Leaf Hops to Pellet Hops

Question

I've seen conversions of like.. add 10% when going from pellet hope to leaf hops.

My question is probably numb nuts.. i.e., I see recipes that have leaf hops in them and I want to use pellet hops...

So, if the recipe calls for: 0.3 oz Liberty whole hops w/ 4.5% a.a. how much would I use if using pellets? Same with German Halertauer hold hops asking for 1 oz of 4.3% a.a.

My assumption ;-) ... if going in the opposite direction.. pellet to whole you would add 10%.. then going from leaf to pellet you would use 10% less ?????

Thanks for the help.

Answer 1

I just use the same amount, under the idea that the different in weight is about the same as the difference in utilization. It just really does not matter at the end of the day; you're talking differences of "10%" with error bars of "5%".

Answer 2

The conventional wisdom rule of thumb is to use 10% less pellets than whole hops to maintain the bitterness. Notice I said bitterness...for later additions for flavor and aroma, a 1:1 ratio is fine.

Answer 3

Given that no two plants within a particular variety will produce exactly the same hops, I doubt it will vary significantly more when you compare whole leaf to pellets. This is the same reason why stats about a hop are often given as a range. I think you're fine just substituting the pellets in without making any changes.

I have used both and found little flavor difference. I tend to use pellets, but that's just for ease of use and storage. I have a hop spider that I built and it was a pain to stuff all the whole leaf into it. Although the whole leaf was pretty easy to use dry hopping and didn't clog up my racking cane, like the pellets can.