First Wort Hops.

[TheRedDarren]

Has anyone tried this technique?
Can you tell any noticeable effect?

 

[ezraburke]

Tried this earlier this year in a brew we were doing - haven't replicated the brew so can't say if it was effective or not but FWIW the beer had a reasonably low IBU count (by my brewing standards anyway!) and the beer was definitely on the prickly, edgy side of bitter rather than pleasant. You could finish maybe 2/3 of the beer and then have to call it quits. Perhaps FWH was to blame, perhaps not.

 

[clibit]

I've done it but have not drawn any conclusions. In fact I usually bung my bittering hops in the first runnings and then start to heat it while I sparge. There is not much agreement about first wort hopping, from what i can tell, and this exbeeriment on Brulosophy.com seems to bear that out...

http://brulosophy.com/2015/07/06/the-first-wort-hop-effect-exbeeriment-results/

 

[TheRedDarren]

Ah yes, I remember reading that article. I read also that you move your flavour additions (30 mins / 2 mins) over to FWH, I don't understand how the flavour compounds are not driven off by the boil?

 

[clibit]

Ah yes, I remember reading that article. I read also that you move your flavour additions (30 mins / 2 mins) over to FWH, I don't understand how the flavour compounds are not driven off by the boil?

I don't think anyone knows, or that everyone agrees they are not driven off!

 

[TartanSpecial]

I've tried it a couple of times, but as others, I haven't done an identical second brew 'not first wort hopped' so have nothing to properly compare with. The pale ales I have done FWH have been fine... but not sure if any 'smoother bitterness' would have been different from a normal 60 minute addition.

 

[McMullan]

I'm biased. I FWH all my brews. We all have our own unique sense of taste. If you don't detect any beneficial differences, don't FWH. There are other reasons to FWH, though. It makes brew day more convenient. I hop straight after sparge then walk away for 90min. And, as someone pointed out to me the other day, it reduces the risk of boil overs, when hops go in the start of the boil. Personally, I'd recommend it. Give it a go at least.

 

[TartanSpecial]

Give it a go at least.

Ok...I'm doing a galaxy golden ale on Saturday....so will FWH with the magnum bittering hop. ..galaxy going in a sequence of later additions.

 

[mike77]

I've done with bittering hops and with aroma hops. Like everyone else I can't say if it made a difference or not.

The one article I read about it said to use a portion of your aroms hops and to first wort and somehow it improves the depth of them. Alternatively I've read use your bittering hops and it produces a smoother finish.

Apart from not knowing if it works or not the downside is that it makes it hard to calculate the IBUs.

 

[clibit]

I'm biased. I FWH all my brews. We all have our own unique sense of taste. If you don't detect any beneficial differences, don't FWH. There are other reasons to FWH, though. It makes brew day more convenient. I hop straight after sparge then walk away for 90min. And, as someone pointed out to me the other day, it reduces the risk of boil overs, when hops go in the start of the boil. Personally, I'd recommend it. Give it a go at least.

I do it, for those reasons. Not clear how it affects things though.