Author: Phil Rusher

One of the main steps in the brewing process involves boiling the wort for a certain amount of time, usually between 60 and 90 minutes, during which numerous things happen. In addition to driving off the DMS precursor and isomerizing alpha acids from hops, it’s during the boil a curious reaction takes place that is known to keep brewers on their toes.

As wort temperature rises, proteins and polyphenols that are naturally present in grains begin to clump together to form what brewers refer to as the hot break. Typically, the first signs of the hot break occur just before the a boil is reached, at which point a thick foamy cap develops atop the wort that, if left unchecked, can lead to a sticky boil-over. As the boil really gets going, this foam reintegrates into the wort and begins to coagulate into visibly large chunks, leading to the appearance of egg drop soup. When the boil is complete, these chunks fall out of solution, along with cold break material, to form a layer of kettle trub that can more readily be avoided when transferring to a fermentor.

It’s safe to say most brewers view hot break as a normal part of the brewing process and only focus on its removal once the boil is complete. However, there’s been some talk about the potential benefits of scooping the foamy substance off the wort at the beginning of the boil. Curious of the impact this simple yet seemingly rarely employed method has on beer, I put it to the test!

| PURPOSE |

To evaluate the differences between a beer made with the hot break removed at the beginning of the boil and one made without the hot break being removed.

| METHODS |

In order to showcase the variable, I wanted to make a relatively simple Munich Helles with hop additions made well after the beginning of the boil.

Dibs

Recipe Details Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV 5.5 gal 60 min 20.8 IBUs 4.9 SRM 1.048 1.012 4.7 % Actuals 1.048 1.01 5.1 % Fermentables Name Amount % Pelton Pilsner-style Malt (Mecca Grade) 8.5 lbs 82.93 Metolius Munich-style Malt (Mecca Grade) 1.5 lbs 14.63 Opal 22 Graham & Cocoa Malt (Mecca Grade) 4 oz 2.44 Hops Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha % Hallertau Magnum 15 g 50 min Boil Pellet 13.2 Yeast Name Lab Attenuation Temperature Harvest (L17) Imperial Yeast 72% 50°F - 60°F Notes Water Profile: Ca 53 | Mg 0 | Na 30 | SO4 75 | Cl 75 Download Download this recipe's BeerXML file

I started things off by collecting the proper volume of RO water a couple days ahead of time.

I also threw together a starter of Imperial Yeast L17 Harvest.

The next day, I adjusted the water to my desired profile and began heating up before moving on to milling identical sets of grain for each batch.

With the water adequately heated, I mashed in and set each Grainfather to maintain the same 152°F/67°C.

While waiting on the mash, I weighed out the kettle hop additions.

Following the 60 minute saccharification rest, I removed the grains, sparged, then set the controller to heat the wort up. Just before reaching a boil, I used a sieve to remove as much of the creamy foam forming atop one of the batches of wort as I could. The other batch was left alone.

As expected, the batch where the hot break wasn’t removed initially foamed up a bit before mostly reintegrating back into the wort. At the completion of each 60 minute boil, the wort was quickly chilled.

Refractometer readings showed both worts achieved the same 1.048 OG (11.8 °Bx).

Equal volumes of wort were then racked to identical fermentation vessels that I placed next to each other in my chamber controlled to 64°F/18°C before pitching the yeast.

After 10 days of fermentation, I took hydrometer measurements confirming both had reached the same 1.010 FG.

As I prepared to package the beers, I noticed the difference in trub levels lining the bottom of each fermentor wasn’t as stark as I expected (the color difference is due to lighting).

I proceeded with transferring the beers to separate CO2 purged kegs.

The filled kegs were placed in my cool keezer and burst carbonated. After a couple weeks of cold conditioning, both were ready to serve.

| RESULTS |

A total of 45 people of varying levels of experience participated in this xBmt. Each participant was served 1 sample of the beer made with the hot break removed and 2 samples of the beer made with the hot break remaining in the wort in different colored opaque cups then asked to identify the unique sample. While 21 tasters (p<0.05) would have had to identify the unique sample in order to reach statistical significance, only 18 (p=0.21) made the accurate selection, indicating participants in this xBmt could not reliably distinguish a beer made with the hot break removed during the boil from one where the hot break was not removed.

My Impressions: Aside from their slight difference in clarity, I perceive these beers as being remarkably similar, so much so that I relied on guessing in my own triangle test attempts. To my palate, both beers were cleanly fermented with a biscuity character and notes of sweet graininess. Perhaps because I knew exactly how the beers were made, I convinced myself they had mild amounts of graham cracker flavor as well, which I attribute to the dash of Mecca Grade Opal 22.

| DISCUSSION |

While the amount may vary depending on the ingredients and processes used, hot break formation will occur as wort boils. Amounting to a minor nuisance for those with smaller kettles, some brewers actually believe the reintegration of this mixture of protein and polyphenols can have a negative effect on beer quality, hence their recommendation to remove it. The fact tasters in this xBmt were unable to reliably distinguish a beer made with the hot break removed from one where the hot break was left in the wort suggests it has little perceptible impact.

Moreover, some proponents of hot break removal claim doing so leads to clearer wort and thus clearer beer, which makes intuitive sense, though observable results from this xBmt suggest the opposite is true. This aligns with results from a previous xBmt on kettle trub presence during fermentation that demonstrated a beer fermented with a high amount of trub ended up being clearer than one fermented with minimal trub. Some have also speculated that removing the hot break could affect body and foam retention, neither of which I detected between these two beers.

I tend to go through life thinking less is more, and that is almost always my mantra when it comes to brewing. In all of the beers I’ve made over the years, I’ve never once removed the hot break before this one, and given my inability to tell the difference, I don’t see myself adding this extra, somewhat laborious step to my normal brewing practice.

If you have any thoughts about this xBmt, please do not hesitate to share in the comments section below!

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