BeerBorg

I made an American IPA today (gonna call it Birthday IPA for the Marine Corp Birthday) and even after the boil started I thought that I was going to have a mess. This did have 1 lb of DME and I've seen the foam a little higher in the past when I've used the DME. Since I've already had one boil over SWMBO has me on a short leash.
Has anyone had similar experiences or is this ok? I didn't think that once you got past the hot break that you had to worry. I don't know if it was the DME or the Columbus hops that I used.

Although rare, after hot break, u can have a foam up again. I have had this happen albeit not bad enough to overflow. I've had it maybe 2-3 times from over 100 batches. IMHO, NEVER turn your back to a boil, period. THAT is when it will bite u in the arse.

Also you will get new foam with each hop addition.

FrozenInTime wrote:Although rare, after hot break, u can have a foam up again. I have had this happen albeit not bad enough to overflow. I've had it maybe 2-3 times from over 100 batches. IMHO, NEVER turn your back to a boil, period. THAT is when it will bite u in the arse.

Yes, this was quite strange and I'm glad that I kept an eye on it... thanks.

How much water did you use for the boil? If the wort is too concentrated, it may lead to foaming.

russki wrote:How much water did you use for the boil? If the wort is too concentrated, it may lead to foaming.

I used 2.5 gallons of water. I was wondering if that may have been the case since I had a full lb of DME and 6.6 lbs of LME.

Gymrat wrote:Also you will get new foam with each hop addition.

and some hops for whatever reason will be worse than others.

Come to think of it, the last two large IPAs I did foamed up real bad with each hop addition. I thought I caused it by throwing in huge amounts (it was hop'd pretty heavy), the hops I used were frozen, straight from the freezer. I figured I did it from the froze hops into a boil, maybe not.

shewdawg wrote:

russki wrote:How much water did you use for the boil? If the wort is too concentrated, it may lead to foaming.

I used 2.5 gallons of water. I was wondering if that may have been the case since I had a full lb of DME and 6.6 lbs of LME.

That will give you SG of around 1.115 in the boil - this is really high, and can certainly lead to extra foaming (and poor hop utilization too). If you're doing partial boils, I suggest you do late extract additions - add just enough extract upfront for a boil gravity of around 1.040, and add the rest of extract with 10 min left in the boil, or even at flameout. This will also help to lighten the beers as it won't caramelize as much.

It can happen with late extract additions as well.... the minute you turn your back on the pot.

I also often get foaming when I add whirlfloc at T5.

One thing you may want to try is Fermcap. Works like a champ and havent had a boil over any time Ive used it. Really helps me multitask by being able to go in and out of the house to clean some equipment as I go and for future steps, or at least get a little organization done in the garage as I dont have to watch the kettle like a hawk.

Did I not see somewhere that you can calm a boil over with a spray of water?

Yes a spray bottle works great. My last beer I did a boil on foamed up like crazy. A couple of squirts from the spray bottle took care of it quickly. I always keep one close by when doing boils.

Spray bottle full of water works great for taming the hot break! I have a 3 gallon pot and have done many full volume boils with 2.8-2.9 gallons of wort in the pot, so right up to the brim. As the wort starts to boil vigorously, spray some on the foam to keep it from rising out of the pot.

DaYooper wrote:One thing you may want to try is Fermcap. Works like a champ and havent had a boil over any time Ive used it. Really helps me multitask by being able to go in and out of the house to clean some equipment as I go and for future steps, or at least get a little organization done in the garage as I dont have to watch the kettle like a hawk.

I'll definitely look into a Fermcap. As I saw on Brewbirds pic, been there done that and want to continue my hobby.
Also tonight had to change out the airlock on the carboy. Plugged up on the plastic airlock and when I went to clean the top the inner part of the airlock shot straight in the air Immediately sanitized my hose and stuck it in a bucket. Gotta love the higher alcohol content fermentations! Makes me want to go after a Russian Imperial Stout just to watch the fermentation.

Thanks for all the help!