Hot break, boilover, and waiting

[pfooti]

I read a few articles that indicate that the main cause of boilover is hot break proteins; when you first approach 212 F, those proteins start to coagulate and form a pretty sturdy foam that will cause a spectacular boil-over. Things smooth out after a little while because the proteins end up coagulating much bigger and eventually become too heavy to form a foam.

As a result, I've taken to pausing my boils. When I get right to about 210 or so and start to get some foam formation, I turn off the heat and let it sit for about 5 minutes. I give it a stir to break up the foam that did form, and turn the heat back on. Since trying this, I've never had a boilover or even a boilover scare- the wort is very well-behaved.

Am I seeing a false correlation? I only had boilover scares occasionally when I was first brewing anyway (although that was extract and I recently converted to AG, which I'm told has far more hot break proteins). Is this going to damage my beer somehow?

 

[VTBrewer]

what volume are you boiling in what size pot? While what you're doing may work, it seems a little excessive and can't be beneficial to hop utilization, though it may not hurt.

I just tend my pot and when the foam starts to rise lift off slightly (i boile 6.5 gallons) and set back down as needed. Blowing on it can help and I know some people use fans for that purpose. The hot break will happen a lot faster if you just get thru it and then you'll be fine.

 

[pfooti]

I boil about 6 to 6.5 gallons in a 7.5 gallon pot. The first few times I used this pot, I tried things like putting a penny in the pot or spraying the foam with cold water. It was the failure of the cold spray (which is often useful in traditional boilovers) that got me thinking about the cause.

I haven't put any hops in at this point, I usually toss in the hops after the hot break is over and I've got a nice even boil (excepting my Amber ale, which gets a first wort hop). Is that the wrong time?

EDIT: Also, with 6.5 gallons in a very hot pot (I use a bayou classic propane ring), I'm not interested in lifting the pot, although with propane I can quickly turn the heat down, which works out about the same.

 

[VTBrewer]

I guess lifting the pot is probably bad advice, just something I do. I also have a 9 gallon pot though and much more room for error as i stir vigrouously and fluctuate my heat source.

 

[Cellarbrau]

When too much surface area is covered by foam, hops, break material, which acts as an insulator of sorts, the wort superheats and boils over. Having a strong fan blowing across the top of the pot might work (so I've heard).

I like to just push the floating stuff to one side with my spoon until it starts to recede. You just need to keep some of the surface of the wort exposed and you'll be ok.

 

[Captain Damage]

I used to "ride" the flame - turning down the heat just as a boilover looked iminent. That worked well, but requires unwavering attention. If you get distracted by your phone, cat or shiny objects, it can wreck your day (and stovetop). My last 6 batches I've used FermcapS and have been happy with the results.

 

[Calder]

FermCap.

Use it and you will never brew without it!

 

[pfooti]

Oooh, fermcap would have prevented a lot of mess recently- I was brewing an extract-based honey wheat with WAY too much gravity for my fermenter vessel- the yeast foam went up into the airlock, clogged it up, and shot the entire lid of the bucket into the air. It was wild.

Cellerbrau: that certainly can be a contributor to boilover, but what I've been observing is that the foam made right before the hot break is much more durable than just regular boiling foam. This stuff could be made into a sculpture, so it's not just insulation but also a very thick and expanding substance growing up out of the pot.

It seems like this is a marginally new idea then, so let me restate it: if you turn your heat off and wait 5 minutes right as the beer starts to boil, you will significantly reduce (and perhaps eliminate) the chance of a boilover event. No fiddling is needed, provided you're working on gas and can turn the heat off (wouldn't work with electric). After 5 minutes, stir as much of the foam back into the wort as possible and turn the heat back on. This "hot break hold" gives proteins a chance to coagulate heavily enough that they can't form boilover foam.