# Hop Plugs Vs Flowers



## QldKev (2/5/12)

Chatting to another brewer last night about some hop plugs I got, and their response was "they are not as good as flowers". I've always considered plugs as good as uncompressed flowers, can you tell the difference?

QldKev


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## Ross (2/5/12)

QldKev said:


> Chatting to another brewer last night about some hop plugs I got, and their response was "they are not as good as flowers". I've always considered plugs as good as uncompressed flowers, can you tell the difference?
> 
> QldKev




They are identical to flowers, just compressed into a plug for easier handling (feeding English casks). The added bonus is they store much better than loose flowers as only a small surface area is exposed to the air.
I'm intrigued to what this brewers reasons were behind their comment?

Cheers Ross


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## QldKev (2/5/12)

I should clarify too, this brewer is just a local home brewer who started AG a bit after me. 


What I got from it was the cell structure became damaged during the compression causing the compounds to become more unstable. I didn't think there was an excessive force in compressing them into plugs that could do this. At the time I just shrugged it off, but it just got me thinking maybe he could have been correct. 

Personally I can't tell any difference. 


QldKev


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## bigfridge (2/5/12)

Ross said:


> They are identical to flowers, just compressed into a plug for easier handling (feeding English casks). The added bonus is they store much better than loose flowers as only a small surface area is exposed to the air.
> I'm intrigued to what this brewers reasons were behind their comment?
> 
> Cheers Ross




I agree with Ross that they should be considered equivalent. While the purist will say that there is some damage to the lulipin glands during compression, they are certainly the best alternative that we can get here down under.

In the HB situation there are so many other variables that you can control that will influence the hop character present in th eglass.


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## black_labb (2/5/12)

there may be a difference when they are extremely fresh, but I'd suggest that plugs could end up being better than flowers after a short while.


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