![]() The latter concept was designed to reduce overall processing. A newer method is to transfer whole hops from the conditioning floor directly to the pellet mill without baling being done before hand. Pellets can be created when a bale of hops is broken down by a “bale breaker”, milled, and then pressed through dyes into pellets. Pelleted hops come from one of two sources. What are Pellet Hops? Most breweries use pelleted hops as their processing method of choice. ![]() Whole cone hops are generally less efficient than their pellet counterparts at providing alpha acid for isomerization in wort however this alone has lost its weight in selecting to use either product. “Whole cone hops are labor intensive, as brewers are forced to sift through every bit of hop material to further clean them on their way to the kettle or fermentation vessel.”Īlso, due to the extremely high load of large particulate involved with whole cone hops, brewers are forced to create or include large straining equipment (hopbacks, inline strainers, etc.) to filter out the large amount of vegetal material. This is mitigated by heavy mixing in the cleaning, kilning, and packaging process however not as much as pelleting provides. Variation is high in baled hops as individual bales can have slight or major variation in character and flavor impact, as well as difference in alpha acid content. At times, the cleaning methods of incoming harvested hops is at times inadequate and thus whole cone hops do not always undergo a secondary cleaning of stick and leaf material. Also, the packaging material is not sealed, thus oxidation effects the outer layers or exposed layers of hops. Whole cone hops require massive amounts of cold storage space to remain as fresh as possible. Why to not use Whole Cone Hops? Many issues arise with the selection of whole cone hops as the main source for hopping. Intensive research with flavor panels has verified in many cases that whole cone hops are the right choice for the craft brewers that select them. The overarching nostalgia of whole cone hops plays little role in choosing to remain a whole flower hop brewery. The flavor impact and loss of utilization are controlled by the craft brewers with added processes or equipment. Perceived advantages include less processing of a raw material, greater ability to select specific hop characters by contracting individual lots, price savings in reduced processing, and quicker turnaround on contracted hop varieties. Why use Whole Cone Hops? The thought behind using whole cone hops varies among the brewers that use them. Thus, beneath the packaging, is pressed whole cone hops that are layered because of the pressing of whole cone hops. Bales come in multiple sizes throughout the world but the common American bale weighs approximately 200 pounds (more or less depending on the baling machine). ![]() The bale packaging for many years was burlap but this has fallen out of favor in recent times being replaced by a vinyl material. What are Whole Cone Hops? Whole cone hops are those hops that are harvested and kilned, then baled after a conditioning time of usually no more than 24 hours. ![]() While most of the craft brewers in the United States have utilized pellet hops since the beginning, the reasons for this discrepancy amongst breweries are myriad and just a few of the major ones shall be covered below. Some brewers (Sierra Nevada, Deschutes, Victory, et al.) hold to the ideal that whole cone hops provide a definitive and unique hop character that lacks in specifics as to what that preferred quality may be. Among brewers, the “controversy” surrounding which to use has swirled on for years.
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