Hot break question

[Brewmarc]

Me & my brewing mate had a discusion about weather or not it was an advantage to skim off the foam that rises during the early stages of the boil :wha: so on my last brew (which is still fermenting )thats what we did. has anybody got any thoughts on this? is it worth doing or am I taking a vital ingredient out of the beer? :wha: 1 small point which may be relivent or not, it was befor I added the hops.

 

[BrewStew]

that's a weird coincidence... i did the very same thing on my last brew when wondering the same thing :lol:

i'm sure someone'll know.... Steve? Aleman?

 

[Brewmarc]

Well if no one comes up with an answer ill let you know what the outcome is, one thing I remember, Im not that experienced but it did seem a bit clearer after chilling but it may just be my immagination.

 

[Jonnyv]

A common misconception is that the foam that forms when the wort is about to boil is the hot break. I forget what the foam actually is - I've always stirred it back in.

A good hot break occurs at around 60 to 90 minutes into the boil.

As to whether removing the foam or not is good for the beer, I doubt it makes much difference.

 

[brewzone]

I seem to remember reading that the foam early into the boil and having added the hops is unisomerised hop oils and resins which eventually do become isomerised.

BZ

 

[BrewStew]

I seem to remember reading that the foam early into the boil and having added the hops is unisomerised hop oils and resins which eventually do become isomerised.

it's either the starches or enzymes in the wort breaking down (cant remember which... it maybe both)... you get the foam before you add the hop additions

 

[Brewmarc]

I'v just read from John Palmers How to brew :geek: , he says the foam that forms during the boil are proteins that have been coagulated by the rolling action of the boil & when they become heavy enough fall back into the wort & can reappear during hop additions :ugeek: . No mention of removing being an advantage :wha: , but to my way of thinking it probably ends up in the trub which is filterd out to some degree after chilling anyway, & indeed it may help in the filtration prosess. So are we any closer to an answer? any thoughts welcome :wha: .

 

[Aleman]

I'v just read from John Palmers How to brew :geek: , he says the foam that forms during the boil are proteins that have been coagulated by the rolling action of the boil & when they become heavy enough fall back into the wort & can reappear during hop additions :ugeek:

Shame that Palmer is wrong then on this matter :ugeek: :ugeek: Palmer calls the foam that forms as the wort comes to the boil the Hot Break . . it isn't, hot break forms after 60-90 minutes of the boil. This initial foam is composed of beta glucans, tannoids, proto-tannoids and the degradation products of said glucans (along with a few enzymes/proteins), and there are two minds as to whether skimming is beneficial . . . If it is high in proteinaceous matter then skimming may be beneficial, as you are reducing the total protein load, and reducing the possibility of a chill haze forming in the final product. . . If it is beta glucan based then you are reducing the gummy substances that assist with head stability, and skimming is a bad idea . . . . As an aside I cannot recall any commercial brewery that skims the wort at the initial foaming stage

 

[Brewmarc]

Good point about comercial brewers not skiming & thanks for the analisis I think Ill experiment with different brews, I have just racked my(skimed) Samual Adams style Lager to secondary after 10 days & its allready pretty clear & it tastes fantastic. Im going to do a Belgian trapist style ale next so maybe I wont skim that one,

Thanks Marc

 

[tubby_shaw]

Some breweries skim
http://www.uleybrewery.com/brewery_process.htm
Although they don't give an explanation :wha:

Most of my brewing techniques are developed empirically, and I used to be almost obsessive about skimming :whistle:
I would skim the initial foam on the boil, the trub that came up with first yeast head then the trub that forms the ring around the top of the fermenter(Have you tasted that stuff :sick: ), etc etc.
Long story short I ended up with a couple of infected batches so decided to interfere as little as possible.
Beer still looked and tasted fantastic, gave me less work to do and caused less stress
So I am going to say experiment and make your own decisions, do what works for you and enjoy yourselves :thumb: but keep us informed on your observations :

 

[Brewmarc]

How very true. In the words of Charlie papazian "Relax dont worry & have a homebrew" I allways apply this theory when posed with a dilemma works for me though its usually more than just one homebrew.

 

[Brewmarc]

Thanks for that Tubby. on the piont of skiming the yeast head during fermentation I am told that it is an advantage as this contains fusal alchohols which gives you a hangover (if you over indulge) personally i have never botherd as it seems just too much hassle with my fermenting system better to not muck about in the beer too much at this stage. "Relax dont worry & have a homebrew" :drink:

 

[prolix]

Only benifits of skimming are to reduce cleaning of boiler, a good mash strainer and a bit of recycling remove the husks and grain bits, so does not make sense to me as I have to clean the bugger anyhow and hot water shifts it easy.

Though when bored I sometimes skim it but just for fun rather than benifit.