Olemate Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Afternoon all, and a happy new year to one and all! Making up a 2L starter this morning with 200gms Coopers LDM in a 5L flask. Brought to the boil and watched for the hot break. When it occurred I turned the gas off but the foam kept going and going, finally coming out the top of the flask. I faffed about for at least 30 minutes, gas on gas off, waiting for the foam to die down as it had on past occasions, a lot of flakes of grey shite floating about. Previously I had only ever used LDM from our LHBS and not had an issue like this. Has anyone else had the same sort of issue with the Coopers LDM? Also does anyone know just what those grey flakey bits are? I've actually seen them last through fermentation and end up in the keg. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 The grey flaky bits are hot break which are proteins clumping together. I have never used coopers LDM but get the same problems when i use the country brewer LDM as opposed to the LDM i get from the penrith HBS. Key is when it gets to the boil turn it right down and also if you are boiling it in a flask giving enough head space to avoid the boil over. Blowing some air on it also causes it to die down as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 I have to admit I am finding it strange that home brewers (myself included) use Erlenmeyer flasks for boiling. There are a few disadvantages over a proper boiling flask... Greater thermal stress, harder to clean, greater risk of boilovers, all due to the shape. Wouldn't the flat bottom round boiling flasks be a better bet sincr they are actually designed for boiling solutions in a lab, whereas Erlenmeyer flasks are not. Cheers, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olemate Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share Posted January 1, 2019 I agree John. I figured that a flask is easier to seal against possible contamination. As I said originally I've made quite a few starters and by doing as Greeny suggests (turning gas right down) I've prevented boil overs. Normally a 2L starter in a 5L flask provides enough head room, but not this time using Coopers LDM, but this mother just kept foaming and foaming, and there seemed an abnormal amount of flakey bits. Re. cleaning, I find that a dose of percarb. usually does the job, if not, backed up with a bottle brush. Cheers Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Proper boiling flasks would obviously be better but the boilovers are due to the malt used. I haven't used Coopers DME but I have used very fine powder like stuff which I'm led to believe is basically the same, and encountered exactly the same problem. Whenever I use the coarser DME, the boiling is quite tame by comparison and there are no flakes of grey shit either. With this type of DME I can make 2ish litre starters in a 3 litre flask without it getting anywhere near the top, let alone out of it. I always try to find this DME now, craftbrewer stocks it so I usually grab a couple of bags whenever I'm there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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