Foam control

I used foam control drops for the first time, and I was impressed! I was able to keep a good rolling boil at almost capacity in my aluminum turkey pot.

So now I've got 6 gallons in a 6.5 gallon bucket, and I'm expecting blowoff, especially since I'm pitching harvested US-05 with a 1-liter starter and an OG of 1.057. I got bubbles after 5 hours, VERY active fermentation signs after 18 hours, and no blowoff.

Is this because of the foam control drops? Do they hang around during fermentation? If they do, then I'm done with 5 gallon batches, and hello to 6 gallon batches!

I love the drops too, but I'm here to tell you that you CAN have a boilover even with them, and you CAN have a blow off, too. But they help a whole lot.

I usually add some to the fermenter just before pitching the yeast. The drops do settle out but if you added the entire boiled wort to the fermenter it might have gone right in with everything else. I also like to do 6 gallon batches in a 6.5 without a blowoff.