When can flameout hop additions be removed?

[kyleslattery]

Ok, so this last weekend I brewed an IPA, and the recipe had me add hops at 10, 5, and 0 minutes. I was using a paint strainer bag for the first time to hold the hops, and it got me wondering—when should I be removing the hops?

I also added my remaining LME at the end of the boil, and I took out the hops bag while I did, because otherwise it would've been a huge pain. However, I put the hops bag back in and kept it in while I chilled the wort in an ice bath in my sink. Was that necessary? Could I have just left the the hops bag out, or do the late additions still need some time to release flavor/aroma?

 

[Yooper]

You keep the flame out hops in until the wort is chilled. I don't use a bag, so I wouldn't be able to remove them anyway, but the point is to have them in during chilling so they "steep" in hot wort as the wort cools.

 

[kyleslattery]

Ok, that's what I figured—seemed kinda silly to add hops at 0 min only to remove them right away.

I might end up just skipping the hop bag in the future—it's nice to be able to quickly separate the hops, but I'm not sure it was really all that necessary. Also, like I said, adding in late extract additions is a pain.

 

[TyTanium]

Some use bags, some don't - up to you really. For those that don't, some filter and some don't.

I've done both and haven't noticed a difference, other than it's really nice to just dump into a carboy - filtering out hobs & trub takes a while.