Cones v's Pellets?

[gibbocore]

anyone have an opinion as to what is better or easier to use, the HBS gives me the optiona nd i alway's go for pellets cause i've never used anything else.

Thoughts?

[ryan]

cones are great. I`m havin another right now Forget all yourtroubles

[Chris]

I think pellets are easier simply due to the fact that they tend to stay fresher for longer.

Plus you don't need as much weight-wise.

Aside from that, give the cones a go and see how it works.

[Aussie Claret]

Are you talking about hops or pot (rteference to the cones)

Cones AKA Plugs are my preference or flowers best of all!
Reason when adding to the boil less mess or when dry hopping find them easier and less messier. Note if you are using beer smith or promash change the form of hop to pellet / plug or flower as the utilisation is lower for the flowers or plugs.

Chris I thought that plugs kept fresher due to less surface area than pellets.

AC

[gibbocore]

ahh, interesting, so are plugs similar to flowers?

[heathen]

hello, this thread had me thinking for quite a while, hops are similar to dacca, similar plant and similar stuff we want: the resin, my understanding is that plugs are like the bud of the plant, and pellets would be like hash, ie, compressed resin. therefore plugs would not contain as much of the alpha acid or smell or bittering qualities as pellets. but, as far as how much a 14gram plug of perle(as an example) is worth compared to pellets i dont know and would be very interested to find out myself, would it require double the plugs ie 14grams plug = 7 grams pellets? i hope not. sorry im no help, regards, heathen

[Trough Lolly]

ahh, interesting, so are plugs similar to flowers?

Basically fresh hops are available to brewers in three forms (I don't consider tea bags of hops to be fresh hops):


Flowers - Top LHS, Plugs (compressed flowers) - Bottom LHS, and in pellets - RHS...Each have their benefits; for example, hop flowers are much easier to strain out of the kettle compared to pellets.

Here's a picture of the hop flowers on the bine - before they're harvested.


Given the cost of hops, many brewers grow their own hop plants from the root stock or rhizome. I grow Chinook, PoR and Goldings and when you consider it cost me $25 per rhizome and we can get a kilo or so of hops per plant each season, the economic benefits are there - not to mention the incredibly fresh hop flavours you get from your own plantings...Grumpys sells rhizomes online as do other online HBS shops - in fact, July is a good time to be buying rhizomes before spring planting.

Hope this helps...

Cheers,
TL

[gibbocore]

That's awesome, cheers TL!

Do you get the same yeild of oils and alpha acids per gram of flowers as you do pellets?

[Trough Lolly]

Good question!
Generally you get the same - perhaps a tad more in pellets but when you think about it, 100g of flowers either whole or crushed up and turned into pellets will yield very similar quantities of alpha and beta acids etc....but it's an often debated point on probrewer websites so I won't start up another one here!
In my experience, I've found pelletized hops last longer in the freezer compared to whole flowers and they do take up less space in the freezer.

Cheers,
TL

[ryan]

hello, this thread had me thinking for quite a while, hops are similar to dacca, similar plant and similar stuff we want: the resin, my understanding is that plugs are like the bud of the plant, and pellets would be like hash, ie, compressed resin. therefore plugs would not contain as much of the alpha acid or smell or bittering qualities as pellets. but, as far as how much a 14gram plug of perle(as an example) is worth compared to pellets i dont know and would be very interested to find out myself, would it require double the plugs ie 14grams plug = 7 grams pellets? i hope not. sorry im no help, regards, heathen

There`s roughly 10% diff. between flowers and pellets. That is if you had a recipe calling for 50g. of hop flowers, but you want to use pellets, you would decrease 50g. by 10% giving you 45g. of pellets.
If the recipe calls for pellets but you want to use flowers, increase by 10%. So for 50g. of pellets, you would use 55g. of flowers.

[heathen]

ty ryan, that actually sounds almost neglible difference, i had assumed a much higher difference, rather wonderful news, regards, heathen

[ryan]

Don`t forget mate, that`s flower/pellet ratio diff.
Whether there is any difference to that with PLUGS because of PLUGS being compressed, I don`t know. Check before you use them.

[rwh]

It's a bit late to buy rhizomes this year, all the suppliers I've tried have stopped taking orders (and that was a month ago).

[Trough Lolly]

Geez, ya gotta be quick!
I potted out some Goldings and Chinook cuttings last year and made a bit of loot on the side at $5 a plant - might have to have another go this summer!!

Cheers,
TL

[rwh]

Well, if you feel like sending me one, I'd be happy to pay (especially the Goldings)!

[Turner]

i dont mind the odd cone, haha

[drsmurto]

Pick me, pick me!

If you do get motivated TL, i'd be more than happy to pay for a cutting of both the chinook and golding.

[Aussie Claret]

Geez, ya gotta be quick!
I potted out some Goldings and Chinook cuttings last year and made a bit of loot on the side at $5 a plant - might have to have another go this summer!!

Cheers,
TL

I'd be in that too TL, looks like you might have an order base already
Cheers
AC

[rwh]

I reckon he's probably regretting mentioning it.

[drsmurto]

Or counting the $$$$$$