What Am I Doing Wrong? - Hotbreak.

[bear09]

Dear All,
On the weekend just gone I completed my 4th all grain. Getting much better at the whole process now and good if not great apa's have been the bi-product. My question is for this topic - what am I doing wrong?
I have been to numberous brew demos as Grain & Grape. After about 20-30 mins of boil time I can see in their wort massive chunks of protein. They look like big gorbies! Some were about 5 cm long and the brew demonstrator at the time was quite chuffed and this was a really good 'Hot Break'. Many brewers around nodded their heads in approval as this was totally normal. For me though I had never seen it before. My wort never even comes close to looking like that. I have done protien rests and followed strict mashing temps and shcedule for all my AG's and still no hot break.

Any tips for achieveing a good hot break? Thank you!

 

[Belgrave Brewer]

I would not worry about it too much. You may not be seeing it for many reasons, like how vigorous your boil is, type of brew, etc. I see it sometimes but not everytime. If your beer is turning out ok, then you are doing the right thing.

 

[Screwtop]

I would not worry about it too much. You may not be seeing it for many reasons, like how vigorous your boil is, type of brew, etc. I see it sometimes but not everytime. If your beer is turning out ok, then you are doing the right thing.

Zackery what he says

have a beer.

Screwy

 

[tangent]

Many brewers around nodded their heads in approval

Hot break envy? :blink:

 

[warrenlw63]

Either that or they're grotting into the wort. :wacko:

Warren -

 

[Screwtop]

Either that or they're grotting into the wort. :wacko:

Warren -

C H O I C E

 

[albrews]

Dear All,
On the weekend just gone I completed my 4th all grain. Getting much better at the whole process now and good if not great apa's have been the bi-product. My question is for this topic - what am I doing wrong?
I have been to numberous brew demos as Grain & Grape. After about 20-30 mins of boil time I can see in their wort massive chunks of protein. They look like big gorbies! Some were about 5 cm long and the brew demonstrator at the time was quite chuffed and this was a really good 'Hot Break'. Many brewers around nodded their heads in approval as this was totally normal. For me though I had never seen it before. My wort never even comes close to looking like that. I have done protien rests and followed strict mashing temps and shcedule for all my AG's and still no hot break.

Any tips for achieveing a good hot break? Thank you!

hi, a good irish moss (seaweed) will give a good hot break. my wort just clears with some solids precipitation.


cheers, alan

 

[matti]

Poor some wort in a glass after 20-30 minute boil and cool it down.
I am sure you will actually see the break
DWHAHB....

 

[Justin]

Hi mate. I wouldn't worry too much about it but there can be a number of reasons why you might not get a very good break formation.

Here is a snippit from Brewing Techniques that I just googled up:

In the boil: One of the reasons we boil wort is to coagulate proteins that have bound with tannins. This gummy-looking material is called hot break. The substances that comprise hot break are responsible for the formation of chill haze, so it is important to remove them. Hot break formation is dependent upon wort pH, boiling time, and the vigor of the boil. The pH of the wort can be measured and adjusted to optimize break formation. (A pH of about 5.2 is ideal, but much below that may result in a poor break.) A boil time of two hours will promote maximum break formation, although many brewers boil for less time in the interest of brewhouse economy.

If you are having trouble with your boil, consider upgrading your heat source (see "Burner Upgrades," page 39). Using a heat source of adequate size will ensure a vigorous boil, which will promote a good hot break because the protein and tannin molecules have more chance to collide and bind. End of BT quote.

Now, as I said I wouldn't get too hung up on it. I started to worry a bit about getting poor hot break a while back and I think I tracked it down to my water which is very, very soft, which ultimately may have been coming back to pH matters. I found when searching on the matter that some people drop the pH during the boil by adding a bit of calcium during the boil (some German brewers add a bit of calcium during the boil too I have read). While I dont really worry about it too much these days I have read figures of around 1/4 tsp. of gypsum or calcium chloride works well for this. You can also use lactic or phosphoric acid.

Basically though, now I don't worry too much about it as it doesn't seem to affect the beer taste in my opinion. It's something I may come back to in the future but I'm not brewing enough at the moment to worry too mcuh about it.

Thats a starting point for you though. Also things like the type of beer and malt bill will have various effects. Wheat beers are well known for great hot break. I've seen it the size of golf balls.

Cheers, Justin

 

[NRB]

hi, a good irish moss (seaweed) will give a good hot break. my wort just clears with some solids precipitation.

You mean COLD break?

 

[braufrau]

You mean COLD break?

Isn't it neither? Or either?
Irish Moss coagulates protein of either variety so it can be left behind, filtered out, drop to the bottom etc. ?

 

[tangent]

hot break is when you HEAT the stuff up and proteins coagulate.
cold break is when you use your chiller at the end of the boil and the COLD change coagulates proteins (when you add your irish moss)

 

[NRB]

That's what I meant Tangent... I guess I just wasn't as succinct as your good self.

 

[oldbugman]

Dont you get more hot break if you dont recirc your runnings enough?

 

[tangent]

not you NRB, i'm trying to talk some sense into Ms.Regurgitator