Drop break material then boil

[IceChisel]

Do the brewing texts have any literature on dropping break material before a hop addition boil? Essentially boil, cool, drop break material, boil with hops (hop cooking)?

 

[VikeMan]

I doubt any brewing texts have any information on boiling, then cooling, then bringing to a boil again and adding hops. But then, it's not a process I've ever heard of. Seems pointless and inefficient to me.

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

I have never heard or read about that practice either. Kunze talks about effective hot (coarse) break separation after the boil - which includes hop separation - before chilling, but that may not be practical on a small scale. Kunze also talks about the advantages of adding hops before coming to a boil, citing increased isomerization as the main benefit.

 

[Vale71]

This would be a completely pointless excercise as hot break forms (i.e. "breaks") during boil and does not require cooling. To separate hot break effectively before adding hops you could transfer to a whirlpool vessel and then after the trub cone has settled you could pump back, without cooling, to the boil kettle for further boiling with hop additions. I don't see the point of that though and apparently neither has anyone before you. What do you think you'd be able to achieve by that?

 

[Dgallo]

Why do you want to do that Is my question? Hops help precipitate the start of the hot break. They also help hold surface tension and prevent boil overs.

What’s the thought process behind doing this?

 

[IceChisel]

Does the brewing literature state the differences between hot break and cold break? Does it classify one or both as beneficial or undesirable?

 

[VikeMan]

Does the brewing literature state the differences between hot break and cold break? Does it classify one or both as beneficial or undesirable?

This would be the literature to start with: www.howtobrew.com

 

[IceChisel]

I'm referring more to the textbooks like kunze and de clerk. I don't have access to those materials.

 

[Dgallo]

I'm referring more to the textbooks like kunze and de clerk. I don't have access to those materials.

....... google maybe. You’re asking about very basic information and should be able to find resources easily

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

Kunze says removing hot break (called coarse trub in the book) before adding yeast is essential, saying it is detrimental to overall quality. He does add a note stating that *some* hot break is ok (<100mg/l). Cold break he says is not so essential to remove if you are removing the hot break.(pp.355-367).

If you are chilling in the same vessel as you are boiling in, the hot and cold break are going to be mixed together. My process after boil is complete is to chill as quickly as possible, do a whirlpool, let it settle for a while (30-40min works well for my system), then slowly draw off the side to the fermenter.

 

[Vale71]

If you are chilling in the same vessel as you are boiling in, the hot and cold break are going to be mixed together.

No, they're not. Hot break and cold break are completely different and cold break removal is not possible without specific equipment/processes.

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

I should have been more clear, they will not be homogeneously mixed, but they are in the same vessel. The hot break should still fall out of suspension.

 

[Vale71]

Totally agree.

 

[IceChisel]

Kunze says removing hot break (called coarse trub in the book) before adding yeast is essential, saying it is detrimental to overall quality. He does add a note stating that *some* hot break is ok (<100mg/l). Cold break he says is not so essential to remove if you are removing the hot break.(pp.355-367).

If you are chilling in the same vessel as you are boiling in, the hot and cold break are going to be mixed together. My process after boil is complete is to chill as quickly as possible, do a whirlpool, let it settle for a while (30-40min works well for my system), then slowly draw off the side to the fermenter.

Thank you! I now have the information needed.

 

[VikeMan]

I now have the information needed.

For what?

 

[Beermeister32]

Try to separate as much break material as you can. I usually have a 7 gallon pre-boil volume, leaving 6 gallons in the kettle. After chill, you pull the first 5 gallons which are have minimal break material. The last gallon of wort and kettle crud I put into a small jug to ferment out separately.

(This way you are basically "hi-grading" the batch, sort of like picking the choice sections of a piece of wood to build nice furniture). The good stuff goes into the carboy. The slop goes into the jug.

The last gallon can sometimes taste fine, it will have a sharper taste because of the concentrated trub and hop mass, but generally ferments and clears faster than the main batch. Sometimes good, sometimes dump. Hobby brewers generally develop high tolerance for beer weirdness. Hey, it's better than tossing that last six-pack of beer right? !!!