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Originally Posted by zach1288
What is the purpose of protein in beer if most of it is lost to hot break and cold break? Does the beer need some protein?
I know that protein can cause chill haze but on the other hand you need it for head retention. Is there a balancing act in terms of this? Also flaked wheat and oats contribute more head retention and mouth feel than malted, why is this?
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Flaked wheat and oats are loaded with proteins!
Protein is very important in providing body in a beer. Many folks overlook this. There are a whole bunch of proteins that stay soluble throughout the whole brewing process and end up in the finished beer. This is of course important for head formation, but also the body of a beer. The trick is to limit the amount of chill haze promoting proteins and maximize (if you want lots of body) the amount of desireable proteins
One topic many folks debate is wether or not to do a protein rest druing the mash (~122 F for 5-30 min.) The folks in the no p-rest camp, say that today's malts are well modified, and don't need it, and beside too long of a protein rest RESULTS IN A THIN BODIED BEER. Many folks make this last statement, but then fail to make the connection that this then means the protein is obviously then very important to the body of a beer.
My favorite analogy is comparing carbohydrates and proteins to the bass and treble knobs on a stereo. Many brewers just mess with starch coversion temps to change the body of a beer. That is like adjusting the sound quality on you stereo with just the bass knob. You can do even more with the sound by messing with the teble knob as well. You can really start to tweak your wort and the body of your beer by messing with the proteins as well
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