I guess Fermcap-S does expire...

I always thought my LHBS was full of it when they told me to discard the bottle after a year or so. Anyways, I hadn't brewed since last April and decided to do a quick extract batch on the stove top today. Got my boil going, put in the Fermcap-S and took the trash out. In the two minutes it took for me to run out and run back in I had a hellacious boil over.



It didn't seem too bad until I pulled out the burners and found this mess underneath. All told, I ended up losing between 1 and 2 quarts of my boil volume.



Moral of the story... never leave your boil unattended, even if you are using Fermcap-S. I'll chalk this one up as a learning experience and advise any other Fermcap users to make sure they know how old theirs is before they brew.

I'd be more choked about the clean up than losing some wort.

Fermcap does stratify and the liquid on top won't be effective. Try shaking up the bottle and using it again. Shake it again before each use.

WTF is a fermcap-s?? maybe I dont wanna know if it f*cKs up your beer

I have some Fermcap-S that I have been using for a year and it is still good. I keep it in the fridge and always shake it up well before use.

Cellarbrau said:

I'd be more choked about the clean up than losing some wort.

Fermcap does stratify and the liquid on top won't be effective. Try shaking up the bottle and using it again. Shake it again before each use.

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It really wasn't that bad since I turned off the pot and cleaned it immediately. Had I let it go until I finished, it would have been a nightmare. I think it would have set up like concrete in pretty short order.

I already pitched the Fermcap, I plan on getting a new bottle before my next brew day. However, I will start to shake the bottle before use. Thanks for the tip.

CityOChampBrew said:

WTF is a fermcap-s?? maybe I dont wanna know if it f*cKs up your beer

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It's an anti-foam compound that prevent boilovers and massive blow offs in your fermenter. When it's working, it's an amazing product. It's not so amazing when it fails you...

aubiecat said:

I have some Fermcap-S that I have been using for a year and it is still good. I keep it in the fridge and always shake it up well before use.

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My bottle was easily 2, maybe 2 and a half years old. I hadn't touched it in 9 months, so I was probably asking for trouble.

I didn't know you were supposed to keep it in the fridge (yea, I know it says ON THE BOTTLE) so my first bottle quit working pretty decisively one night in a similar fashion. Haven't made that mistake again.

I've always kept mine in the fridge, and have been using the same one for almost 3 years now

I somehow misplaced my Fermcap-s and couldn't find it during my last brew day on New Years day. I freaked out since the LHBS was closed that day and then remembered that infant anti-gas drops also work. I rushed to Safeway and breathed a sigh of relief that they had some in stock. It worked just as well as Fermcap-S though I do think it was more expensive. Something to keep in mind if you have an emergency like I did.

From now on I'm adding Fermcap-S to my pre-brewday checklist.

I see you're still logged on, so I'm guessing you're not married. If you are, then you have my condolences.

CityOChampBrew said:

WTF is a fermcap-s?? maybe I dont wanna know if it f*cKs up your beer

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Dimethylpolysiloxane, sound yummy? Post-fermentation, it binds to yeast and according to the FDA it should only be used in filtered beer, since the yeast and the bound Fermcap will be removed. I'm surprised the number of people who are willing to take the risk. No, it's not going to cause immediate health issues, but who knows what it might be doing to your liver over 10-20 years.

Dimethylpolysiloxane is also knows as simethicone (sold as an OTC gas remedy). If the FDA thinks it's safe enough to allow infants to be dosed up to 12 times a day (for a total of 360 mg), I'm gonna be just fine with whatever negligible amount makes it into my beer. As far as I'm concerned, the ethanol in the beer is far more detrimental than Ferm-Cap...

ChillyCheese said:

Dimethylpolysiloxane, sound yummy? Post-fermentation, it binds to yeast and according to the FDA it should only be used in filtered beer, since the yeast and the bound Fermcap will be removed. I'm surprised the number of people who are willing to take the risk. No, it's not going to cause immediate health issues, but who knows what it might be doing to your liver over 10-20 years.

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Yea, that's a pretty ignorant statement. Dimethylpolysiloxane is an FDA approved additive. Add to that the facts that it's totally insoluble in beer and totally inert, and you have a zero chance of this stuff getting into your drink or leaching anything into it.

Anyway, it's not used to bind yeast, it's a foam control additive- used in the boil to prevent boilovers and in the primary to prevent blowoffs.

Apparently the Fermcap I usually put in the boil also helps out in the fermenter. I nearly had a bucket explosion... also a first for me.