First Wort Hopping...

[BrewBlender]

I was listening to last week's show and wanted to try FWH. I'm getting ready to brew a Pale Ale this weekend and wanted see how different people use this technique...

How much hops do you FWH with?
Do you subtract any from a recipe itself? Or in addition?
Leaf or Pellet?
After FWH...60 min or 90 min boil...does it matter?

Thanks for everyone's input.
BrewBlender

[Bugeater]

If you are just trying FWH the first time, just keep it simple. Use your flavor addition (20-30 minute addition) as first wort hops. Figure the bitterness contribution (IBU's) the same as if you had put them in with 20 minutes left in the boil. Do your bittering and aroma additions as you always do.

I have also done all my flavor and bittering as FWH and have been pleased with the result though I have not done any side by side comparison with the same recipe done with a conventional hopping schedule. This is the exact opposite of the all late hopping technique that has been proposed lately, but it works for me. The downside to all FWH, and late hopping too for that matter, is that it takes more hops to get the same bittering level. Since I have waaay too many hops in my fridge, this is good for me. I just have to remember to make my batch slightly larger to allow for more absorbtion by the hops.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

[Kaiser]

One thing to remember regarding FWH and their bitterness cotribution is that they are added before the hot break. During the hot break a lot of the alpha acids from the hops are bound to the hot break material and will not bet isomerized and contribute to the bitterness. This makes predicting the bitterness contributed by the FW hop difficult, but it is definately less than what they would contribute if they were added shortly after the hot break.

Kai

[bperetto]

FYI, this is considered "THE" article on FWHopping

http://kotmf.com/articles/fwh.php

[consumes]

thanks for the link .. i have yet to try this...

i recently did aa all simcoe pale .. were i added :

1oz - 60min
1oz - 20min
2oz - flameout

the hop aroma was awesome.. but im always looking to tweak something each batch