I like to ferment my 5 gallon batches in a 6.8 gallon glass carboy, because I don't like to expose my wines to excessive outside air, and if I let it ferment out for a few days past the time that it has finished it's primary, it's not a big deal, and I'm not risking contamination or spoilage. But some wines can end up really foamy, especially when using elderberries and oak chips, and things can get messy. For example, foam and stuff going up inside the airlock, etc. One thing I tried, is using a food-grade anti-foaming agent called M-10 stable. Three or four drops, and often the foam is almost totally eliminated. On many of my wines now, I just put it in as a matter of course. So far, I haven't noticed any negative side effects of using it (taste or appearance). It's about 3 dollars a bottle and it would probably do a dozen batches or more, which is pretty much a pittance.
Am I alone in using this sort of thing or do other people do this too? I haven't heard of anyone using this stuff much.
LG