Author: Phil Rusher

Brewers today have many choices when it comes to ingredients, not just in terms of type, but the form in which things come. In earlier times, whole hop cones were picked from the bine, dried, then used in the brewing process. While there was little argument whole cone hops imparted the desired characteristics, they tended to take up quite a bit of space and absorb a decent amount of liquid, leading to decreased yield. Pellet hops were developed to address these concerns, allowing brewers to not only store larger quantities, but use more in their beer without sacrificing as much of the finished product.

The general process for pelletizing hops involves taking the dried whole cones, pulverizing them into a powder, then forcing them through a die to the desired pellet size. This sounds simple, but the process is actually quite involved, as factors such as heat need to be considered throughout. Given all that goes into turning hops into convenient little pellets, there are some who contend the less processed whole cones lead to a higher quality hop character, whereas others feel they can be used interchangeably.

As someone who started brewing when pellet hops were the norm, that’s what I’ve used exclusively over the years, and since I tend to enjoy the beers I make, I’m admittedly skeptical of claims whole cones are any better. Curious to learn more, I picked up some whole cone and pellets of the same variety and year to test it out.

| PURPOSE |

To evaluate the differences between beers made with either whole cone or pellet hops of the same variety and crop year.

| METHODS |

Interested in testing the impact hops processed in different ways have when used in both the boil and dry hop, I went with a simple single-hop American IPA for this xBmt.

Function Over Form

Recipe Details Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV 5.5 gal 60 min 54.2 IBUs 8.0 SRM 1.065 1.012 7.1 % Actuals 1.065 1.013 6.9 % Fermentables Name Amount % Lamonta American-style Pale Malt (Mecca Grade) 7 lbs 50 Vanora Vienna-style Malt (Mecca Grade) 7 lbs 50 Hops Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha % Mosaic 25 g 60 min Boil Pellet 12.6 Mosaic 20 g 30 min Boil Pellet 12.6 Mosaic 40 g 1 min Boil Pellet 12.6 Mosaic 100 g 5 days Dry Hop Pellet 12.6 Yeast Name Lab Attenuation Temperature Loki (A43) Imperial Ogranic Yeast 80% 65°F - 100°F Notes Water Profile: Ca 73 | Mg 0 | Na 30 | SO4 150 | Cl 55 Download Download this recipe's BeerXML file

I started things off by collecting the proper volume of RO water a couple days ahead of time.

I also threw together a starter of Imperial Yeast A43 Loki.

To start off my brew day, I adjusted the water to my desired profile and began heating up before milling identical sets of grain for each batch.

With the water adequately heated, I stirred in the grains and set each Grainfather to maintain the same 152°F/67°C mash temperature.

While waiting on the mash, I weighed out the kettle hop additions for each batch. Seeing as the alpha acid content between the whole cone and pellet hops were so similar, each batch received the same amount of hops.

Following the 60 minute mash rest, I removed the grains, sparged, then set the controller to heat the wort. Both batches were boiled for 60 minutes with hops added at the same points listed in the recipe, after which each wort was quickly chilled.

The difference in the amount of hop material left in each batch was quite drastic.

Refractometer readings showed both worts achieved the same OG.

Equal volumes of wort were racked to identical Brew Buckets that I placed in the same chamber controlled to 73°F/23°C before splitting the yeast starter between the batches.

After 2 days of fermentation, I returned to add the dry hop charges to each beer.

Unsurprisingly, the whole cone hops took up much more space than the pellets in my stainless dry hop filters.

After 8 additional days, I took hydrometer measurements showing the beer hopped with whole cones finished 0.001 SG point lower than the beer hopped with pellets.

I left the beers alone for another day before confirming no change in FG, at which point I proceeded with transferring the beers to CO2 purged kegs.

The filled kegs were placed in my cool keezer and burst carbonated. After a couple weeks of cold conditioning, both were ready to serve.

| RESULTS |

A total of 21 people of varying levels of experience participated in this xBmt. Each participant was served 2 samples of the beer made with whole cone hops and 1 sample of the beer made with pellet hops in different colored opaque cups then asked to identify the unique sample. In all, 12 tasters (p<0.05) would have had to identify the unique sample in order to reach statistical significance, which is exactly the number who did (p=0.021), indicating participants in this xBmt were able to reliably distinguish a beer made with whole cones from one made with hop pellets.

The 12 participants who made the accurate selection on the triangle test were instructed to complete a brief preference survey comparing only the beers that were different. A total of 3 tasters reported preferring the whole cone hop beer, another 3 said they liked the pellet hop beer more, and 6 had no preference despite noticing a difference.

My Impressions: Out of the 6 triangle tests I attempted, I chose the odd-beer-out every single time, which blew my mind because I was wholly expecting these beers to turn out identical. Both beers had the typical tropical fruit flavors I associate with Mosaic hops, but they seemed more prominent in the beer hopped with whole cones.

| DISCUSSION |

Hops are an essential component of beer, and with the popularity of the various types of IPA that exist these days, making sure to get the highest quality hop character is of utmost importance. A decision every brewer has to make is whether to go with whole cone or pellet hops, and the fact tasters in this xBmt were able to tell apart beers made with either type suggests it may very well have an impact.

One unavoidable caveat to this xBmt is that, despite the hops being of the same variety and crop year, as well as from the same source, there’s no way to be certain they came from the same farm or processor. As such, it’s impossible to say with confidence that the differences perceived by tasters in this xBmt were due only to the form the hops were in, as it could be a function of something like growing conditions, processing, etc. Regardless, these aren’t the types of factors most brewers have much control over, and given preference ratings were split down the middle, I’d suggest each brewer try it out for themselves to determine what works best.

This being my first time using whole cone hops, I can say it wasn’t a bad experience at all. While I enjoyed both beers, I did have a slight preference for the one made with whole cones because it was a bit brighter in terms of hop character. That said, brewing the beers for this xBmt reminded me of just how convenient pellet hops are, as they take up much less space in the kettle and, in my opinion, are markedly easier to store and use. I think I have a very slight personal preference for working with pelletized hops, but I will certainly not shy away from using whole cone hops moving forward.

If you have any thoughts about this xBmt, please do not hesitate to share in the comments section below!

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