Has anyone ever tried to use hop lpugs for dry hopping instead of whole
hops? Will they "expand" or should I "break" them up?
Thanks
--
Michael Herrenbruck
DragonTail Ale
Drunken Bee Mead

dropping them in whole works just fine. after a short while they'll
"dissolve" and flavor your wort.

next time you might try whole hops, if you can get them fresh, just so
you can feel the sticky resins. i find that it helps understand the
ingredients better if i see/feel/taste them in their original form.
whole hops aren't necessarily better, they're just differerent. fresh
hop pellets/plugs are better than stale whole hops.

happy trails,
dan

On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 21:00:35 GMT, DragonTail <DragonTail281@gmail.com>
wrote:
[color=blue]
>Has anyone ever tried to use hop lpugs for dry hopping instead of whole
>hops? Will they "expand" or should I "break" them up?
>Thanks[/color]

Ditto. I agree with snowmannishboy . Pellets/plugs are easier to
use, but fresh whole hops really start to shine in the aroma
department.

The better suppliers use a metalized polyester envelope and vacuum
pack the pellets and whole hops. Freeze them (fresh or pellet) to
preserve them. The color should be similar to evergreen shrubs for
pellets - olive drab pellets are old pellets - still OK for bittering
but forget aroma. Lighter color is acceptable for whole hops. (and
whole hops are harder to judge)

Most commercial beer has no hop aroma. "Dry" or "cold" hopping gives
the best hop aroma.

Grow your own if you're serious about hops. They are easy to grow and
tolerate a wide climate range. Rhizomes (roots) are available during
the early spring.