First Wort Hopping Question

How are you calculating it? A competent IBU calculator should calculate more IBUs for First Wort than for a normal Full Boil addition.

 

I haven't used that one, but if that's what it's doing, I'd stop using it.

 

By Full boil, I meant full time, in this context. IOW, first wort hopping IBUs should be higher than hops that were in for the same amount of time less the pre-boil time. As long as the volume of wort is the same in both cases.

 

In addition to Vikeman's comments, the FWH is normally in place of your early bittering hops (not late additions). Expect little to no flavor/aroma contribution as the hop oils will not survive the long boil. Supposedly some brewers perceive the more rounded bitterness you mentioned, but I really don't know what that means. I've experimented with it and can't really tell a difference, it's basically neutral to me. Other posters say it works.

 

I agree with Portlargo, I've never been able to tell the difference. And if you look at it from a chemical standpoint, none of the flavor and aroma could make it all the way through the long boil just as Portlargo said. What I have done is in addition to the finishing hops, I've filtered the wort through the boiling hop leaves. This does more for the flavor and clarity when I've used it. (This filtering process of course is before being put through the plate chiller and into the ferment container.)

 

Below is what John Palmer states about First Wort Hopping:

“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.”

http://howtobrew.com/section1/chapter5-1.html

As you can read above, John Palmer indicates that finishing (e.g., aroma) hops should be added for First Wort Hopping.

Maybe @Peter_Wolfe can provide some further explanation on the science of:

“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.”

Cheers!

 

Does "amount should be no less than 30% of the total amount of hops used in the boil." mean by weight?

 

Not sure what happened with the last quote attempt (and I can't edit it anymore), so I will try again

That is a really old quote, my guess is Palmer would not write that today.

 

What would John Palmer write today and why would it be different from what he wrote in his book?

Cheers!

 

I'd be happy to. The oxidized compounds he is referring to are known as sesquiterpene epoxides. Both humulene and caryophylene will form an epoxide wherever they have a double C=C bond (see the wikipedia entry here). The native hydrocarbon forms of both of those sesquiterpenes are insoluble as he notes, but they are fairly heavy - they do take longer to boil off then myrcene (which has 5 fewer carbons). When they form an epoxide their solubility goes way up, and their flavor profile changes. Their flavor threshold goes down (it takes less of the compound in the beer to evoke a sensory response) and the flavor quality changes (the cedar note deepens and changes, and they can also take on a slightly fruity/pineapple note). The smaller hydrocarbons like myrcene don't form epoxides, and the monooxide form doesn't form to a large degree during brewing.

The classic hop aroma compounds like linalool and geraniol already have an oxygen (an alcohol group, technically), and they are unaffected by first wort hopping (except that you boil most of them off, as you would expect). Only the heavy hydrocarbon fraction would benefit from oxidation from a flavor standpoint.

This can only happen in the presence of molecular oxygen (O2) or hydrogen peroxide, and also occurs very slowly in raw hops (especially in un-pelletized whole cone hops).

 

I have no idea what he would write today, but the idea that FWH provides a "smooth bitterness" seems to not be supported by any real evidence. Instead, it seems to be based on one misunderstood article from the early 70s. I certainly have not noticed any real difference, but I have also never done any real experiments either.

@Peter_Wolfe have you ever done any experiments with FWH? I'd be especially interested any experiments regarding detectable differences from a taste point of view vs. a molecular analysis.

 

There's no statistically significant evidence FWH contributes doodly-squat to the quality of the finished product.

 

I'm pretty sure most people don't consult statistics when they taste a beer...I have done FWH, but right now I am really into mash hopping,,,and then mostly late hop additions and dry hopping...I feel FWH and Mash hopping add to the complexity of the end product...I have no statistics to back this up...It's beer,,,not rocket science...

 

I'm pretty sure most people [present company included] don't understand how statistical experiments can support or disprove opinions when they consider how a certain process affects the taste a beer.

 

I tried FWH and it didn't do anything remarkable. Supposedly, it's supposed to be more noticeable with lightly hopped beers.