cold break, wow

[croc4]

I tried my own recipe this weekend, instead of using a kit and LME,

I used my own recipe and only DME, I was amazed at the amount of cold break material I got, far more than the Kits I had been using.

And after tossing in my starter I started getting activity within a few hours. So if this one comes out tasty I may just never go back to LME, just based on simplicity (less number of ingredients)
________
Arianna_S (http://www.girlcamfriend.com/cam/Arianna_S/)

[Brownbeard]

OK, pardon my ignorace, but I have read the term cold break a lot and I have no idea what it means. Can someone explain please?

[barley ben]

Cold break is the thick white stuff in the bottom of your kettle when you cool your wort. It is mostly protiens that solidify when cooled fast. The quicker the you cool it, the more you get and the better it is so you can leave it behind when you transfer. It is a large part of your trub along with your used hops.

[Beerconnoisseur]

Sure. A cold break occurs at the temperature where the complex proteins/tannins are no longer soluble in solution. So these drop to the bottom of your kettle after your boil is over, and you typically don't want to mix them into your beer, since it will make your beer cloudy.