Foam Control??

[jonrober]

Hello!

After listening to the Archives, I think it is best to start using a starter for my brews.

I have heard of something called "Foam Control" regarding yeast starters and flasks. Does anyone know what that is? Additive, hardware,etc?

Thanks!

BTW: Sorry about the double post. New to THIS forum... Thought I was already logged in.

[jamilz]

I think I mentioned it on one of the shows. It is a liquid. You can add a drop to your starters to prevent foam over (if the flask is really full).

You can get it from www.morebeer.com.

[Dogger Dan]

Is that an oil base?

Dogger

[Guest]

Honestly i dont what it is, but I use it when making wheat beers. I also have used it when I put more in my conical that a heavy ferment can handle. I also have heard that it aids in head retention aswell, but Im unsure if this is true.

Heath

[Dogger Dan]

Likley not oil if it is giving good head retention.

Dogger

[jaydub]

Its an emulsion of silicone polymers. My company used it in a reagent for biotech assays for a while, before we fixed our foaming problem with changes to the engineering of the wash stations. Its non-toxic, but will probably screw up head retention unless you do what the big breweries do: filter your beer before bottling. Here's a link to a fact sheet from a manufacturer:http://www.baschem.co.uk/downloads/fd20p.pdf

And a pic of the chemical structure


Its essentially quartz (silicon dioxide) where some of the oxygen atoms in the crystal lattice have been replaced by methyl groups (a carbon and 3 hydrogens), which turns it into a linear molecule that is sparingly soluble. This structure makes it like to hang out at the air/water interface where it disrupts surface tension.

[wrplace]

I've been using the foam control for the last several batches and havn't noticed any loss of foam stability, even on the beers I haven't filtered.

[Dogger Dan]

Awesome,

and you leave it behind at the end.

Must be careful if using glass

Dogger