What's the difference in straining the hops out before fermentation and leaving them?

What would be the difference between A) if you went through fermentation and clearing leaving the hop pellets in the wort, and B) straining them out first?

Also, What is the point of adding hops at flame out only to strain them out 2 minutes later when pouring the wort into the fermenter?

Last question - will there be any difference in A) using a grain bag to corral the hop pellets in the boil, and B) just dumping them into the boil and straining them later?


Thanks for putting up with the noobiness!

Well, you won't harm your fermentation at all by leaving the hops in there. They will just sink to the bottom.

You add hops at flame out to get aroma and flavor out of them but not bitterness. My wort actually stays hot for a while until my chiller cools it enough to pour into the fermenter- it's probably 20 minutes or so.

You can use a hops bag if you want. Just remember to pack them in LOOSELY so they can move freely. If you pack them in tightly, your hops utilization will suffer. Some people use the hops bags, but I never have. It's just a matter of preference.

what she said.

also, how is it that you have 269 posts and not have an answer to these questions? what the hell have you been talking about!?! not judging, just wondering.

I strain my hops out. When I first started to brew I would leave the hops in the wort. That is until I had a gnarly ferment and the hops clogged my bubbler. I don't see much use for leaving them in the wort since we have already boiled or steeped out their usefulness. But eother method is acceptable.

I usually strain the hops out, but with my last batch I left them in. Shouldn't have done that.

I'm used to filling up my fermenter to just under 5.5 gallons to compensate for loss and get about 50 beers after I rack to secondary and all that. With all the hops in my fermenter, my trub bed is 3 times as big as it normally is so I will probably only get 40 beers at most because the trub is taking up wort space.

Each addition timing results in a different extraction and boil off. A flame out add will give you oils that require high temperatures to extract, but would boil off very quickly.

I just started not using a hopsack and just pitching them in and straining after. Actually on Saturday I tried something that I read about here...rehydrating the hops pellets (using some of the heating wort). And adding the gunk into the pot...I don't know whter or not it improves utilization...but damn it smelled good, and there were no problems with hotbreak or even a major foamup when they got added...In fact there was very little "scum" of any type on the top of the pot.