What would be some causes for the lack of foam at the beginning of the boil? Since switching to my outside system with a 16 gallon kettle for 6-7 gallon batches, I don't get much hot break foam when it's coming to a boil. I theorize that this is from a wider kettle with lower liquid volume in it. I wonder how this, if it does, translates to the finished beer. I've brewed some pretty fantastic beers when this has happened, so that leads me to think it doesn't matter, but still, it begs the question.
Part of the reason I'm questioning this also has to do with the fact that I'm bottling some of the left over beer after the keg is full. Since I ferment in 2 - 5 gallon kegs, I can bottle right out of the fermenter with a few grams of honey in each bottle. The bottles seem carbonated but they don't form much head when pouring and don't retain head throughout the glass either. I wonder if this has anything to do with the lack of a big hot break? The kegged beer seems to have plenty of head retention, so it leads me to think that maybe I'm not using enough honey to prime the bottles, who knows...
Thus, I want to see what youse experts have to say aboot this. Does a lack of a big hot break pose a problem? I've read some about cloudy beer, but this hasn't been as much of an issue...
Thanks!