4 replies to this topic

[Joe]

This is one of those few things that have made a significant difference in how I brew. I don't use it in the boil but in the fermentation, and especially yeast starters. It allows me to max out the capacity of the starter vessels and fermenters without the risk of blowingoff precious yeast. At first I tried a powder that came in a packet that was just labeled (foam control) since it was all the LHBS carried. It was expensive ($2 a pack) and it didn't work that great. FermCap works much better for me and it's cheap considering it only takes a few drops. Haven't had a blow off since I started using it and I regularly pushing the headspace in my starters and fermentation vessels.It's silicone and insoluable in water and supposedly just drops out of suspension after fermentation activity ceases. I have not had any problems with head retention in beers when I've used it.If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend giving it a shot. If blow-off isn't a problem for you, then probably no point. But it definitely made my life much simpler.

[BarelyBrews]

I use it primarily in the boil,i increased my pre-boil amount by a gallon.I can still have boil-overs but now the foam is gone i have a better chance of catching the boil-over.I used it in a fermentation once(big brew).Most times i don't use it in the fermentor.This stuff is great.Wish i would of tried it sooner.

[shaggaroo]

I also use it in the boil, love it.

[MtnBrewer]

My favorite application is in starters. I like to boil the DME right in the flask and without some foam control it would boil over like crazy. I very rarely come anywhere near a boil over in the kettle so I don't need it there but I usually use about 10-12 drops (glops?) in the fermenter.

[Joe]

I forget what the recommended amount is, but I only add about 5 drops in the fermenter. I'm usually pitching some extra from the yeast starter too, but that seemed to do the trick for me.I wish I knew about this stuff back in my extract boils on the kitchen stove days. Had a very small pot then and a very mad wife when I couldn't scrape the burnt malt off of the kitchen stove.