FERMCAP the real deal

[evrose]

If you are concerned about ingesting a little simethicone in your homebrew, I'd be more worried about what other stuff you are ingesting in it more.

I tried pointing out that there are likely tiny bits of rat, insects and other field creatures in this grain, but he didn't seem to mind (or believe me).

Seriously, two drops of fermcap in 5 gallons of wort is the least of my worries... not that I worry about any of this...

 

[shelly_belly]

Be sure and use an aluminum pot and the fermcap will be neutralized.

 

[negativereaction]

I think it's more about the fact that you KNOW you're sticking something artificial into you beer. If you were really aware of all the 'extra' stuff that ends up in your beer, a drop or two of fermcap would probably seem like no big deal. A wee bit of metal off your boil kettle, some plastic chemicals leaching from your mash tun, a shred of metal from a valve, a bit of pesticides off the hops, if you knew all that stuff was in your beer as well, that fermcap starts to seem a little less important.

 

[cheezydemon3]

I get the "What is a tiny bit of bad in today's world". I just subscribe to a different philosophy.

I think: "With all of the bad crap in the world, shouldn't I limit what I can?"

I am no longer saying fermcap is bad, I just don't want to learn in 10 years that it leads to impotence. ......

Lets up the ante!!!!!!

I bet MOST of you are of the "I drank from the garden hose and I am OK!" philosophy.

Lead is sure as hell toxic, carcinogenic, and brain damaging.

I say "NOT IN MY KIDS!!!"

....and I get crap from people on here, claiming to be hose swilling rocket scientists!! Are you really that smart and that dumb??? Sure you are smart, but how do you know you wouldn't be 5% smarter???

There is a reason they make food safe hoses.

Yes I like to stir the pot, but I really did search and I wanted EXACTLY this type of discussion.

DON'T LIKE IT? lighten up.

 

[Hopper5000]

I eat fermcap for breakfast... use it instead of milk... haven't been able to get it up recently.... maybe that's why?

 

[cheezydemon3]

I eat fermcap for breakfast... use it instead of milk... haven't been able to get it up recently.... maybe that's why?

No, it is the fact that you eat breakfast. Breakfast = impotence. Just sayin.

 

[Hopper5000]

thanks dr cheezy

 

[cheezydemon3]

thanks dr cheezy

It's what I do. Changing lives for the better......

 

[negativereaction]

The 'limit what you can' approach is a slippery slope too. We all have arbitrary lines in the sand that we draw. One guy might eliminate cell phone use (since there is some evidence of negative effects on the brain), another might cut out TV viewing (radiation, bad eyes, whatever), and a third might not use any plastic of any kind in contact with food (chemicals leaching from plastic, etc).

So, if the value of not having a boilover exceeds the tiny risk you take by adding the potentially dangerous element of silicone to your diet, you do it. If you have a jumbo boil kettle, you can afford to say 'I'll pass on that nasty stuff'. We all make decisions every day that affect our eventual lifespan and overall health, but if we were REALLY serious about it, we wouldn't be living in cities, we'd eat all home grown organic food, and never a drop of sugar would touch our lips.

So...perspective is important in all this. Maybe 10 years from now, silicone consumers will have evolved into superheroes. Maybe not the superheroes HBT wants...but the superheroes HBT deserves.

 

[cheezydemon3]

I actuall eat NO fast food, primarilly hormone free meat, very little sugar, NOTHING from styrofoam (Did you know that a measurable amount of a styrofoam cup's mass is dissolved into a hot cup of coffee or other hot liquid? BARF) low carb, complex carb whenever possible. i make my own bread, pizza and most everything.

 

[McGarnigle]

If you want to not use Fermcap, fine. We all draw the line someplace.

The push back you're getting originates from the original post, which made it seem like you just wanted information. It became pretty clear that wasn't the purpose of this thread, you'd already made up your mind.

Then you called that other guy a retarded *********.

 

[LovesIPA]

I actuall eat NO fast food, primarilly hormone free meat, very little sugar, NOTHING from styrofoam (Did you know that a measurable amount of a styrofoam cup's mass is dissolved into a hot cup of coffee or other hot liquid? BARF) low carb, complex carb whenever possible. i make my own bread, pizza and most everything.

First of all, good for you. I mean that sincerely.

Secondly, it sounds like you had your mind made up before you even started the thread. You pretended to start a discussion, but every other follow-up post you've made since has been about why you wouldn't ever put fermcap in your beer.

It's pretty clear that you like pure, whole, natural things. It's a free country and I respect your right to pursue whatever approach to life you want to take. It's your life and you should live it how you want.

But what's the purpose of starting a thread like this other than to remind others why you're smarter/wiser/better at life/more educated/etc.?

 

[cheezydemon3]

ReALLY...LOL

I started the thread thinking that I knew, but sincerely asking what others thought. Unfortunately Revvy has a very polarizing habit of posting THIS ENDS THE DISCUSSION kinda stuff. Did anyone else follow the link? Maybe I should have quoted it, but in the 3rd or so post, revvy was quoted and I took that as IT.

I made up my mind than and so went the discussion.

AND GUESS WHAT....

maybe I did inform a few people. That isn't a bad end. Almost 700 views. It is only us D-bags who post

 

[Homercidal]

Well they give a few drops at a time to a tiny infant, so it's got to be ok, right? Then again, you aren't giving it to an infant and also giving the infant a drink containing alcohol, either...

Does the alcohol modify the silicone in some dangerous way?

I don't know. After reading some of these responses I'm almost sure I don't want 5% more smarts and a lot of time on my hands.

 

[LAHammer]

I work in the chemical industry and I'm sensitive to the fact that many chemicals get a bad rap for no really good reason. However, as a chemist I believe that one should minimize exposure to chemicals that may have a negative effect. While many chemicals have very positive effects (medicines) there are almost always side effects. Even though the chemical in Fermcap is given to babies, they only get it to relieve pain. It provides a benefit with a risk - small (maybe approaching zero) but still a risk. That's were we all make our own choice.

I just read an article (ok, I didn't read it all) in BeerAdvocate that indicated some European beers were contaminated with arsenic that was traced back to diatomaceous earth used for filtration. This was parts per billion level and only slightly higher than allowed in U.S. drinking water (great!) but still unexpected contamination from an outside source.

I think it's interesting what people focus on to be concerned about and then completely miss other significant components. Like only buying "organic" but being 40 lbs. overweight. We are strange creatures.

It's all chemicals -- "Better living through chemistry"

Cheers

 

[cheezydemon3]

And plenty of things that are accepted as OK later turn out to be bad. I am not suggesting living in paranoia, but it is amazing that some of the tea partiers and small government criers are trusting a government agency so blindly.

Heat and alcohol are BAD news when you are talking about potentially leaching something bad out of a substance that has been declared safe because no one ever dreamed someone would boil it and then ferment it.

 

[kaconga]

I have never used the stuff but I would like to try it out knowing its the same stuff as what I gave my daughter when she was gassy. Thanks cheezy for trying to foster a debate on this even if it went mostly no where.

 

[ong]

I can definitely see some reasons to avoid it. First, I never seem to have boilovers, and I always use a blowoff, which has always worked perfectly well. So this would be an additive that doesn't improve flavor, appearance, aroma, or keeping qualities -- it just makes up for a problem with my brewing process. Even if it's a negligible risk, it's a fairly negligible return, too.

But also, part of the reason I'm making beer is that I get to control what's in it. I *like* that it's water, hops, grain, and a couple trillion friendly little critters. Rat hair, aphids, and extraneous plant matter don't bother me as much as other stuff. I'm pretty sure I could eat rat-hair pancakes for breakfast every morning and be fine.

 

[Homercidal]

I've used it because there was a time where I could barely fit a batch wort of wort in my boil kettle. Boilovers were a given and this stuff was a Godsend for a few batches until I upgraded my kettle.

As far as the Gov agency, I really kind of HAVE to trust them to some extent, since I don't have the knowledge or resources to do my own studies and come up with my own conclusions. One can only be paranoid and shun anything an expert says, or one can only be completely trusting? It's somewhere in between.

FWIW I cannot find any information on interactions between simethicone and alcohol, except when the simethicone is combined with loperamide for diarrhea. And the interaction is mild and temporary.

I will say that I ate margarine for my entire life because the experts told us butter was bad for you. I will never forgive them for that!

 

[wilserbrewer]

The danger of burning your feet due to a boil over far outweigh the danger of infant gas drops IMO.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Margerine is perhaps a good example. I am not claiming to be a scientist or a chemist or even right. I am just saying that plastic was all thought to be safe for anything. Later it was realized that it is not.

I am just suggesting that a 60 minute boil, and extended exposure to alcohol is abuse beyond what is expected for most tested substances. It is some downright harsh abuse! lol.

 

[cheezydemon3]

If you want to not use Fermcap, fine. We all draw the line someplace.

The push back you're getting originates from the original post, which made it seem like you just wanted information. It became pretty clear that wasn't the purpose of this thread, you'd already made up your mind.

Then you called that other guy a retarded *********.

That guy was just trying to start trouble because we have clashed in the debate forum. It has been addressed with mods, sorry you had to witness it.

 

[Demus]

And plenty of things that are accepted as OK later turn out to be bad. I am not suggesting living in paranoia, but it is amazing that some of the tea partiers and small government criers are trusting a government agency so blindly.

Did you really just bring politics into this? Really?? Thanks for completely discrediting everything you've written. I'll not waste another second reading any of your agenda laden "opinions". You are an embarrassment to this forum, and to the noble pursuit of home brewing.

 

[xjmox14x]

Did you really just bring politics into this? Really?? Thanks for completely discrediting everything you've written. I'll not waste another second reading any of your agenda laden "opinions". You are an embarrassment to this forum, and to the noble pursuit of home brewing.

lol Should've finished with, "I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

Anywho, I just heard the new study this morning that charring can cause cancer. Not just on meats, but on veggies too. Said using a gas grill is better than wood/charcoal because there will be less flareups. So, basically, the way man has been cooking its food since the dawn of time causes cancer.

I try to be conscious about what goes into my body, but for me, at some point, common sense takes over and I stop caring.