I have been looking into this teqnique and reading a lot of posts but never done it. Was wondering if the original viewpoint has changed… ie, how many of you are FWHing INSTEAD o your 60/90min bittering charge using high AA hops and how do the brews turn out? Of course everyone does everything different and that is the fun of it.
I’ve done FWH a number of times and usually, just substituted my 60 minute addition with FWH though sometimes I’ve split them 50/50 and other times, I’ve done both.
I find a smoother hop flavor when doing only FWH then hitting the brew with 20, 10, 5 and 0 additions. That’s just my taste.
Have you kept the FWH the same amount as the 60min would have been?
Mostly, yes. For those times that I’ve only FWH’d in place of the 60 or 90 minute, I kept the amounts the same.
I have FWH maybe hundreds of times. I don’t consider it in any way to be a replacement for the 60 min. hops. I do it for hop flavor, and account for the bitterness added by FWH by reducing my 60 min. addition proportionally. FWH has a mellower bittering quality that most people perceive as less bitter even when the measurable IBU are higher. I did an experiment about FWH using experienced homebrewers, BJCP judges and commercial brewers in a blind triangle tasting. If you’re interested, the results are here, starting on pg. 29…
http://www.ahaconference.org/wp-content ... nyConn.pdfI just did my first FWH on Saturday. Half of the hops went in as FWH, the other half at flameout. Can’t say yet how it’ll turn out, but it smells great during fermentation.
I do this every now and then. When figuring out the hop schedule for a beer, I like to start by figuring how many IBUs it should have, then adding hops backwards until I hit the number. In other words, figure the dry hops and flameout hops first, then add the aroma hops, flavor hops and make up any difference with the bittering hops at the end. When FWHs are included, I calculate the IBUs as if it was a 20 minute addition.
I love FWH, along with 60 and along with a hop burst and along with a big dryhop.
I’m Hop Crazy.
[quote=“wallybeer”]I love FWH, along with 60 and along with a hop burst and along with a big dryhop.
I’m Hop Crazy.[/quote]
This is what I do for many of my IPA’s. I can’t get enough hops either.
I read an article about this last week. Here is what I took from it:
“The amount to hops to use varies. Most sources recommend using 30% of the overall hop schedule and moving it to FWH. Other sources recommend taking aromatic hops from the end of the boil and moving it forward to use as FWH. I have even experimented on my Wit beer with using FWH exclusively and had good results. My limited experience indicates that if you are looking for a smooth pilsner style hoppiness, moving a portion (30%) of the finishing hops forward is appropriate. If you want the hops to blend into the background of the beer for relatively low hop rates, you can consider moving a larger portion of your hop schedule forward. FWH in general will produce a more complex, blended hop flavor.”
http://beersmith.com/blog/2008/03/17/th ... echniques/I am thinking of trying this on my next batch. Adding my aromatic hops from the end and moving it forward. I suppose this is fine for a more aggressively hopped beer, but with a Porter I wonder if this would have the same effect.
Has anyone used nugget or magnum as FWH?
Yep. Nugget is OK, not great. Magnum was not good.
[quote=“andymag”]I read an article about this last week. Here is what I took from it:
“The amount to hops to use varies. Most sources recommend using 30% of the overall hop schedule and moving it to FWH. Other sources recommend taking aromatic hops from the end of the boil and moving it forward to use as FWH. I have even experimented on my Wit beer with using FWH exclusively and had good results. My limited experience indicates that if you are looking for a smooth pilsner style hoppiness, moving a portion (30%) of the finishing hops forward is appropriate. If you want the hops to blend into the background of the beer for relatively low hop rates, you can consider moving a larger portion of your hop schedule forward. FWH in general will produce a more complex, blended hop flavor.”
http://beersmith.com/blog/2008/03/17/th ... echniques/I am thinking of trying this on my next batch. Adding my aromatic hops from the end and moving it forward. I suppose this is fine for a more aggressively hopped beer, but with a Porter I wonder if this would have the same effect.[/quote]
I disagree with Brad’s experience and advice. I’ve done much more FWH than he has, apparently. I’m glad his results worked for him, but that’s only one aspect of FWH.
I read through your attachment and I like that there is documented results from those that tasted both FWH and 60 min boil. Good stuff right there.
If I am reading it correctly, you add the entire boiling hop to the FWH? Seems a little easier and cleaner than splitting the hops.
If I did an Imperial IPA using say Yakima Valley, would it be recommended to add the 60 min boil hops to the FWH?
Thanks
-Andy
[quote=“andymag”]@denny
I read through your attachment and I like that there is documented results from those that tasted both FWH and 60 min boil. Good stuff right there.
If I am reading it correctly, you add the entire boiling hop to the FWH? Seems a little easier and cleaner than splitting the hops.
If I did an Imperial IPA using say Yakima Valley, would it be recommended to add the 60 min boil hops to the FWH?
Thanks
-Andy[/quote]
Not quite right…I decide how many IBU I want the beer to have overall and how much hop flavor I want it to have. I FWH for the hop flavor (usually 1-2 oz.) and calculate the IBU for that, counting it as the same as a 20 min. addition. TheI add enough more hops at 60 and throughout the boil to get the total IBU I’m shooting for. Does that make sense?
In your example, I would definitely not add the 60 min. hops as FWH. I’d add enough FWH for the hop flavor you want, counting them as having the same IBU as a 20 min. addition. Then add more at 60 (and whenever else you like) to hit your IBU goal.
I do it exactly as Denny does. I find that doing it that way you can get a nice bitterness with the additional smooth bitterness and flavor. I then do a form of hop bursting where I add some hops at 12 mins, 10 mins, 8 mins, 6 mins, 4, mins, 2 mins, and flameout. Gets you a really nice flavor and aroma, especially with dry hopping.
Thanks Denny. That makes much more sense.
:cheers:
So when I do a FWH, I drain the tun into the kettle on the hops and leave them in there the whole time including the boil. Is this the correct method or are they supposed to be filtered out or removed before boiling? I have only done FWH for IPAs, so they are already hoppy. Thanks.
Toss the hops in the kettle, then drain the mash onto the hops and leave them there for the entire boil, just like you would bittering hops.
Leave the in for the entire time.
