[martylap]

Hi, i just got my first boil over. I pass to 15 g kettle to a 8 g for some reason but, this boil over, damn!

Ok, now. J. Palmer say this is bas to loose that foam and in other way some people skimming that foam to get it off.

I'm not sure, did i lost something in that boil over or not? The beer will be ok?

Thank you

Martin

[natebrews]

I'm sure beer will be fine.  Given that there are people that say you want it and those that say you should skim it, I think it is safe to say that neither will ruin the beer.  If one of those did, then I imagine the people in that camp would stop doing it. 

I have had a few boil overs (mostly since I went electric for some reason), and the main thing that I think it has done is the boil over taking out hops that were in the boil at that point.  The hops tend to stick to the bubbles and go out of the pot with them, so those hops would have some diminished effect (some oils probably got in before they boiled over).

[kramerog]

The worse part of a boilover is the mess to be cleaned up.  RDWHAHB!

[Slowbrew]

You picked a topic that has been discussed (argued over?) many times over the years.  I don't know of any agreed on consensus that has ever been reached.

IMHO - I do not skim off the hot break because, frankly, it seems like too much work.  On the other side of that I don't sweat it if I have a boil over either (except for cussing myself out for making more clean up work).   I don't think it matters enough to make a difference in my beers.

As they say, RDWHAHB.   

Paul

[brewinhard]

I skim the hot break just to help clarify the wort a bit more. I figure if I remove it early on, it is less that will settle out on the bottom of the kettle and make for easier separation of clear wort into the fermenter.

[denny]

I skim the hot break just to help clarify the wort a bit more. I figure if I remove it early on, it is less that will settle out on the bottom of the kettle and make for easier separation of clear wort into the fermenter.

Actually, studies have shown that having trub in the fermenter appears to be a good thing.  Beers fermented with trub have been found to be clearer and be preferred in taste to those that have had the trub removed.  Weird, counter intuitive, I know....

[brewinhard]

I skim the hot break just to help clarify the wort a bit more. I figure if I remove it early on, it is less that will settle out on the bottom of the kettle and make for easier separation of clear wort into the fermenter.

Actually, studies have shown that having trub in the fermenter appears to be a good thing.  Beers fermented with trub have been found to be clearer and be preferred in taste to those that have had the trub removed.  Weird, counter intuitive, I know....

Oh, I am sure I get some trub into my fermenters. It is unavoidable with my setup. But mostly clear wort goes in first.

[reverseapachemaster]

The worst problem with a boilover is an angry significant other when you don't clean it up sufficiently.

My wife still hates the burnt wort I haven't completely cleaned from the stovetop.

[JohnnyC]

I skim the hot break just to help clarify the wort a bit more. I figure if I remove it early on, it is less that will settle out on the bottom of the kettle and make for easier separation of clear wort into the fermenter.

Actually, studies have shown that having trub in the fermenter appears to be a good thing.  Beers fermented with trub have been found to be clearer and be preferred in taste to those that have had the trub removed.  Weird, counter intuitive, I know....

Did our own triangle test a couple of brew club meetings ago, where I dumped all the trub in one and no trub in the other fermenter. Everyone could pick out the the odd beer out and everyone preferred the "trubby" beer. Now I make sure that each fermenter gets equal amounts of trub. Do you have links to the studies, Denny?

[denny]

I skim the hot break just to help clarify the wort a bit more. I figure if I remove it early on, it is less that will settle out on the bottom of the kettle and make for easier separation of clear wort into the fermenter.

Actually, studies have shown that having trub in the fermenter appears to be a good thing.  Beers fermented with trub have been found to be clearer and be preferred in taste to those that have had the trub removed.  Weird, counter intuitive, I know....

Did our own triangle test a couple of brew club meetings ago, where I dumped all the trub in one and no trub in the other fermenter. Everyone could pick out the the odd beer out and everyone preferred the "trubby" beer. Now I make sure that each fermenter gets equal amounts of trub. Do you have links to the studies, Denny?

Here's one....http://hbd.org/discus/messages/40327/41534.html .  Brulosophy did the other one and you should be able to find it there.

[hopfenundmalz]

A little cold break is beneficial to yeast health.

[The Beerery]

A little cold break is beneficial to yeast health.

Indeed!  All brewing texts pretty much say explicitly hot break should be removed, along with "most" of cold as well. I am guessing why people see positive results with trub laden beers is the FAN in the cold trub, which is energizing yeast and helping them perform better. A lot of positive things happen with happy yeast.

[802Chris]

I think its worth noting that a single bottle of defoamer can last you years and aleviate much of the concern here. I LITERALLY just just hot my butt saved by two drops about 15 minutes ago. I was weighing out my hops for all of a minute and i turned around to see my boil kettle about to boil over! Luckily i had added a few drops of defoamer during runnoff jist in case... the boil over never went over the top of the kettle and settled quickly, saving me a massive mess and headache.
Fwiw i have skimmed and not skimmed dozens of batches and I have never noticed a difference that I can purely contribute to that. Cold crashing and/or gelatin (of kegging) are the only thinga that i have found to give me crystal clear beer every time.

[LeftyLucy]

"The worst problem with a boilover is an angry significant other when you don't clean it up sufficiently.

My wife still hates the burnt wort I haven't completely cleaned from the stovetop."

I have found that it helps a LOT to make a burner protector out of tinfoil and put that under my brew kettle.  I can't tell you how many times I've taken that protector off covered with crud and thanked my stars it wasn't on the stove.

[Kochhandwerk]

"The worst problem with a boilover is an angry significant other when you don't clean it up sufficiently.

My wife still hates the burnt wort I haven't completely cleaned from the stovetop."

I have found that it helps a LOT to make a burner protector out of tinfoil and put that under my brew kettle.  I can't tell you how many times I've taken that protector off covered with crud and thanked my stars it wasn't on the stove.

I always have thought of myself as a smart man, but 10+ batches of wort spills cooked onto the stovetop without thinking of this, I am now having doubts.  Gonna do this next time! (assuming I can get the old crud cleaned up)