Hot & Cold Break
Hot & cold break are two important phases of the beer brewing process that play an integral role on the end product. Managing these two breaks properly will result in an even better tasting and looking beer.
Hot break is the coagulation of mostly proteins, but also a few other things, during the boil. These same proteins are responsible for chill haze in your end product. Chill haze is as it sounds, haze that forms when you chill your beer. When your boil starts and that head of foam forms, that has caused many a boil overs, you are witnessing the start of hot break. As the proteins clump together and become heavier they sink back into the boil which is why the foamy boil subsides after a while. If you use an anti-foam product it just accelerates this process by coagulating the proteins quickly. To reduce the likelihood of chill haze be sure to complete a strong rolling boil for at least 60 minutes to clump these proteins.
Cold break is the precipitation or flocculation of mostly proteins, but also tannins and hop matter, that form when chilling wort rapidly. When wort is chilled very rapidly cold break will begin to form at around 60℃. When this is happening the wort will look a little like egg drop soup. An ice bath typically will not be sufficient to make an effective cold break, you will need an effective wort chiller in order to drop the temperature rapidly enough. An effective cold break improves clarity, stability, and flavor of beer.
Both Hot and Cold break are the coagulation of materials, mainly proteins. Understanding how they form and controlling them can dramatically improve your brewing experience but reducing or eliminating boil overs. It can also improve the appearance and flavor of your brews by improving clarity and eliminating off flavors.
Edited by Amy
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