First Wort Hopping

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Darth Konvel

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I'm a little fuzzy on First Wort Hopping (FWH). Do you throw the hops in with your first runnings, let it steep as you collect wort from the sparge, then strain it off? Or do you just leave it in there for the whole boil?

Anyone tried FWH? Can you taste a difference when you have?
 
I did once, but I can't really tell you how it came out, because I overcarbed it BIGTIME. I never did get it tasting right. It seems to me like the beer would have been nice (it was a hoppy brown), if not for the gnarly carb flavor.

You've got it right, too....toss it in your first runnings, and leave it. From what I've read, it's roughly equivelent to a 20 minute addition. It does make your wort smell really nice while sparging! Unless I find some more compelling info on FWH, or just feel like using up some hops, I don't think it's something I'm going to mess with.
 
Leave it in for the whole boil as it won't make any difference at all. Smells nice, but I can't detect any change, good or bad. The aroma oil boil off in a few minutes leaving the FWH to just add to the total bitterness. Most of the bittering agents don't start converting until the boil.
 
I did it for the 1st time with my last brew. I just threw them in before I began the boil. I'd gone to an AG seminar and was told it helps with adding hop profile and aroma, even though they are bittering hops.
 
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