Leaving hops in while the wort was chilling

I brewed a batch the other day and forgot to remove the hops while i cooled the wort. It took about 30min to get the wort to a pitch-able temp. Once the wort was cooled i squeezed the excess wort out of the muslins bags full of hops and proceeded with transferring and pitching.

Never done this before and i'm wondering anyone else has? if so, what was the outcome and/or side effects?

Thanks all and happy brewing!

I always leave the hops in while I chill; I don't use a bag however, so it'd be nigh impossible for me to remove em. I just whirlpool and leave em with the rest of the trub

I don't use bags, so hops are always in the wort when I'm cooling. Before I'd just strain them out (I like using whole hops), but I've started dumping them into a french press and squeezing out the little bit of wort from them. It's usually only a cup at max, but I figure why leave it if it's not hard to save?

edit: I don't know how it's going to work out, but I'll know in about 3 weeks once my IPA carbs up.

I always leave the hops in while chilling- I often have 0 minute (flame out) hops that stay in during chilling. I never squeeze them out, though- just put the wort in the fermenter and move on.

So flame out hops contribute no IBUs but hop flavour and aroma, right? How does the effect compare to dry hopping?

osagedr said:

So flame out hops contribute no IBUs but hop flavour and aroma, right? How does the effect compare to dry hopping?

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It's different. Dryhopping has a different hops flavor/aroma while the flame out hops have a more solid hops flavor behind it, if that makes sense. I recirculate during the cooling and that makes the flame out hops sit in 130-150 degree wort for about 15 minutes.

When I use a hop bag I always squeeze it while chilling. In my mind it helps make sure I get every bit of hoppy goodness out of it. In reality, who knows if it helps but I know it doesn't hurt.

cool, thanks guys! I think i will incorporate this into my normal brewing process and start leaving the hops in while cooling.

Ive added all to the primary and ive mostly strained into the fermenter.Outcome always seems to be unknown, so if i just dont feel like sanitizing a strainer bag i add it all.All the good stuff should be in the liquid wort anyway. One reason to strain would be to avoid a clogged airlock if you end up having to use a blow off tube from hop bits.I would leave them in at least while cooling your wort.

I left my flameout hops in for an hour with the last batch. Cut the flame, added the hops to the already present hop bag, stirred to get the whirlpool, covered, and went to dinner.

An hour or so later, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees and the hops had a long time to steep.

Yooper said:

It's different. Dryhopping has a different hops flavor/aroma while the flame out hops have a more solid hops flavor behind it, if that makes sense. I recirculate during the cooling and that makes the flame out hops sit in 130-150 degree wort for about 15 minutes.

Click to expand...

Another great technique is Hop Bursting. Cut all your flavor and aroma additions and combine them at the end of the boil. cut the flame out after 60 minutes and add your hops. Let them steep for 20-30 minutes without actively cooling the wort, then cool it as quickly as possible. The aroma and flavor are really dialed WAY up. Also remember that the quicker the temperature comes down during the chilling stage, the more flavor and aroma and less excess bitterness will be added to the finished beer. Flavor and aroma compounds are volatile and are driven off by high temperatures, but alpha-acids are isomerized, imparting more bitterness.

Dare I bring up the dreaded word of brewing, but squeezing a bag of hops AFTER reaching pitching temp sounds like the making of a possible contamination- that is unless you are super steralized or using utensils that are. I just use the pellets, no bag, so I don't worry about this having to be done.