First wort hopping

[billstory11]

Hey Brewmeisters,
I've been thinking about trying FWH on my next brew. I believe Palmer says one should take about 1/3 of the flavoring additions and fwh for a smoother hop taste. I talked to the LHBS owner & he stated that I should be careful when trying this because the beer could turn out more bitter than I intend. What he says seems logical to me . The longer the hops are boiled , the better the utilization,right? If I take 1/3 of a twenty minute flavor addition and boil it 60 minutes, I get more utilization. Is there something magical in soaking hops in warm preboil wort that keeps the utilization of alpha acids down? What is your experience with FWH?
Thanks,
Bill

[barleyburps]

The longer the wort boils with hops, the more the aroma compounds are boiled off, and the bittering aspects are emphasized. Are you asking if you will get a smoother taste by adding part of your aroma hops at beginning or before boil? Aroma hops ar typically added during and toward the end of boil to retain some of the aromatic oils. By adding them at the beginning, you're going to blow off more of the oils and get less aroma.

I've read that adding one or more aroma hoppings during the boil does help to give a deeper impression of hops rather than just adding towards the end.

I always add my bittering hops at beginning of boil, then about 1/2 of my aroma hops 30 minutes into boil, then another aroma hopping about 5-10 minutes prior to end of boil.

[PCaravan]

First Wort Hopping (FWH) refers the technique of adding hops to the boil kettle at the begining of runnoff from the lauter tun and before the boiling starts, effectively allowing the hops to steep in hot, but not boiling, wort. Somehow, hop flavor compounds form bonds in the wort that can't be boil off. Also, FWH for some reason don't add nearly as much bitterness as you would expect (about the same IBUs as a 20 minutes addtion).

I have found that FWH provide a very smooth hop flavor for the more hoppy flavored beers but doesn't add much for aroma so you would still have to do something for the aroma.

[dparsons]

I agree with PCaravan and have experienced this myself. You get less bitterness from FWH than from adding the hops at the beginning of the boil and you get a smooth hop flavor. If you have a recipe where you like the balance, transferring some of your flavor hops is appropriate.

[HogieWan]

I've been doing FWH almost exclusively for my last 6 batches. The way I figure it is you get MORE IBUs than the standard boil, but the bitterness is softer (not sure how else to describe it). Also you get the hop flavor of adding that amount of hops (maybe a slight bit less) at around 20 mins. There is also a touch of aroma left.

I did one batch with just base malt and one 2oz FWH Tettnanger. I got the bitterness of a 2oz 60 min boil, the flavor of a 1.75oz 20 min addition and the aroma of a .5oz 5 min addition. These numbers are guesses, but I have used them to convert other recipes to FWH, and they seem accurate (or close enough for homebrew)

[barleyburps]

I've not heard of this technique before but will definitely have to try it on a future batch to see how the end result differs.

[billstory11]

Hey Hogie,
Are you telling me I will get the Bittering, flavor, and aroma of 4.25 oz. of hops with just two oz. and the bittering will be smoother? If so , have you tried this with other hops ? Thanks for your input.

[HogieWan]

That's what I'm telling you. I've done it with 4 recipes - one was brewed twice

[Mad Scientist]

I also FWH and mash hop as well. I am not sure you get the effect that you do, but Hogie and PC Caravan are right on the nose, and you LBHS guy needs to brew more....so he undestands what happens with FWH, as it doe not have the typical "boiled longer" effect If you are FWHing your brews, try getting some brewing software to help you with your calcultions.

The only thing I can figure is that there is a distinct isomerization of the flavor components when you FWH.

BTW, welcome. What part of TX are you in?

[billstory11]

I appreciate yall's advice. Sorry I did'nt get back to my post to thank you all sooner. I had to brew my Amber Ale on Saturday and I did'nt get a chance to get online. I hope to try FWH on my next Pale Ale or maybe IPA. Guess I should get on that soon because it gets hot early here in Spring, TX. Bye for now.

[bluesguitar85]

From my experience with FWH, it gives about 20 minutes of Util. on the IBU calculations. So...if that matters to you, you can substitute some of the flavor hops then, but I don't think you will get the same aroma as a 20m. addition.

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by bluesguitar85
From my experience with FWH, it gives about 20 minutes of Util. on the IBU calculations. So...if that matters to you, you can substitute some of the flavor hops then, but I don't think you will get the same aroma as a 20m. addition.

I've heard a lot of people say that, but I find that I get ~65 mins of utilization on a 60 min boil

[bluesguitar85]

I dont think my precived bitterness is anywhere near 60 min worth of Util, and I think its that some of the AA's isomerize differently because it starts at lower temps, so the chemical compounds change such that they don't undergo the standard bittering reactions. I dont know, but the last beer I brewed (american amber) would have been close to 80IBU's if i got 60 minutes of utililization out of those hops, and its definitely not that hoppy.

[markaberrant]

I've done about 4-5 beers now using FWH and calculating their IBUs as a 20 minute addition. None of them are overly bitter.

In fact, the american IPA I did seems almost TOO smooth (Columbus for bittering, with Cascades for FWH, flame out and dry hop - 1.065 OG 65IBUs).

[Mad Scientist]

Originally posted by bluesguitar85
....and I think its that some of the AA's isomerize differently because it starts at lower temps.....


I stated the same ting in a thread a few months ago. Godd cal, nice to know that others think the way my fractured mental state does.