Fwh ipa

[Inkguy]

So, a guy I work with is in a brewing competition where the guidelines vary each one - odd ingredients, odd gravities, etc. His newest challenge is to make an IPA with no hops added above 200 degrees. So FWH and dry hops are the basic options. It made me curious: if you're doing FWH and dry hops, do you need to do a full 60+ minute boil? As I understand it, the main reason for the boil is hop isomerization. But if there are no hops added, to isomerize, do the FWH still need that boil time to bitter the beer? I know other things happen too, like protein coagulation and sterilization and such, but it seems 10 or 15 minutes would do it.
I did one beer FWH only, and boiled the regular time, but it made me wonder about doing a beer like that myself. Plus, what hops would be best suited to FWH and would you need more or less that boiling?

 

[agrazela]

Other options...

Make hop tea(s) at like 170-180F completely separate from the batch and add in later?

IsoHop? (total cheat, I guess)

 

[Yooper]

Well, FWH and flame out hops (at 200 degrees, I guess, not flame out) and then whirlpool hops would make a dandy IPA.

You certainly get full isomerization from FWH and you can boil for 90 minutes to maximize that but 60 minutes will do.

Flame out and whirlpool hops also do provide some bitterness, although not as much as if they were boiled for a lengthy time.

 

[stpug]

FWH would go through the boil which would invalidate them.

Why not perform a full boil. At the end, add a large addition and keep the temp pegged at 200F. My understanding is isomerization will happen above ~185F so as long as you keep it at 200F for plenty of time you'll get the bitter (and flavor/aroma). Follow that with a dry hop and you should be good.

Edit:
Overlooked this part: "...with no hops added above 200F..." Got it! I guess FWH are added below 200F even though they go through the boil.

 

[BrewDawg79]

FWH and mega hop stand should do the trick. I might try that on my next IPA.

 

[brewmeister13]

If your friend lives at high elevation, over a mile high, wait for a low atmospheric day and you will have no problem.

 

[ksut1547]

In addition to the FWH, you could do a long hop steep/whirlpool. I think the bitterness extracts over 180*. You could do a full boil with no hops, add bittering addition, hold the temp over 180*, then add the steeped hops. Follow that up with a big dry hop.

Sounds good. I might have to try this.

 

[Inkguy]

Glad I sparked some interest. I never would have thought of it either. I think it's a cool idea. I wonder what hops are best for it. Would 2 oz of Cascade be better suited to FWH that, say, an ounce of Magnum or Columbus?
I must have worded one question poorly, though: If I/you do FWH and dry hop only, is a 60 minute boil required? Or is it possible to shorten it to 20 or so? I understand a little about FWH but wasn't sure if bitterness is still extracted by boiling or if it's the steep during sparging that extracts the bitterness. It's more curiosity than laziness.

 

[Yooper]

Glad I sparked some interest. I never would have thought of it either. I think it's a cool idea. I wonder what hops are best for it. Would 2 oz of Cascade be better suited to FWH that, say, an ounce of Magnum or Columbus?
I must have worded one question poorly, though: If I/you do FWH and dry hop only, is a 60 minute boil required? Or is it possible to shorten it to 20 or so? I understand a little about FWH but wasn't sure if bitterness is still extracted by boiling or if it's the steep during sparging that extracts the bitterness. It's more curiosity than laziness.

It's the boiling that extracts the IBUs. So a 20 minute boil with FWH would be more like a 20 minute (or so) addition.

 

[brewmeister13]

It's the boiling that extracts the IBUs. So a 20 minute boil with FWH would be more like a 20 minute (or so) addition.

Some people even say that FWH boiled for 60 minutes has a perceived bitterness closer to a 20 minute addition. I would tend to agree. I had an IPA with a calculated 82 IBU's that was called delicate by a judge in a competition (not a bad thing, it scored 43 and took 2nd in BOS, but unexpected for 82 IBU's). It was FWHs and 15 minutes or less only.

 

[Indian_villager]

Mash hops too?