Hotbreak boilover w/starter

[OGreuelRules]

Hi all,

So I've made a couple starters using a 1L Erlenmeyer flask and everytime I boil my DME I run into the same issue. I want to use 1 vessel to reduce the risk of contamination, but I continually get boil-over. It seems like my 1L flask isn't big enough to handle the hotbreak I get from my DME. My calculations show me that I should use about 1/4 lb of DME for a 1L starter to achieve a starter OG of 1.040. Is that incorrect & causing me to add too much DME? Thoughts?

Thanks,

Michael

 

[mbird]

I have the same problem. The only times it doesn't boil over is when I use sugar. The problem is complicated for me because I have an electric stove so the adjustment on the heat is hard to dial in. I have consiquently switched to using a large saucepan to make my starters and then pouring into a sanitized flask after cooling the wort.
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Beer Diary...

 

[beerthirty]

I boil the wort in a pan, set my flask in a pot of hot water to help equalize temps then pour the boiling starter wort into the flask. I then cool the flask with sanitized foil crimped over the opening.

 

[SilverKing]

I boil the wort in a pan, set my flask in a pot of hot water to help equalize temps then pour the boiling starter wort into the flask. I then cool the flask with sanitized foil crimped over the opening.

that's the way I do it. I think the flask has way too little surface area at the top of the liquid. It made boil-overs impossible to avoid. You could try some fermcap, but I just switched to boiling in a pot, then pouring the hot wort into the flask. I usually have some starsan to swirl in the flask beforehand anyway.

 

[double_e5]

Use some foam control drops.

 

[mbird]

In addition, pouring the wort back and forth between pan and flask several times is a great way to introduce a significant amount of o2
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Beer Diary...

 

[JVD_X]

Yep - foam control.

 

[Boodlemania]

When I make starters in my 1L or 2L flasks, I keep an eye on the flask and oven mitts on. When it looks like it's about to boil over, I remove the flask from the heat until the bubbles subside. Then I return it to the heat.

 

[greencon]

+1 on foam control. Works great.

 

[hammer one]

I keep a straw handy. When the foam rises just blow through the straw to knock it down.

 

[TexLaw]

Amen to Foam Control (a.k.a., Fermcap-S). A drop of that stuff and a careful eye to turn down the burner before everything boils up are the keys to a happy starter.


TL