Cones vs pellets

[Dai]

Afternoon,

I have only ever used hop pellets, but have just bought some fresh cascade hop cones to try out in my next brew. Was wondering if you add them in the same quantities as pellets to get the same IBU's. Have heard that you should add c. 20%, but I can't find this in my books to confirm.

Also, do you notice much difference in taste between cone and pellet if added at the bittering stage? I was thinking that if the differences were minimal at this stage, then I would mainly use the cones late in the boil and for dry hopping, and use my pellets for early on. Could make my supplies go a bit further then...

Some advice would be most appreciated. Dai.

[Dan]

Ive never really worried too much about the utilisation between pellets and cones, (Im a bit lazy there), but you'll get more bitterness (AA's) out of pellets, maybe 10-20% and I doubt there is much difference in (taste) between pellets and cones for bittering! obviously more bitter if using pellets.
As for late additions, flavour hops, aroma, dry hopping, I far prefer using cones, in my opinion they can give a smoother, less harsh and more lively flavour, especially when dry hopping, and help to get a clearer runoff but dont keep as long as pellets.
Personally i,d be happy to use cones solely, but i,d be stuck with nz hops, and they would be going stale in my freezer and take up alot of space.
Just my opinion!

[Stu McKinlay]

I used flowers once and I'd not use them again without some modification to my brewery (or putting them in a bag). Pellets don't get stuck in the tap!
I like the idea of a fale bottom in my kettle to allow the hop flowers to act as a filter as the wort drains out.

As for utilisation, there are plenty of calculators around. They all use different methods of calculating IBU. You can download a free evaluation copy of promash and calculate on that. I calculate all my recipes on there but then write them in a book - I prefer the physical record.

[Greig McGill]

Speaking of IBU calculations, I was listening to this podcast recently which throws a few spanners in the works in terms of what we think we know about IBUs:

"John Palmer, author of How to Brew, shares information from a conference that challenged his concept of what defines an International Bitterness Unit (IBU)."

Download podcast here

[Stu McKinlay]

I'm not too big on IBU. I don't carry an iso-alpha-acidometer around with me. I prefer descriptors.

Here's my scale - less scientific but more useful
Not bitter
Hardly bitter
A little bittle
Fairly bitter
Firmly bitter
Really bitter
F*ckin' bitter
Ridiculously bitter

Some of the most bitter beers around hardly taste bitter at all.

The same applies to all of the "specs" in style guides. In the end a judge and a consumer only judge beers on what they see, smell and taste - they're not judging them in a lab. Colour is probably the most ridiculous one.

[Greig McGill]

Agree totally, but I'm always interested in the science also.
I like your scale.

[Dai]

Thanks for the comments. Not too worried about IBUs either, but the bitterness levels I get with pellets suits my tastes, so I want to try and replicate this with cones; hence the + or - 20% bit. Either way, I am pretty sure I'll end up with a tasty brew. Bring on Sunday!