First wort hopping, .. in the mash tun? Options

[REM]

My buddy read of this in his varied readings. Supposedly aroma and flavor hops can be put into the mash tun during the mash.

We've been doing step mashes at 144 and 158. The hops are in there the entire hour. The aroma and flavor are supposed to be retained throughout the boil... somehow.

We've been using half the flavor and aroma additions in the tun and the rest at the normal times. These are lagers. While I've learned to be very patient I cannot help but to wonder if the hops are better utilized in the conventional schedule.

Does anyone have any thoughts, experience, or links on this?

Brews to date using this method:

Vienna Lager
Urquell Clones
Bitburger Clone


Does anyone have any thoughts, experience, or links on this?

[MtnBrewer]

It's called mash hopping. Personally, I think it's a waste of hops. You'd be better off FWH'ing, in my opinion.

[Coiz]

First Wort Hopping is when you have the hops in the kettle as soon as you start to drain your mash tun into it to start collecting your wort. First Mash Hopping is when you actually have them in the mash tun. Promash defaults to a 30% less untilization when placed in with the mash and only a 10% decrease when placed in with the first runnings wort. I have only done the FWH a few times and know it is supposed act as a flavor and aroma addition. Never done the FMH so I can't really speak to that. I sure some people with more experience on that subject will chime in shortly.

[damoller]

In Germany they save spent hops and add them to the next mash for the same beer to increase utilization of the hop but more important collecting the wort from the saturated hops!

[REM]

<adding new terms to vocabulary>

Thanks. We actually have done both to various degrees, FMH and FWH, as well as the conventionally timed additions.

It just takes so long to inspect the technique that maybe we better go back to the conventional additions until we can taste the batches with these experimental additions.

I'd not want to waste hops in good times though, much less during bad times.