Home Brew Forums - First Wort Hopping

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First Wort Hopping

Okay, I want to begin to use this process... I understand what to do, but not how it will affect my hop additions. Say I have an ounce of Columbus that would normally go in at 60 mins... do I simply use that 1oz of Columbus as my FWH and then do my other additions, flavor and aroma on thier normal schedule? I have read rave reviews about beers using the FWH method, and I want to make this work for me.

I have used this technique on an IPA. I split the normal boil addition at 60 minutes and added half as FWH. My brewing software calculates a slightly higher utilization by doing this. I think it bumped the IBU's a couple of points higher. I guess since it was my first time that is why I split rather than using the whole amount as FWH. Next time I will just add that whole addition and not add the 60 minutes charge I think.

Have you tried this beer? I have read that the hops bitterness and flavor is much smoother, much more desireable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Pol (Post 917611)

Yes. Treat FWH as you would any other hops in a hop schedule. Let's say you had the following hop schedule:

1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 39.3 IBU
1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (Dry Hop) Hops -
1.00 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (FWH) Hops 16.8 IBU
0.50 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (30 min) Hops 6.5 IBU
1.50 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (Flameout) Hops 1.1 IBU

You would add 1 ounce of Mt. Hood to the kettle and then add your wort and put it on to boil then add 1 ounce of Columbus at 60 min, a half ounce of Mt. Hood at 30 min, 1.5 ounces of Mt. Hood at flame out and dry hop with 1 ounce of Columbus a week before bottling or kegging.

What if I had this...

Original Recipe:
1oz Columbus @ 60 min
.5 oz Columbus @ 30 min
.5oz Cascade @ 20 min
.5oz Cascade @ 5 min

If I wanted to FWH this thing would I simply add the 1oz of Columbus as a FWH, then add the three remaining additions as they were previously scheduled?

Yes. If you change the 60 min addition to a FWH addition leave the rest as they are.

Sweet, I am doing two brews this week, I will use it on both! An Orange/Cascade Pale Ale and my Cascade Haus Ale... awesome!

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Pol (Post 917855)

Sweet, I am doing two brews this week, I will use it on both! An Orange/Cascade Pale Ale and my Cascade Haus Ale... awesome!

I think you will never go back for beers that you want some hop highlight in. I've made an IPA and a Amarillo ale using both standard hopping and FWH as the only difference in the repeated recipes. The flavor, bitterness, and aroma were all superior in the FWH beers. I know those are subjective but I can't sing the praise of FWH enough.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Pol (Post 917818)

Have you tried this beer? I have read that the hops bitterness and flavor is much smoother, much more desireable.

Yes, in fact I just drank a pint. To be perfectly honest, I do not really notice a big difference. Is it flavorful? Yes. Is there a good aroma? Yes. Is the bitterness smoother? I dunno. It is not overly harsh. Is it due to FWH? I cannot say for certain.

Palmer notes the increased smoothness of the hop character, but describes the process as adding a portion of the finishing hops as FWH, not just adding your bittering hops early.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palmer, "How to Brew"

First Wort Hopping
An old yet recently rediscovered process (at least among homebrewers), first wort hopping (FWH) consists of adding a large portion of the finishing hops to the boil kettle as the wort is received from the lauter tun. As the boil tun fills with wort (which may take a half hour or longer), the hops steep in the hot wort and release their volatile oils and resins. The aromatic oils are normally insoluble and tend to evaporate to a large degree during the boil. By letting the hops steep in the wort prior to the boil, the oils have more time to oxidize to more soluble compounds and a greater percentage are retained during the boil.

Only low alpha finishing hops should be used for FWH, and the amount should be no less than 30% of the total amount of hops used in the boil. This FWH addition therefore should be taken from the hops intended for finishing additions. Because more hops are in the wort longer during the boil, the total bitterness of the beer in increased but not by a substantial amount due to being low in alpha acid. In fact, one study among professional brewers determined that the use of FWH resulted in a more refined hop aroma, a more uniform bitterness (i.e. no harsh tones), and a more harmonious beer overall compared to an identical beer produced without FWH.

in practice, i often simply add my bittering hops as FWH and reduce the finishing hops by a bit. i love the affect it gives, but can't quantify it because i've never brewed side by side comparisons.