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In 'The Shop' today, I asked to purchase 12g of Cascade hops to add aroma to my latest brew. The HB guy immediately headed to the hop pellet bin when I asked, impertinantly " Couldn't I just use one of these teabags?" His response was "Yeah it probably won't make much difference."

So, my question to the more experienced brewers is, does a Cascade teabag have a similar effect to, say 12g of Cascade pellets in a stocking? Have you had different results using either method? Interested in your experiences!

They are exactly the same except 1 is in a teabag, sometimes if i only want a small amount ill just tear open the teabag and throw in the pellets

why bother using a teabag or stocking. Just throw them straight in . racking will get rid of the hops

morgs wrote:why bother using a teabag or stocking. Just throw them straight in . racking will get rid of the hops

I agree, i have only used a teabag once ( just for the experience) and i dont use em now, straight in the pot with everything else, correct intervals obviously, and then str8 into the fermenter, sometimes i strain but not often anymore, i suppose teabags would be good for dry hopping but i dont usually do this

Now thats a funny thing. As I ripped open the foil packet the teabag came in, I thought "The things in here feel just like those pellets HB guy showed me!"

He also had cones. Do you use these in the same way or they for more advanced brewers?

Thanks for your responses. I made my first brew about 5 years ago & while the basic kit & kilo are good, since finding this forum I realise they can be so much better. Sorry if i'm asking the same old questions but I have a thousand of them & this seems to be the place to get some good ideas!

Hop cones are also known as fresh hops. Basically they're the hop flower which hasn't been chopped and pressed into a pellet. Better for dry hopping because they haven't been as highly processed and thus have lost less of the volatile compounds (also easier to strain out). Drawback is they go off faster.

http://www.hopsdirect.com/news/article.src?ID=2

Brewing is something I love but it doesnt warrant wasting money. Teabags are not a good economic option. They serve a purpose like all single use fancy packaged consumables but I have always used pellets.

muddy

i prefer loose pellets - if for no other reason than they are a shirtload cheaper than the 'teabags'.

rwh wrote:Hop cones are also known as fresh hops. Basically they're the hop flower which hasn't been chopped and pressed into a pellet. Better for dry hopping because they haven't been as highly processed and thus have lost less of the volatile compounds (also easier to strain out). Drawback is they go off faster.

http://www.hopsdirect.com/news/article.src?ID=2

I found cones, as well as plugs, tend to float alot more than pellets. If I'm dry hopping with either I generally use a hop bag.

rwh wrote:Hop cones are also known as fresh hops. Basically they're the hop flower which hasn't been chopped and pressed into a pellet. Better for dry hopping because they haven't been as highly processed and thus have lost less of the volatile compounds (also easier to strain out). Drawback is they go off faster.

http://www.hopsdirect.com/news/article.src?ID=2

Drawback is they go off faster.

Glad you mentioned that. Just bought first Hops cone yesterday.

I have always used pellets and I have thrown them in holters bolters + Strained and did not notice a hell of a difference. Except the Hallertau, which was a little stronger for some reason or another??

With all types of hops, pellets, plugs or flowers; what is important is their age and how they've been stored.
The fresher the better, if you use hop tea bags all well and good (BUT if when you open the foil packet you can't small a strong aroma, then chances are that they aren't that fresh).
I use pellets, plugs and flowers, my preference is always flowers or plugs which I use to add aroma and flavour and dry hop. However when these aren't available I use pellets. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using pellets so long as they are fresh and generally you'll find that you have a greater variety and availability of pellets over flowers and plugs.

When the packet is first opened you should have an intense aroma and the colour for pellets should be dark green, if they have started to turn brown then they probably arn't that fresh.

If I'm dry hopping approx 1g / litre. into the secondary.

All hops should be stores in air tight containers in the freezer as they will keep alot longer.

AC