If you're boiling your yeast starter in your flask, even if you think you can cautiously sift in DME little by little to avoid foam-over, you, my friend, couldn't be more wrong. As soon as you're done cautiously sifting and proud of yourself for doing it, you'll turn around to put your funnel in the sink and just to spite you, the flask will turn in to a Wort Rocket shooting Boiling Wort into the upper reaches of your kitchen. After switching the now calm flask to the other side of the stove so you can clean the freshly soiled side, you can continue to boil it but DO NOT add yeast nutrient because your flask will then turn in to Mt. Wort-suvius and erupt molten wort all over the previously clean side of your stove. The cool thing is you'll end up with a really clean stove...mistakes were made...mistakes were made...
Sun, Feb 23, 2014 - 5:05pm
#1
Cautionary Erlenmeyer flask tale
Use ferm cap in starters to a oils the problem. Couple drops before it starts boiling is best. No more boil overs
Yeah, I learned the hard way that you can't add anything to a boiling/almost-boiling starter in a flask. Surefire wort eruption, fermcap or no.
Lesson for me: everything into the flask, then add heat. But fermcap too. And never, ever turn your back on wort in a flask, because it will boil over just to spite you.
The acceleration it achieves at the narrowing of the flask is amazing, by the time you react it's already too late. Gotta get that ferm cap.