First Wort Hopping

This is for sale at a Costco in the UK.  I will ask for one for Christmas.

A life size race simulator.

  -------------------------------------

I'm planning on a new beer to brew in the near future which will be my first attempt to do a process called First Wort Hopping.

It's an old process that was actually forgotten until the middle 90s and I believe Ale Asylum uses the process to make their hoppy beer smoother.  Not that they would ever tell anyone (they are sort of jerks to home brewers, unlike Karben4 brewing who are now in the old Ale Asylum Brewery, those guys are awesome).

First Wort Hopping means adding your bittering hops BEFORE you start your boil.  Basically adding hops in the sparge (when you are rinsing the grains to collect the sugar water which is now call wort).

What this does is allows the hops to steep in the hot water which will reduce the Ph of the mash (where all the grains are soaking), which in turn will enhanced isomerization* of later hop additions, increasing overall hop utilization during the boil.

*isomerization - the process by which one molecule is transformed into another molecule which has exactly the same atoms, but the atoms are rearrange, this is why brewing is so much fun.

What this does is increase the IBU (International Bittering Unit which measures how much hops you can taste) by about 10% which will also "create a complex bitterness and aroma to you beer that is both smooth and pleasing to the pallet".

Low alpha hops are recommended (hops with a lower amount of oils) because high alpha hops tend to add too much bitterness.

As you know, typically there are three hop additions to a boil.  The first hops are called bittering hops which are like a foundation and are used to offset the sugars in a beer.  The second addition, normally at the 30 minute mark are flavor hops and hops at the very end of the boil are aroma hops.  

What kind of hops and how long they boil all account to the flavor of a beer (along with what kind of malt and what s in the water and so forth).

SO - I will let you know.  This beer will also be dry hopped with a new hop called Zythoes. Dry hopping is a process where the hops are added after fermentation is complete. Sort of like adding salt and pepper to the top of a hamburger after it's cooked.

On a side note, I'm going to brew a Weizenbock for a few competitions this fall. I could really use a cheap refrigerator that will hold a 6 gallon carboy. Anyone have one??
---------------------------------------

First city council tonight - a bit awkward as the outgoing and incoming aldermen will pass in the dark (except the lights will be on).  Big agenda tonight . Maybe I'll tweet the play by play.

I do not feel this is an inappropriate way to seat a new council.  Just have them come in and take the old members warm chairs and start new business??   BUT, how often in Columbus history has there been a 42% change-over in city government. Plus we need to hire a new City Admin.  Talk about CHANGE.  Glad I'm not in their shoes  :-)  

My big challenge will be attending a meeting on a new 6 hole disk golf course at Firemans Park.  Of course there has been some controversy on THAT which seems to be how things are done in Columbus  LOL    

-------------------------------

And my deepest condolences to Jenny who's Nana passed away. 

Nana is an odd word and is used in so many ways.  In America it is a  grandmother or grandmotherly figure.  In Hispanic cultures, a Nana can be a dearly loved babysitter. In India, nana is the word for "maternal grandfather."   In French, nana means "chick.  In Italian, nana means "dwarf."

-----------------------------------------------

See ya