FermcapS rock!!! Pic

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zanemoseley

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I gotta say I'm loving FermcapS, I've been using them on my stovetop PM's and they're great. I put in 3 drops per gallon while heating to a boil and it never offers to foam a bit. Here's a pic of the Hobgoblin II I'm brewing today in a 5.5 gallon pot with a tiny head space in the pot. I have a small pot of boiling water next to it to top off during the boil. After chilled this will be almost exactly 5 gallons with no fresh water top off required. Works for me!

FermcapS.jpg
 
Yeah, I love that stuff too. I put a 5.5 gal batch in my 6gal fermenter, and forgot to leave room for my starter. By the time I poured in as much of my starter as I could, I was in the neck of the carboy. Few drops of fermcap and I did not even have to use a blow off tube!
 
+1 for the Fermcap!
I do a 6.25 gal boil in a 7.5 gal pot and never have to worry. The stuff is worth its weight in gold
 
I have a question about this. Is the amount you use in the starter and boil enough to prevent blowoff in the carboy? Do you need to add more once its in the carboy?
 
Whenever there is no active movement in the wort, the fermcap settles out in the trub. So after the boil it falls out with the break, and after fermentation it falls out in the trub. I usually add about 1/3-1/2 the recomended amount to the boil to prevent boilovers, and another 1/3-1/2 the amount when the krausen begins to rise.
 
As an FYI, Fermcap is simethicone - the same stuff used as an anti-gas treatment for babies. If you have young kids, you'll probably have the stuff on hand.

I just learned this when talking with some members of my HBC.
 
As an FYI, Fermcap is simethicone - the same stuff used as an anti-gas treatment for babies. If you have young kids, you'll probably have the stuff on hand.

I just learned this when talking with some members of my HBC.


Soooo....I can just run out to the grocery store and pick up some baby gas drops?
 
As an FYI, Fermcap is simethicone - the same stuff used as an anti-gas treatment for babies. If you have young kids, you'll probably have the stuff on hand.

I just learned this when talking with some members of my HBC.

Dimethylpolysiloxane is similar to simethicone.

Fermcap

Fermcap S
Is a unique emulsion of an extremely effective surface active agent Dimethylpolysiloxane which prevents foam formation by reducing surface tension. It is used to control foam in kettle and during fermentation. It is completely removed from the beer after fermentation by the yeast and filtration. As a result of preserving hydrophobic beer proteins in solution it actually improves beer foam retention in the finished beer.


Edit:

GENERIC NAME: simethicone
BRAND NAME: Phazyme; Flatulex; Mylicon; Gas-X; Mylanta Gas
 
As an FYI, Fermcap is simethicone - the same stuff used as an anti-gas treatment for babies. If you have young kids, you'll probably have the stuff on hand.

I just learned this when talking with some members of my HBC.

Fermcap is dimethicone (dimethyl polysiloxanes) and the baby stuff is simethicone, which has silica gel added.
 
FermcapS.jpg
[/QUOTE]

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.
 
I believe we need a volunteer to try simethicone in a small batch and see if it is completely removed after fermentation. :eek:
 
Yep, those foam control drops are pure magic. No stovetop brewer should EVER be without them!

I use it in everything now -- wort boils, boiling up starter wort, starters on the stirplate (very handy), and in the fermenter. If you are Canadian and use those no-boil wort-in-a-bag kits that are so awesome, foam control drops also solve the foaming problem associated with pouring a full kit into a carboy.



Careful of this:

"Used in the fermenter, it increases the bitterness of your beer (retained IBUs) by about 10%!"

What's the source of this quote? You didn't say. I would really like to know the rationale behind this. (I have to admit, I am skeptical that this could be such a general rule.)
 
Careful of this:

"Used in the fermenter, it increases the bitterness of your beer (retained IBUs) by about 10%!"

What's the source of this quote? You didn't say. I would really like to know the rationale behind this. (I have to admit, I am skeptical that this could be such a general rule.)

If you follow the link in my earlier post two of the benefits of Fermcap that Kerry Bio-Science tout is:

Kerry Bio-Science said:
► Improves Alpha - acid utilisation
► Improved beer foam stability

Now I don't know where the "10%" came from but it does seem that Fermcap would increase hop utilization to some degree.
 
That's where I saw it. Makes sense to me.

Perhaps you can explain it then? These sources don't provide much by way of explanation (one says it deals with alpha-acid utilization, and the other says it is important for retaining bitterness in the fermenter).

Call me a skeptic, but I don't see how the 10% figure can be treated as a general rule.
 
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.
 
I believe we need a volunteer to try simethicone in a small batch and see if it is completely removed after fermentation. :eek:

One of the senior members of my club has used it many times - and the fact that he is one of the most ribboned members of the club speaks to his skill as a brewer. I've sampled many of his beers.
 
One of the senior members of my club has used it many times - and the fact that he is one of the most ribboned members of the club speaks to his skill as a brewer. I've sampled many of his beers.

Do you know which over-the-counter product (brand name) he uses?
 
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.
 
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.

Cheaper? Maybe not. But if you have it on hand because you have little ones, it's a viable substitute.

Since I don't have any wee bairns, I use the AHS Defoamer.
 
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.

Well, if your out and your brewing and don't have time to wait for mail order it is sometimes nice to have an easily obtainable alternative, even if it is more expensive. Also I'd wager the FDA gave some sort of thumbs up for something intended to put in a baby. ;)
 
how much mylicon would you use for a 5 gallon batch (6 gallon boil)?
 
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