I'd quote a colleague of mine and say...it depends. There is a lot to be determined here, assuming this is an outcomes based question - what is your objective? Different hop products, whether pellets, whole cones, or extracts will each have different answers to the question, and what works best will alter with the objective. Just a few of the things to consider, which may narrow the focus of what is sure to be a lively discussion are:
- What style of beer are you brewing.
- Are you looking for any/some/abundant bitterness
- Are you looking primarily for flavor or aroma, and of what sort?
- Green hop bite from vegetative matter
- Aromas from more heat tolerant vs less heat tolerant oil fractions
- Is efficiency - i.e. yield an objective?
- Is uncomplicating the process an objective, resulting in simpler and faster processes?
- Will the beer have dry-hop additions as well?
As I said, this is only a sampling, but I think you need to look at narrowing the focus a bit if you want the most productive productive information for your application.
Looking forward to hearing the responses. This is a topic that engenders many opinions and also highlights the advances in hop products over the last few years.
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Steve Bradt
BOG Representative - District Great Plains
Hopsteiner
Craft Sales Representative
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