Evening all!
Brewed my first batch ( 1-gal) of bourbon barrel porter and this particular brewing created lots more krausen than some ipa’s I’ve brewed. I’m a novice here just FYI. Do some beers produce more krausen than others? Are there specific things that directly impact the amount of krausen? Is it desirable to ferment in a vessel that leaves lots of head room for krausen… to try and allow the krausen to dissipate back into the fermenting wort? Just curious and trying to learn.
Thanks!
Jeff
Some yeast (i.e wheat yeasts) produce more krausen and require a bigger headspace for fermenting. In addition healthier yeast produce more as well. Higher OG beers can have more krausen as well as a more violent ferment. Higher ferm temps can also cause more krausen as it sends yeast into overdrive.
Ideally you want to ferment in a vessel big enough to avoid blowoff (where the yeast comes out of the airlock). Hoeever sometimes in homebrewing we don’t have that option. Therefore a blowoff tube becomes important. This is put into the mouth of a carboy or grommet/airlock on a bucket and the other end into water/sanitizer and acts as a big airlock. It also allows the yeast to expell through the tube rather than clogging the regular airlock. Clogged airlocks cause pressure in the fermenter which results in the airlock eventually being blown out as well as yeast. This can be quite messy.
Thanks for the reply, yup I’ve got the blow off tube in place. I’ve used it several times. With the porter I’m brewing: wheat yeast, higher OG, warmer fermentation temp. Got it. Thanks again.
OK. Most wheat strains require a head space of 33%. So either have a big fermenter or a blow off tube! 
I’m a big advocate of this stuff
Ever since I’ve been using this, I haven’t got any krausen higher than an inch thick even during the most vigorous fermentations. One bottle will last you half a lifetime.
[quote=“mattnaik”]I’m a big advocate of this stuff
Ever since I’ve been using this, I haven’t got any krausen higher than an inch thick even during the most vigorous fermentations. One bottle will last you half a lifetime.[/quote]
Perhaps this is what I need to be adding to a starter to prevent the nasty boil over on my wife’s stove that happens every time. Can you vouch for its claim not to kill head retention?
Edit: a Google search pulls up all kinds of questionable information about product safety… anyone have links to good, current info about this product or similar products?
[quote=“Hades”][quote=“mattnaik”]I’m a big advocate of this stuff
Ever since I’ve been using this, I haven’t got any krausen higher than an inch thick even during the most vigorous fermentations. One bottle will last you half a lifetime.[/quote]
Perhaps this is what I need to be adding to a starter to prevent the nasty boil over on my wife’s stove that happens every time. Can you vouch for its claim not to kill head retention?[/quote]
I haven’t had much of an issue with head retention since I started using it but it’s not really a quality I consider important to me in a beer so my standards for this might not be what you’re looking for.
I will attest to the ability to prevent boilovers for starters. I have a quarter inch of space at the top of the pot I use to boil my starters in and I have never had a boil over. Just put 3-4 drops in there before you start your boil and you’re good to go.
[quote=“mattnaik”][quote=“Hades”][quote=“mattnaik”]I’m a big advocate of this stuff
Ever since I’ve been using this, I haven’t got any krausen higher than an inch thick even during the most vigorous fermentations. One bottle will last you half a lifetime.[/quote]
Perhaps this is what I need to be adding to a starter to prevent the nasty boil over on my wife’s stove that happens every time. Can you vouch for its claim not to kill head retention?[/quote]
I haven’t had much of an issue with head retention since I started using it but it’s not really a quality I consider important to me in a beer so my standards for this might not be what you’re looking for.
I will attest to the ability to prevent boilovers for starters. I have a quarter inch of space at the top of the pot I use to boil my starters in and I have never had a boil over. Just put 3-4 drops in there before you start your boil and you’re good to go.[/quote]
I edited my last post after Google searching the product. Hopefully others can weigh in on it and provide some links to current info. If it was unsafe I am surprised it would be marketed without some type of warning… also I have been making starters in a Pyrex Erlenmeyer flask, those suckers just WANT to boil over!
Great info on this thread.
http://hbd.org/discus/messages/50162/50 ... 1304008514Most of the arguments for it state that, assuming it does stay dissolved in the beer (which most argue it doesn’t) the amount of silicone that would remain is below the threshold of what the FDA considers dangerous. There are also a couple arguments that silicone is also not absorbed anywhere in the human digestive tract.
[quote=“mattnaik”]Great info on this thread.
http://hbd.org/discus/messages/50162/50 ... 1304008514Most of the arguments for it state that, assuming it does stay dissolved in the beer (which most argue it doesn’t) the amount of silicone that would remain is below the threshold of what the FDA considers dangerous. There are also a couple arguments that silicone is also not absorbed anywhere in the human digestive tract.[/quote]
Gotta love the Internet.
McDonalds apparently puts it in chicken nuggets too. I will likely use a drop in my next starter.
[quote=“Hades”][quote=“mattnaik”]Great info on this thread.
http://hbd.org/discus/messages/50162/50 ... 1304008514Most of the arguments for it state that, assuming it does stay dissolved in the beer (which most argue it doesn’t) the amount of silicone that would remain is below the threshold of what the FDA considers dangerous. There are also a couple arguments that silicone is also not absorbed anywhere in the human digestive tract.[/quote]
Gotta love the Internet.
McDonalds apparently puts it in chicken nuggets too. I will likely use a drop in my next starter.[/quote]
Well, if McDonalds uses it; it couldn’t possibly be bad…
Haha I was thinking the same thing. Have you ever seen the movie Food Inc.? If not check it out, it’s on Netflix. You will never look at fast food the same again.
Haha I was thinking the same thing. Have you ever seen the movie Food Inc.? If not check it out, it’s on Netflix. You will never look at fast food the same again.[/quote]
What I meant by this, of course, is that if you’re out of Fermcap just drop a 4-piece in your boil. :cheers:
Well I just made a 2 liter starter in a Pyrex flask and had no boil over using just 1 drop of Fermcap-S. At this point I don’t care if it is nuclear waste, a drop is going in my starters! 6 bucks well spent!
