NO hot (hop) break

addis29 · 01-08-2009, 07:33 PM

Did everything just like normal adding hops and LME returned to a nice boil but only saw a thin layer of foam around edges of pot didn't see the normal frothy foam half way up the pot. What happened? Is this a issue or not? My hop addition was less than a half an ounce the for the 60 minutes.

**cuinrearview** · 01-08-2009, 07:36 PM

Hot break is not the frothy foam, it is a kind of tan scum that forms after the foam dies down. It's usually not very prevelant with extract brews, at least in my experience. If I see enough to scoop I'll take some off, but this rarely happens.

addis29 · 01-08-2009, 07:40 PM

Yeah that's what I meant, chuncky green scummy looking stuff.

avaserfi · 01-08-2009, 07:48 PM

When I used an LME kit I had no hot break, but that didn't seem to effect the final product.

**olllllo** · 01-08-2009, 08:05 PM

When you use an extract, the hot break has already occurred in the extract making process.

**olllllo** · 01-08-2009, 08:06 PM

No issue with the "hop" break" either.

**cuinrearview** · 01-08-2009, 08:55 PM

I think we're having a RDWHAHB moment here. I have no "green scum" when I use whole hops. Most of the time with pellets, but not always. The beer always comes out tasting like beer, and almost always like what I was wanting to make. There are many other aspects of extract brewing to obsess over besides what the boil looks like when you add certain ingredients. If you're already making good beer (or not) look elsewhere for things to improve. This feels like a one-off occurance to me, nothing else.

addis29 · 01-08-2009, 09:01 PM

Cool I forget I ever even asked the question, Every time I brew I feel like something happened different from the time before and I'm going to screw something up. Thanks for calming me down.

MajorTom · 01-09-2009, 12:37 PM

I always get hot break when boiling extract. Whether boiling a small amount for a starter or a large amount for a brew... Kind of reminds me of egg drop soup...except smaller. Mix up some DME and water in one of those "Visions" clear glass pots and you will see it. You'll think you lefts some kind of scum on the inside of the pot and it flaked lose, but its hot break.