Ferm cap

Experiences? Any alterations in flavor/head retention? Techniques (did you add it the boil, fermentor, or both)?

Just want some personal feedback before I use this stuff.

THANKS!

 

When used at the recommended dosage, it should not alter the flavor, nor should it affect head-retention.

I would add it to the kettle as the wort is coming to a boil, BEFORE the risk of boil over. Works great, especially if there's little headroom in the kettle.

I have never heard of anyone adding it to the fermentor, and don't know if it would work in that application anyway. Use a blowoff tube instead.

 

I use it in every batch. 2 drops per gallon. Don't notice any problems. I have also used 1 drop in a starter to keep it from boiling out of the flask on the stove and it worked fine there as well.

Edit: Sorry missed the fermenter part...never used it there. A blow off tube would be a better choice IMO.

 

In the secondary-v-no secondary exBeeriment @Brulosopher uses some to stop a foam over.

Quoting from his website.

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After about 18 hours of fermentation, I woke up to a slight mess.


The other carboy was just about to do the same when I added a couple drops of Fermcap-S, which stopped the foam in its tracks.



________________________________________________

End Quote.

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It is an entirely safe product.

 

Since August of 2013 I have used this product - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001W5OR9M/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 - which I believe has the same active ingredients as Fermcap-S and it has yet to let me down. It has no affect on head retention or flavor that I can detect either.

 

It's the same active ingredient for sure.

 

When I first started brewing a little over 4 years ago, every post about boil overs AND blow offs suggested Fermcap-s. I used to use it but now just watch for the boil over and use a blow off tube.

If used at the proper concentration it does work and has no detectable effect on the beer.

There was also a lot of discussion a couple of years ago about the FDA (I think) recommending that it is filtered out of the beer. I believe it is silicone. Most say it is of no medical concern for various reasons.

 

This filtering thing is not correct. It constantly crops up in discussions about Fermcap. It is Not required by the FDA that it be filtered.

This is one of these chestnuts of bad information that just won't go away.

No FDA regulation requires it to be filtered.

I use it in starters. Indispensable IMO if making them in a flask.

 

I learn something new every day. I had never seen Fermcap used in fermentation until now. Interesting exBeeriment.

As for kettle additions, I don't think I've ever had to use the full dosage of 2 drops/gallon. In a typical 5 gal batch (~7 gal in BK), 3 or 4 drops total have always been quite sufficient.

 

Neither had I till I read that exBeeriment recently.

 

I'll cut my usage back and see what happens.

 

I love the stuff. I use a couple drops when boiling my starter wort in an Erlenmeyer flask to prevent boil overs.

I add a few drops to my boil kettle anytime it is full to within a few inches of the rim, also to prevent boil overs.

I also add it to my carboys before fermentation starts to prevent my airlocks from clogging and sticky beer goo going all over. This takes a little more than an eye dropper full.

I have never noticed any change in my beer. I wonder if I added it at kegging, would it stop all that foam I get on the first pour.

 

So what is the dosage you would use for a 5 gallon fermentation to prevent blow off? 2 drops/gallon?

 

I only use it preboil. Helps with boil over and keeps krausen to a minimum. I haven't used a blow off tube in 2 years with my bucket.

I do not measure it either, just squirt it into the kettle.

 

Fermcap works great. I usually use 1 drop per gallon. It was especially handy when I used to boil 6.5 gallons of wort in my 7.5 gallon pot. Fermcap = zero boil overs.

 

I used it for the first time on my last batch and I love it. No more hovering over the kettle with my stupid spray bottle.

Also--I am a kettle dumper and just dump my whole kettle into the fermenter after cooling. I swear the krausen on this batch was 1/3 of what I usually get. No scientific basis on that comparison though--just a general observation.

 

The so-called Food Babe was the last one to make a big stink about it. I'm so sick of sensationalist junk "science"...

 

There was this sensationalist piece last year, concerning Isinglass in Guinness.

Fish bladders in my beer, ya say?



Cripes, just put a note on the label so no one will get hurt: not vegan/vegetarian. More for the rest of us to drink.

 

Fermcap-S is a must when keg fermenting.

 

Use it all the time.

- Use a drop in starter wort to prevent boil-over.

- Use it in the kettle at about 1.5 drops per gallon to prevent boil-over. Never have a problem.

- Use it in the fermenter, again roughly 1.5 drops per gallon. I still use a blow-off as I usually have less than a gallon headspace. Some Belgian yeasts still go crazy even when using it, so even iff you use it in the fermenter, don't assume everything will be safe from a blow-off.

Supposedly (I have no evidence, but some places advertise this), it improveshead retention and improves hop utilization.

Given the choice, I wouldn't brew without it.