Hop bag removal?

When adding hop pellets to my boil kettle I use disposable muslin bags. I've been removing the bags when I start to chill my wort. Is this necessary? I've been thinking about this especially for my 0 minute hop additions. Am I defeating the purpose of the late hop additions by removing the hops before the wort is chilled? Thanks for any replies.

I just toss the hops right in the boil, easier, cheaper, more eco-friendly and it all settles into the trub after fermentation.

I've been thinking about throwing the pellets right in but have read about using bags to cut down on the "vegetal" matter in the wort. If it all settles out in the wort though, it wouldn't be a problem...right?

lots of options.

First, to the OP. If i have a 0 min addition i'll leave the bag in during the cooling process and remove it towards the end. This gives me the hop flavor and aroma and removes the material before it ends up in the wort.

To the others. Seems like there are a few approaches to hops in wort. 1) toss into bag 2) toss into wort and transfer everything to fermentor 3) toss into wort and transfer around the hop material.

All seem to be fine, but if you don't the hop material in the fermentor, but do want to just toss the hops in, then you'll need to account for loss of wort to the BK. If i'm tossing loose i'll up my volumes .5 to a gallon to make sure i'm not having to transfer lots of break material.

I leave the hops in during the chilling.

Thanks for your input. I'll leave the hops in until the wort is cooled. Makes more sense this way.

dennisw said:

Thanks for your input. I'll leave the hops in until the wort is cooled. Makes more sense this way.

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I don't mess with the bag, just toss in pellets. If you cool with an ice bath, chances are you have enough time for the vegetal matter to fall to the bottom... if not, I have used a strainer to keep out the big chunks/trub.

Personally with my immersion chiller, it cools much faster and the matter tends to coagulate on not fall. When it is close to chilled, I use my racking cane to carefully swirl the wort and it usually settles to the bottom.

If that doesnt work...I dont seem to care. A little bit of hops in the primary can be good!

i dont know about everyone else but i typically wait 5 minutes after the boiling stops before i start cooling. then i cool, top off, then siphon to the carboy. that 5 minutes rest is probably what your 0 minute hop additions are counting on.

Lots of breweries call the last addition their "whirlpool" addition. Leave the hops in while you chill to get the aroma out of them.

I also bag my hop additions. I used to just toss in but since i often have leaf on hand I've gotten use to the bags. Now that i use the bags I use them for everything and love them. I leave all the bags in the kettle while chilling and when I'm about 15 minutes from my desired cooling temp i pull out all the bags and give the wort one last wirl, and that's the last time the spoon touches it.