hot & cold break?

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Mk010101

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I have now made 4 all grain brews (albeit, small brews as I don't have the capacity for a 5 gallon brew). One thing I don't get is hot break nor cold break. All I have left in the bottom is hops material (from hops pellets.)

Are my boils not strong enough? I boil for 60 min, but it isn't a vigorous boil, more like a rolling boil. To cool, I put it in a sink of water with a lot of ice and I can get a 3 gallon pot down to 85 degrees in about 15-20 min. Is that too long to cool to get cold break?

I am not really worried about it as my first two AG brews were fantastic. I except my next two to be great, as the wort tasted great before fermentation. So, I don't fret, I am asking cause I am just curious.
 
That is precisely it, but it is not a big deal. I dont know how you are firing your wort, but if you are using a stove, especially an electric stove, you are not reaching a boil very quickly and you will not get as much hot break as a result. Same thing with cold break. The colder you get it faster, the more you will have. An ice bath will not accomplish this. Heck, even a immersion chiller wont work too well this time of year if your tap water is too hot (as mine is).
 
Boiling is a pain isnt it? I recently moved up to a 15 gallon keggle for my boils, I generally start with 6.5-7 gallons for a "5 gallon" brew. To properly boil you need a good burner (55k BTU and up) and a vessel large enough for it to really boil, a pretty violent boil.

Generally my hot break reaches 2-3 inches thick on the top of the wort as the boil begins. My immersion chiller will get the wort down to about 70 degrees in 20 minutes... which provides alot of cold break.

Bottom line is this, the protiens that you are not getting out of the beer, doesnt do anything except possibly make it a little hazier in the fridge... but even those protiens will settle out and clear in a few weeks. No worries, but be on the lookout for a larger boil kettle, they are well worth it.
 
I was about to ask this same question, good to know. Hopefully I'll be picking up a couple keggles from Edwort tommorow! My 7 gal turkey fryer is just not doing the trick anymore :D
 
I acquired a keg from a friend for $10 and built the ball valve and dip tube assy. with parts from lowes, all for about $40... it is the best investment I have made yet!
 
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