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Cascade leaf plugs
What are these used for ? dry hoping in secondary?
I have no clue , but i have them (got them for free )
Good for you! cascades are going to be impossible all year to find, save em for something nice. You can use them for any addition, flavor and aroma or dryhopping will maximize their value. Couple it w/ a columbus or centennial bittering and you can make a great IPA. If you like Sierra Nev, thats cascades.
Awsome! i think im going to hang onto them then ...also the lHBS has a good bit of them left.. looks like im going to go up there and buy them out 
any other hops that are going to be impossible to get jut make a list and ill buy them out also . there are a couple stores around me still fairly stocked .
Plugs are just another form of hop. I've never used them, but they're supposed to combine the best of whole and pellet qualities by being fresh and convenient. They were initially developed for the commercial industry for dry hopping as they were easy to fit through the bungholes of casks and kegs.
Wizlock23 wrote:
any other hops that are going to be impossible to get j.
Depends on what you like to brew, but finding styrian goldings and EKG are going to be tough (I love belgians and have to sacrifice) Saaz is supposed to be gone, and what you may find will only have 1-2%AAU.
Not having very good luck w/ willamette either for stouts, pretty much been doing all fuggle.
Again what you brew will have a lot to do w/ the best hops that you won't be able to get.
Use them like you would as any whole leaf hop.
If you do want to keep them for that perfect recipe keep them as airtight as possible, and putt them in the freezer.
A great American APA would work. As Thirsty said Sierra Nevada Pale is a great one. Although they use Magnum now for bittering, and cascade solely for flavor and aroma.
sounds good gus thanks..
I was wondering also if u all could just name some hops that would be hard or impossible to get and im going to check all my stores and get them . i will get u guys some too if u want any and i can get them (not trying to turn a profit , just trying to help fellow brewers out )
They are pretty much the same as whole leaf hops and can be used for bittering, flavor, and aroma........one thing is, if you use them and your batch size is only 5 gallons you will probably be a little short on wort after boiling because they hold alot of moisture.......I've upped my brew volumes to 5.25 to 5.5 gallon batch sizes so I end up with 5 gallons of wort after the boil 
What is the difference between using pellets, plugs and whole leaf? I have used pellets only and now seem to only be able to find plugs. Do you substitute ounce for ounce ?
First off. Pellets are ground up whole hops, that are then pressed into a pellet form. The pressing creates a hops product with significantly less surface area than whole leaf hops. Therefore they have superior storage properties to other hops. Also the fact that they are ground up, means that one the pellets dissolve in the beer your hop utilization goes up significantly beause of the increased surface area of all the little bits. As a result you can't just sub 1:1 pellet from whole leaf. Utilization can be improved from 10-25% with pellets over whole hops. So using more whole hops is required than pellets to get the same results.
Hop plugs are whole hops that have been pressed (no grinding) into discs that are about a 1/2-3/4 inch thick and have a diameter slightly larger than a quarter. When they are plopped into the wort they slowly expand and will look like whole leaf hops in the kettle. The advantage to plugs is that the storage is improved (not as goos as pellets) and there is less manipulation of the hop (again, no grinding).
Whole leaf hops are just virgin picked hops dried and put in a bag, hopefully vacuum sealed. This is where plugs and pellets start from. Whole leaf are great when they are freshest, but will have the shortest shelf-life. When using whole leaf hops its important to plan the brew carefully so that an open bag of while leaf is used rather quickly. Once exposed to air whole leaf hops degrade faster than the other two forms.
Personally, I am a pellet fan. The main reason for this is storage benefits. In the past I would buy hop pellets by the pound. They come in a airtight bag that is nearly impervious to gas exchange. Once opened I press and seal the bag the best I can, often with a binder clip or two. Then I put the bag in a large ziploc bag, pressed and sealed to remove more air. I store these double bagged hops in the freezer. I have found that I can use a bag of hops and still have fresh hop character within 6-9 as long as I am careful each time. I have used hops that are over a year old with this storage methods and detected little change in quality. Being sure to rotate the stock of hops and plan out the brew session to use older hops first keeps me from letting the hop pellets get too old.
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