Leaf hops and their affect on yield

[RussG]

I'm planning on dry hopping my next IPA with leaf hops instead of pellets. What kind of affect can I expect on my yield by using leaf hops?

[LiquidTao]

Hey RussG,

I'm not exactly sure what you are asking here as far as effect on yield. Your dry hop is primarily about aroma although hop oils will be released as well so there is flavor imparted - flavor is different from that imparted by late boil additions. Dry hop flavor will perhaps be more 'grassy', 'resinous', or 'piney' depending on varities. You will also of course use more fresh hops than pelleted when used in any part of the process as pellets have a higher utilization. I have heard different values and perhaps someone can correct this but for what its worth, Utilization; fresh hops 20% - 30%, regular pellets 30% - 40%, isomerized pellets 50% - 60%, isomerized extract 70% - 90%. Cheers!

[RussG]

I've read that leaf hops absorb beer while they're in the fermenter and, by inquiring about yield, I was asking how much beer I can expect to "lose" due to that absorbing.


Thanks!

[Mashman]

Russ,
First off I think you should always dry hop with leaf hops. The amount of beer loss is going to be minimal. Something to think about is how your going to add the hops. If you put them in a hop bag it will be easier to rack your finished beer, but you won't get as good of flavor as you would if you put them in loose. If you do put them in loose use a stainless chore boy scrubber on the end of your racking cane, this will help filter out the hop bits in your beer.


Mashman

[Spider]

I have used leaf hops in both of my IPA's. I think that they work great. They sit on top, some fall to the bottom, and as far as racking I lost very little. I would think you would loose less, than if you used pellets.

[LiquidTao]

[quote="RussG"]I've read that leaf hops absorb beer while they're in the fermenter and, by inquiring about yield, I was asking how much beer I can expect to "lose" due to that absorbing.

Okay I gotcha. Take a weighed amount of leaf hops (1oz.?) and 3 oz. of water, adjust the water pH to that of the expected beer, add your measured hops to the water and let sit for a few days. Strain and measure remaining liquid. Scale up to brew size and you should get your expected loss.

[pvignola]

I have been using leaf hops to dry hop and I will switch to pellets from now on. I heard the tip on one of the shows here. All of the lupid gland have been exposed in pellets. In flowers they are not exposed and it seems pellets would be better for aroma. Pellets are a bit more messy, but for aroma they can't be beat as a dry hop. I will still brew with leaf, but for DH it's pellets from me from now on. I could be wrong, but I'm going to give it a shot. I don't not ans will not use hop bags for dry hopping at all. I just put the hops in, ans with flowers they stay at the top and the pellets will drop to the bottom.