Whole Hops vs Pellet Hops?

[HomebrewTownsend]

So, here is my question...

I know pellet hops have a higher efficiency in extracting AA's, and costs less than whole hops, but can make for a cloudier beer. That is unless you want to fund an expense for a filtration system, or kegerator for crash cooling. Which I don't have the allocated expense for at this time.

Whole hops seem to not attribute to beer haze nearly as much as pellets, but costs more. I would like to use whole leaf hops instead of pellets to help clear up the eventual haze. I know you can use them, however it appears most brewers don't, but some do.

What I want to ask is. Has anyone compared two separate batches, of the same style beer, only changing the hops you used? (Pellets vs. Whole)

-If so, was you IBU's significantly different?
-Did it significantly clear up you beer without going through a crash cool, or filtration?
-Would you continue to use Whole Hops?

 

[IslandLizard]

I use both leaf and pellets, whatever I can get. If there's a choice, I usually take pellets over leaf, mostly for storage space concerns, a factor 3-4 easily. I've never noticed haze from pellets more than from leaf, it all settles after cold crashing.

Pellets do tend to clog up my BK filter quicker, more thoroughly, and some of the fine hop dust makes it into the fermentors, together with break matter.

 

[eltorrente]

Pellets don't cause more haze.

There is no benefit from preventing pellets from entering the carboy. They don't add any negative flavors or effects on clarity, and they drop to the bottom and form with the trub anyway.

You'll lose more beer from using leaf in the boil than with pellets. Leaf absorbs much more beer per ounce than pellets do. You need to use at least ~10% more leaf than pellets for utilization puproses.

It feels better to use Leaf than pellets, because it seems like the process of making pellets somehow harms flavor in some way, but I haven't seen that at all. I use Leaf for Dry hopping only, but that's it. Pellets are so much easier and more efficient to use.

 

[NTXBrauer]

For me, it depends on what is available at my LHBS for the recipe I am going to brew. Pellet hops always seem to be more easily obtainable. Like the above poster, I do prefer whole hops for dry hopping.