FWH and dry hops only?

So I have this crazy idea of an IPA with only using first wort hops and no other additions and then just dry hop the heck out of it with like 4 ounces, or more, of cascade, simcoe, amarillo …or some other hop combos.

Anyone ever done this?

Closest I’ve come is FWH with some 5 min and 0 min followed by a hop stand and then dryhops. Tons of hop flavor and aroma without the jaw dropping bitterness.

Mind sharing your hops, additions and amounts?

Here’s the recipe. You could replace the wheat with base malt. Mine came out a bit cloudy due to wheat and dry-hopping but I kinda like the wheat addition for some reason. This was my first take at a semi-clone of Zombie Dust. You actually could double the caramel malts for more body/sweetness too if you’re going for the clone. I think mine turned out awesome. I avoided a 60 minute addition since I’ve heard that citra can give a “catty” flavor from a traditional bittering addition. Hence, why I used a FWH addition. Absolutely no cattiness in my beer. I bought my citra hops from FreshHops and they were really great, if you don’t mind whole leaf.

Citra India Pale Ale

A ProMash Brewing Session - Recipe Details Report

Recipe Specifics

Batch Size (Gal): 5.50 Wort Size (Gal): 5.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 14.00
Anticipated OG: 1.065 Plato: 15.90
Anticipated SRM: 7.9
Anticipated IBU: 27.5
Brewhouse Efficiency: 71 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM

78.6 11.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
7.1 1.00 lbs. Munich Malt Germany 1.037 8
3.6 0.50 lbs. Flaked Soft White Wheat America 1.034 2
3.6 0.50 lbs. Wheat Malt America 1.038 2
2.7 0.38 lbs. Crystal 60L America 1.034 60
2.7 0.38 lbs. Aromatic Malt Belgium 1.036 25
1.8 0.25 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 1.033 2

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.

Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time

1.00 oz. Citra Whole 13.70 18.6 First WH
1.00 oz. Citra Whole 13.70 8.9 5 min.
1.00 oz. Citra Whole 13.70 0.0 0 min.
2.00 oz. Citra Whole 13.70 0.0 Dry Hop

Extras

Amount Name Type Time

0.57 Tsp Wyeast Yeast Nutrient Other 10 Min.(boil)
0.75 Unit(s)Whirfloc Fining 5 Min.(boil)

Yeast

Fermentis US-05 American Ale

Mash Schedule

Mash Type: Single Step

Grain Lbs: 14.00
Water Qts: 19.50 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 4.88 - Before Additional Infusions

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.39 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 153 Time: 60
Mash-out Rest Temp : 0 Time: 0
Sparge Temp : 168 Time: 10

Total Mash Volume Gal: 6.00 - Dough-In Infusion Only

Notes

After adding 0 minute hops at flameout, maintain 180 - 190F wort temp for 30 to 60 minutes and whirlpool, or stir every three minutes and tea bag hop strainer. I only went 30 minutes, but many pros go 60 – 80 minutes for a hop stand. Estimating IBUs is a guess with a hop stand – I guess I hit about 50 IBUs.

Dry hop 10 days at 70F - no more.

Per Bru’n Water, I treated my mash water from my tap with 3.6g gypsum, 1.8g calcium chloride, and about .5 ml 70% phosphoric acid solution to hit 5.5 mash pH. My water is pretty high in bicarbonate, which is fine for this style. My sulfate / chloride ratio was 115 / 51, and calcium 103 ppm. YMMV.

Of course there’s no reason not to do the hop stand approach with the hops you mentioned. You’d have to have a pretty substantial FWH addition to go with just that and dry hops, and I think IPAs, especially with the American hops you mentioned, are also about flavor addition, so with just FWH and dry hops it would obviously be smooth and aromatic, but probably a bit one dimensional in flavor. The added hop stand would still make a high flavor, low pucker beer but still with the complexity you want.

Or, with your approach, it might be more like a hybrid English Pale / USA IPA… malt and mild bitterness and hop aroma.

I have a hoppy wheat beer on tap right now with only FWH and dry hop additions. I wanted a wheat beer with nice hop flavor and aroma, but not a lot of bitterness. It came out great.

6lbs wheat malt
3lbs pils
1lb flaked wheat
8oz cara 20
4oz C120

1oz Admiral FWH
2oz Cascade Dry hop

I think you’ll end up with a beer missing the IPA bite with FWHs only, but if you estimate the IBUs for the FWH as a 20-minute addition and get 1:1 BU:GU, with an OG in the 1.065 range it’ll be a killer “Imperial Pale Ale”!

Yeah, I found that for beers that need the bitterness, like AIPA or APA, FWH only just provide the “hop slap” the style needs. It works better for beers with a more subdued bittering.