This adds a more complex, full-bodied character to the malt in your beer. Advanced brewers start from whole grains instead of extract. Much more work, but you can taste the difference. Hops Hops come in three forms. Whole, plug, or pellets are all available at your local shop.
Whole hops are the dried flowers of the hop vine.
Plugs are hops compressed into a hockey puck shape, and generally weigh 1 ounce. Plugs are easy to use and convenient to store. Pellets are pulverized whole hops. Since they re so finely ground, they don t need to be strained after boiling. They will settle out with the yeast after fermenting.