Do you prefer pellets or leafs for dry hopping?

I like pellets. I toss em in for 5-7 days. Cold crash for a day or two. Rack the beer to keg/bottling bucket.

 

I loosely bag pellets (big grain bag to give them plenty of room to swim) then drop them into the keg for a week or two.

 

I like leaf, whenever possible. I think I like the flavors/aromas better, but have not done direct A/B comparison in finished beers. Also, I normally dry hop in the keg, so if nothing else, leaf hops at least tend to stay in the hop bag compared to pellets. (Finer mesh might solve that issue too. I tend to use muslin bags because I have a bunch of them. Haven't tried paint strainer bags.)

 

I prefer pellets for dry hopping and other hopping additions (bittering, flavor, end of boil, etc.).

The advantage of pellets hops over whole hops is that they stay fresh longer. The ‘shelf life’ of whole hops is pretty limited; less than a year.

Below is from the HopUnion website:

“How long will my hops stay fresh?

Hop deterioration is impacted by numerous variables, the two most important being heat exposure and oxidation. For properly sealed, nitrogen flushed pellets, customers can expect a 3-4 year life expectancy. Raw hops however have a much shorter life span (approximately 6 months to 1 year). Regardless of the product size or packaging, hops should be stored in a cold, air tight environment to ensure optimum freshness and quality.”

Cheers!

 

Normally I do pellets (5-7 days), but my last batch - a double IPA - I used hop leaves.
As much as I wanted to I am hard pressed to tell a difference.

 

Not sure if I'd say better in my experience, just different. Pellets always seem to have a little more roughness and punch (stronger flavors) than leaf counterparts, whereas the flavors from leaf hops seem to be a touch more balanced, complex and a little more grassy.

Own personal preference, dry hopping in primary with pellets, then keg hopping with leaf if double dry hopping. When keg hopping at 38 F it takes about 2-3 weeks for the leaf dry hops to hit their stride, whereas primary dry hops at 68-70 F take about 7-10 days to reach peak flavor and aroma for me.

 

I do one stage of pellets directly into the primary and then dry hop in fine mesh bag in the keg for round 2. If doing 2 rounds. If only one round, then it is into the keg at room temp for 5-7 days then into the keezer.

 

Either. I have a huge "spice ball" that holds an ounce of pellets or I use a paint stainer bag for whole leaf. I add to primary once TG reached and leave them there for 3-4 days.

 

Pellets

 

This.

 

I use both, depending on what's on hand. I seem to think that I like leaf better for the flavours they impart, but have no direct evidence, may just be mental. On the other hand, I really like that pellets seem to absorb less beer, and thus, more for me!!

 

I like plugs and fresh hops : )

 

You can still get plugs?? I haven't seen them in forever.

 

OK, you caught me BSing...it has been a couple years since I bought any, but if they were available and not so frickin expensive, I'd like them : )
http://www.americanbrewmaster.com/Hop-Plugs
http://www.thegrape.net/browse.cfm/hop-plugs/2,1206.html
http://homebrew-supplies.homebrewmart.com/hop-plugs-c28.aspx
They're out there...mostly English varieties.

 

Pellets, owing to less beer uptake by pellets when compared to whole leaf. Also, easier to get pellets into a carboy. I add either without using a container.

 

Pellets are easier and absorb less wort. As long as I'm bottling I have no reason to use leaf for dry hopping unless I don't have that hop in pellet form. In the boil I really don't have a particular preference. If a reason to have a specific preference were to come up, I'd consider it.

 

There's just a je ne sais pas de quoi ~fresh dry leaf for d-hoppin' that's more better than pellets.

 

I always try to use leaf, but never looked into the science of it. I'm sure there's less surface area exposed, but it's easier to rack off of and, probably psychosomatic, gives me a more floral feel.

 

I'll use either one as long as they are fresh. The last 2-3 years I've used almost exclusively whole hops. However, I'm probably going to go back to pellets just because they take up so much less room in my freezer (I usually buy in bulk).