FermcapS rock!!! Pic

[Jipper]

I just got off the phone with one of our suppliers, and they say that the reason for the "increased hop utilization" disclaimer from the manufacturer is mainly for commercial breweries that have ultra-violent fermentations, where the krausen is blowing off via the blow off tube and being lost onto the floor. The krausen has a lot of alpha acid in it, and by using FermCapS (Foam Control) you can retain that krausen, and thereby retaining those bittering units.

Short story - it won;t affect your AAU% unless you normally get a lot of blow off. It adds nothing to your beer, it just prevents AA loss.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I expect the same goes for the boil.

It's kinda interesting reading about this stuff. Through a quick Google I read that once it get cold enough it can be formed into a ball and bounced.

Yummy!

It's also said that it does not get absorbed by the stomach or intestines.I can see the mid winter posts now.

"After a night of homebrew and walking home through a blizzard, I crapped a Super Bouncer"

Hey, at least it doesn't glow in the dark, right?

 

[olllllo]

Maybe it's because you keep 100% of your wort and don't lose 10% on the floor.

I just got off the phone with one of our suppliers, and they say that the reason for the "increased hop utilization" disclaimer from the manufacturer is mainly for commercial breweries that have ultra-violent fermentations, where the krausen is blowing off via the blow off tube and being lost onto the floor. The krausen has a lot of alpha acid in it, and by using FermCapS (Foam Control) you can retain that krausen, and thereby retaining those bittering units.

Short story - it won;t affect your AAU% unless you normally get a lot of blow off. It adds nothing to your beer, it just prevents AA loss.

I was right.....FTW!!!!11!

 

[carnevoodoo]

Am I weird for not wanting this stuff anywhere near my beer?

 

[HSM]

Am I weird for not wanting this stuff anywhere near my beer?

Not at all.

A little dab of ear wax will have the same results but I don't want that either.

 

[giligson]

Is this stuff really that much cheaper that it is worth using a non-directly-designed-for-this-purpose product? I mean for $5 you get a bottle of professional grade brewery additive that is FDA approved that lasts for like 50 batches...

I guess I just don't see the cost/reward in this idea.

It's very hard to find this stuff in Canada - most LHBS don't have it. And most mail order places say they can't ship it to Canada.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

When I have used simethicone I just got cheap generic version of gas-x extra strength and threw a cap or two in the carboy.

 

[FlyGuy]

It's very hard to find this stuff in Canada - most LHBS don't have it. And most mail order places say they can't ship it to Canada.

Say what? I have bought it from Morebeer.com and either Alternative Beverage or AHS. Nobody gave me any hassle about shipping it to Canada. That's just plain weird.

 

[FlyGuy]

Am I weird for not wanting this stuff anywhere near my beer?

Nervous brewer. Not weird.

 

[lamarguy]

When I have used simethicone I just got cheap generic version of gas-x extra strength and threw a cap or two in the carboy.

Good to hear someone has used the generic version available at a local pharmacy! I assume your beer turned out well, great head and all?

 

[HSM]

Thanks Wikipedia:

Simethicone is generally available over the counter under many trade names in varying dosage sizes, including:

Air-X (Thailand)
Antiflat [1][2] (Austria)
Mag77
Baby's Own Infant Drops
Deflatine
De-Gas
Disflatyl
Espumisan
Flatulex
Gas Relief
Gas-X
GasAid
Gasvan (Serbia)
Genasyme
Imodium Multi-Symptom Relief (formerly Imodium Advanced)
Imogas
lnfacol
lnfacon
Kremil-S
Lefax (Germany)
Little Tummies
Maalox Anti-Gas
Maalox Max
Minifom (Norway, Sweden)
My Baby Gas Relief Drops
Mylanta Gas
Mylanta Gas Relief
Mylicon Drops
Ovol
Phazyme
Rolaids
SAB Simplex
Simeco
Telament (South Africa)
Triaerom (Peru)
WindEze (UK)
Gas-Med

 

[Jipper]

If you get the Maalox, and you grab the cherry flavor and put it in your stout, would that qualify for a cherry stout?

 

[Jipper]

I gotta think there are more ingredients in the stuff that is meant for consumption than the stuff that is meant for the beer.

 

[carnevoodoo]

Nervous brewer. Not weird.

Nothing to do with nerves. It is more like, "yeah, I've got my barley, my hops, and my simethicone in there..." Makes it seem sort of, tainted I guess. I'm not all reinheitsgebot or anything, but It just seems dirty to me.

 

[HSM]

Nothing to do with nerves. It is more like, "yeah, I've got my barley, my hops, and my simethicone in there..." Makes it seem sort of, tainted I guess. I'm not all reinheitsgebot or anything, but It just seems dirty to me.

Please don't lose that feeling! ..EVER!

What is there in the new internet brewing world that couldn't produce me a very good *if not better* batch of brew 20 years ago? (answer: verly little).


I'm sure that beer made with baby diarrhea medicine is better than regular beer. Maybe beer made with not **** medicine is bettarrr?

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Good to hear someone has used the generic version available at a local pharmacy! I assume your beer turned out well, great head and all?

Yes.

Just make sure what yo are using isn't a combo of simethicone and anti-acid.

 

[noisy123]

I used the simethicone from the baby drops in my IPA yesterday after trips to find the antifoam drops at my LHBS's were unsuccessful. I used 1.5 drops per gallon. I tasted a drop and it seems pretty innocuous.

It seems to be doing a good job. I was a little late getting it in there and so I lost about 1/4 gallon to blow-off. I would suggest adding it before you pitch or shortly thereafter. I will report back with any negative effects if I see any.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

Nothing to do with nerves. It is more like, "yeah, I've got my barley, my hops, and my simethicone in there..." Makes it seem sort of, tainted I guess. I'm not all reinheitsgebot or anything, but It just seems dirty to me.

Please don't lose that feeling! ..EVER!

What is there in the new internet brewing world that couldn't produce me a very good *if not better* batch of brew 20 years ago? (answer: verly little).


I'm sure that beer made with baby diarrhea medicine is better than regular beer. Maybe beer made with not **** medicine is bettarrr?

You guys do realize that this stuff isn't in your beer, it precipitates out immediately if it is not being actively stirred. It does not dissolve into the beer or wort. It doesn't make the beer better or worse, it just makes it not all over your floor. Or you could spend an extra butt load of cash for a massive size kettle so you never have to worry about boil overs. I'll take the $5 bottle.

 

[giligson]

Ok I tried the stuff - I am never going back to NOT using it !
closest source was Ovol gelcaps - cut into the cap with a knife and you get about 5 drops of the pure flavourless otherwise unadulterated simethicone (kind of convenient having a unit dose container actually).

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Cheapest to get the no-name brand version. Make sure it's the gel caps or drops and not the chewable tabs, as they have antacid etc in them.

 

[Mutilated1]

Count me as a skeptic of the 10% thing as well. I do not see how IBUs could possibly change in the fermenter. You need heat to utilize the alpha acids (as far as I know), and the conditions in the fermenter are not such. The only possible thing I can think of is that in the boil this slightly reduces the amount of hop build up on the sides of the kettle. However, we have already discussed and been convinced that this does not affect IBUs or hop profile in any substantial way.

Fermcap is a great product and I have not anecdotaly seen a change in IBUs from using it.

It sort of makes sense that it might make hop utlilization better if you added it during the boil though. If the wort doesn't foam up then the hops don't get stuck to the side of the pot so more hops stays in the wort - maybe thats how it works ? Of course thats pure speculatoin on my part - I've never used the stuff.

I don't really see how it could help in the fermenter though. At least help as far as make the hop utilization better.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

If hop resins aren't being shot out the blow off tube then you don't lose them.

 

[edstirling]

The anti-foaming activity is from reduced surface tension. It's the same concept as when you use akali cleansers to clean your equipment, lower surface tension makes it feel slippery and allows better "wetting" of the surfaces. Simethicone would allow better wetting of the hops in your boil. So your hops wouldn't get trapped in foam at the top, but would also allow water to soak into each flower more completely. It might also help in the mash when you dough in, and help prevent stuck sparge, or help you deal with hard water. I wonder whether it would contribute/hinder channeling during the sparge... I'm not sure about in the fermenter though. If you've got problems with too much blow-off then sure, but usually a tall krauzen is good 'cause it lets you remove some tannans. Maybe in the secondary to off-gas and push O2 out. Wikipedia has a long list of all products that include simethicone, Gas-X and rolaids etc.

Is it better to have friends between beers or beers between friends?

 

[EdWort]

I'm a fan.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJtKqWZod1g]YouTube - Boiling Robust Porter Wort[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D83VCUrJ9Aw]YouTube - Yeast Starters[/ame]

 

[Brewme]

Here is Dimethicone in its pure form:

http://www.tkbtrading.com/item.php?item_id=766

16 oz with shipping = $11.45. Not bad considering it would last a looooong time.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

I used some fermcap in my Pyrex flask starter yesterday. Oh man was it awesome. Normally it's like trying to control a volcano of boilover but this time it was me trying to control my need to do something as it required not attention. Awesome product and only required 1 drop.

 

[Tonedef131]

I kind of don't like the idea of this stuff in my beer either, I know how it works and everything I just don't like using anything I don't have to. I never have boilovers and rarely do I have blowoff, so it's not that big of a deal to me.

However, every time I make starters they boil over and it was getting to the point that I hated making them. So I got me some of this stuff and I tell you what, I will never make a starter again without it no matter how much I dislike the idea.

 

[olllllo]

^^ If i can sum this up: Working with a milky white viscous substance puts you in an uncomfortable place, but you will work with it in confined places.

Dude you are in Prison.

 

[TexLaw]

I've used Fermcap-S for about 15 years and swear by it. I don't like adding weird things to my beer, either, but this stuff completely settles out and does nothing except avoid messes. I've recommended it without hesitation many times, and I continue to do so.


TL

 

[GrizlyGarou]

Count me as a skeptic of the 10% thing as well. I do not see how IBUs could possibly change in the fermenter. You need heat to utilize the alpha acids (as far as I know), and the conditions in the fermenter are not such. The only possible thing I can think of is that in the boil this slightly reduces the amount of hop build up on the sides of the kettle. However, we have already discussed and been convinced that this does not affect IBUs or hop profile in any substantial way.

Fermcap is a great product and I have not anecdotaly seen a change in IBUs from using it.

Possibly in the feremnter, the krausen rises up and the remaining hop particles stick to the sides, but without the foam more stays in the fermenting wort longer?

10% isn't really all that much. It's not like it would be the difference between a heffe and an IPA. I suppose if you split a batch in half and put the fermcap in once fermenter but not the other, there might be a slight difference to someone that is really focused and experienced in judging the IBU when drinking a beer but I doubt I'd notice 10%...

 

[Tonedef131]

^^ If i can sum this up: Working with a milky white viscous substance puts you in a in comfortable place, but you will work with it in confined places.

Dude you are in Prison.

I like to squirt a full dropper all over my face if that tells you anything...

 

[MacBruver]

This stuff is awesome. I boiled 7.5 gallons in my 8 gallon pot on a SQ14 burner- it was a SOLID boil. Not a single boilover!!! I didn't get any pics of that brew day, but next time I will. Of course by then i may have my keggle...

 

[Scut_Monkey]

I like to squirt a full dropper all over my face if that tells you anything...

Lol..... Hilarious. You are getting added to my sig.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

There you go Tonedef! See below.

 

[Tonedef131]

Scut Monkey's sig: The Hall of Shame

 

[weirdboy]

Is this stuff really that much cheaper that it is worth using a non-directly-designed-for-this-purpose product? I mean for $5 you get a bottle of professional grade brewery additive that is FDA approved that lasts for like 50 batches...

I guess I just don't see the cost/reward in this idea.

I'm pretty sure Baby Gas-X is FDA approved...

 

[Sithdad]

Did a quick google search and came up with this from Medicinenet.com

BRAND NAME: Phazyme; Flatulex; Mylicon; Gas-X; Mylanta Gas

DRUG CLASS AND MECHANISM: Simethicone is an anti-gas (anti-flatulence) medication. It acts in the stomach and intestines to change the surface tension of gas bubbles, enabling smaller bubbles to join together into bigger bubbles. In this way it is believed that gas can be eliminated more easily by belching or passing flatus. Simethicone was approved by the FDA in 1952.

Here is the drug facts from the Infant Gas-X box http://www.gas-x.com/pdf/infantdrops-label.pdf

 

[passedpawn]

Fermcap-S is far, far cheaper than buying the simethicone equivalents at your local drug store.

 

[Hermit]

I have this same exact stove and had a hard time getting 2.5 gals to keep a boil. It is brand new as well. Curious if there is a problem with mine or you know a trick that I don't. With the 2.5 gals. I had to keep a lid over 3/4 of the top.

By the way this picture kinda freaked me out as it looks like your brewing in my house!! Same stove, same countertops...even the knife set!!! You better leave some homebrew for me when you finish next time.

This is late, but two things. First is your pot. If it bows up in the center and creates a pocket it will trip the sensor. Second, I've seen new stoves come with bad sensors in all burners. They will tell you it is the pots though.

 

[Myke_J]

Just another one to add to the "FermcapS rock!!!" thread. This a little less then 7 gallons in a 7.5 gallon pot.