winkydowbrewing]

I agree with some of the points George makes. I use pellets namely because of the time which they keep for, they take up less space in my fridge, and for weighing out. I do have whole leaf and love using them, just a little less practical in my set-up. I think plugs are just weird. They are not as convenient to weight out, take up more space than pellets, and have been processed to a certain extent which I feel has to change their effectiveness to somewhere in between a whole leaf and pellet...so the question is, what are any of the real benefits of plugs?

[zymot]

...so the question is, what are any of the real benefits of plugs?

In my case it was the only form I could the Hallaertau I was looking for.Right now availability and selection influences my choice, not form factor.I do not mind plugs, breaking a 1 oz plug to get 0.50 oz is not hard. In my set up, whole leaf works best when draining the kettle. At that point plugs = leaf, so plugs are a welcome in my brewery.zymot

[BrewerGeorge]

...so the question is, what are any of the real benefits of plugs?

For one thing, I think the machinery to create plugs is much less expensive than pellets, and is probably cheaper to operate because I doubt it needs to be cooled as aggressively.

[3rd party JKor]

I agree with some of the points George makes. I use pellets namely because of the time which they keep for, they take up less space in my fridge, and for weighing out. I do have whole leaf and love using them, just a little less practical in my set-up. I think plugs are just weird. They are not as convenient to weight out, take up more space than pellets, and have been processed to a certain extent which I feel has to change their effectiveness to somewhere in between a whole leaf and pellet...so the question is, what are any of the real benefits of plugs?

Cheaper shipping for the manufactuer (less volume than whole leaf). Better shelf life than leaf.It's pretty much just a half-way stop to pelletizing. Some people probably have a emotional attachment to hop flowers as opposed to pellets.

[stellarbrew]

I favor plugs or whole hops for dry hopping, because they don't make such a mess in the fermenter as pellets do. Also, it may be my imagination, but I think the aroma from whole or plug hops retains some of the more delicate qualities that pellets seem to lack. I think the advantage of plugs over whole hops are that they do not deteriorate as fast, as George pointed out.I recently brewed an IIPA using whole hops exclusively, a total of 19 oz. of hops for 6 starting gallons, counting dry hops. The wort/beer soaked up and lost in the hops was in excess of a gallon (which I had fortunately accounted for). Next time I brew one of these, I will use pellets for most of the hopping, to keep from losing so much.

[3rd party JKor]

Also, it may be my imagination, but I think the aroma from whole or plug hops retains some of the more delicate qualities that pellets seem to lack.

See emotional attachment above.

Edited by JKoravos, 20 August 2009 - 09:15 AM.

[stellarbrew]

Also, it may be my imagination, but I think the aroma from whole or plug hops retains some of the more delicate qualities that pellets seem to lack..

See emotional attachment above.

Yeah, you might be right, it could be my emotions messing with me. I can't be sure. I haven't done a rigorous side-by-side comparison to test my perception.

[chuck_d]

You bring up another nice thing about pellets, easy portioning and weighing of random quantities.

That was my point too. It is the difference I see between leaf & plugs actually.

I do not mind plugs, breaking a 1 oz plug to get 0.50 oz is not hard.

That's true, but was about quarter ounces, eighth of an ounce? I personally find it more difficult to measure out small increments of plugs, and find it more difficult to inspect the plugs upon receipt of purchase. There are time when I'm using/packaging whole/leaf hops that I notice some leaves that I want to remove. Discolored, brown leaves I'll just pull out and throw in the trash, but I can't see if there are any of those packed into a plug. If plugs = leaves, they lack this "feature" for me.

[Salsgebom]

I can't say I've ever used plugs, but I use whole almost exclusively. My understanding is this: fresh whole hops are the absolute best option for all uses, but their quality deteriorates the quickest. Pelletizing them makes them take an initial quality hit compared to fresh leaf, but it stabilizes them at that level for a long time and they deteriorate slowly. Plugs are an attempt at a compromise between whole loose hops and pellets. They don't take the initial loss from pelletizing, but don't deteriorate as fast as loose leaf.

This is correct.I generally use pellets because they are more reliable. If I had the opportunity to appraise hops from a large selection each time I buy, I'd probably always end up choosing fresh whole hops. But since I have to order hops with my fingers crossed for freshness- I'm more likely to have stale cheesy hops when ordering whole leaf.Nigel, the owner of American Hop Plugs, lives in the next town over. When he releases the latest crop, they are ammaaazzzinnngg. But I really feel that you have to get them shortly after harvest season.