# Creamy Head On Stout



## foxy (28/7/06)

im new to brewing stout, but i read in a recipe somewhere that among adding certain ingredients to improve the creamyness, halve the amount of priming sugar. But im worried that this will destroy the head. is this true anyone?


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## razz (28/7/06)

Welcome Foxy. If you halve the priming sugar you will reduce the CO2 produced during refermentation, when you drink the stoutyou will feel less CO2 "prickle" on your tongue. This may be why the stout will have a more creamy mouthfeel to it. The easiest way around this, without looseing the head, may be to prime as normal and when you pour the stout let it stand for several minutes so it will de-gas.


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## Stuster (28/7/06)

The head doesn't only come from the carbonation. (That's why coke doesn't have a frothy white head like a nice stout.  )

Cut down the carbonation and you can still have the head. You can then pour the beer straight down the middle of the glass and get that creamy head without frothing over the glass.


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## mike_hillyer (28/7/06)

Nitrogen is used to give stouts, bitters, etc... on tap a creamy effect but the nitrogen kills the flavour. All malt including some wheat malt helps produce a froathy head. I would drop the priming a fizzy stout isn't true to the style.


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## foxy (28/7/06)

Thanks for the advice boys. I'll only put half a teaspoon of sugar per tally. I got a can of Morgans Dockside Stout, and was going to throw in some dried corn syrup (along with the dextrose) to hopefully get a bit more body and head retention. i dont want have so much flavour that i can only drink one tally, so i wasnt going to add any malt. also wanted to see how much flavour the can by itself had. any ideas on how much corn to use?


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## warrenlw63 (29/7/06)

keep it real said:


> Nitrogen is used to give stouts, bitters, etc... on tap a creamy effect but the nitrogen kills the flavour. All malt including some wheat malt helps produce a froathy head. I would drop the priming a fizzy stout isn't true to the style.



Nup! Not quite right KIR... Nitrogen doesn't kill the flavour. The freezing cold serving temps they present these beers at do though. h34r: 

Warren -


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## mike_hillyer (29/7/06)

You could be right! I find of the nitrogen mix beers the ol' Killer kenny's and Cafrey's are a reasonable formulation. Maybe because they were never a real ale, like Guinness, Tetley's etc...A big night on the nitrogen is up there for maximum hangover!


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## lucas (29/7/06)

Stuster said:


> The head doesn't only come from the carbonation. (That's why coke doesn't have a frothy white head like a nice stout.  )


Slightly off topic but bear with me. I've only made the one stout (which i though turned out wonderful) but whenever I'd pour one they always had frothy brown head. I figured it was something to do with the fact i used only dark and crystal malt extracts plus the kit and it turned out very thick (as I like it). I guess what I'd like to know is is there anything i should do next time to make the head turn out white?


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## mike_hillyer (29/7/06)

Lucas when I used to get that colour head I find I have a mild infection. When I say that I mean it's drinkable but not top notch. You can age it a bit (but they gernerally don't come good) or black and tan with a cheap mid strength. 

I stopped it by becoming a sterilisation freak and I always fill my fermenter with boiling water and all my bottles then empty them (in my garden), I alo boil my lids for 5 minutes and since doing this I haven't had a discoloured head but mate it's a chore. Also pull our your fermenter tap and clean behind it and drench it in hot water as well as scorch everything used in hot water.


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## Stuster (29/7/06)

Sorry, yep, lucas. My stouts have brown heads too. Nitro stouts have creamy, white heads. Real stouts have a creamy heads, but brown/black. Just feel like one now actually. Heads off to fridge. :chug:


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## Ross (30/7/06)

keep it real said:


> Lucas when I used to get that colour head I find I have a mild infection. When I say that I mean it's drinkable but not top notch. You can age it a bit (but they gernerally don't come good) or black and tan with a cheap mid strength.
> 
> I stopped it by becoming a sterilisation freak and I always fill my fermenter with boiling water and all my bottles then empty them (in my garden), I alo boil my lids for 5 minutes and since doing this I haven't had a discoloured head but mate it's a chore. Also pull our your fermenter tap and clean behind it and drench it in hot water as well as scorch everything used in hot water.



There is nothing wrong with a creamy brown head on your stout & it does NOT mean it's infected. 
KIR - If extra sterilisation has turned your stout heads white, you must have left some bleach in the bottle  


cheers Ross


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## mike_hillyer (11/8/06)

Sorry guys I wasn't specific enough for the hair splitters. I consider the head on the stout on the coopers can white. I get a darker head on all beer when I used to get an infection and it doesn't last long. The head we want lasts and is fine and whippy. The 5 litre pressure barrel gives a very good head on real ales, including stouts.


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## warrenlw63 (12/8/06)

keep it real said:


> Sorry guys I wasn't specific enough for the hair splitters. I consider the head on the stout on the coopers can white. I get a darker head on all beer when I used to get an infection and it doesn't last long. The head we want lasts and is fine and whippy. The 5 litre pressure barrel gives a very good head on real ales, including stouts.



Keep it real by name... However by nature I'm not so sure. :blink: 

Warren -


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## Fingerlickin_B (12/8/06)

warrenlw63 said:


> Keep it real by name... However by nature I'm not so sure. :blink:



h34r: :lol: h34r:


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## Gough (12/8/06)

The head colour on a stout is due to the different specialty malts used. A tan/brown head on a HB non-nitro stout (or a nitro stout for that matter really) is perfectly fine and not a sign of infection. For anyone not willing to take mine, Warren's, Stuster's and Rosses word for it, www.howtobrew.com explains things reasonably well.  

Love a good stout...

Shawn.


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## warrenlw63 (12/8/06)

Gough said:


> Love a good stout...
> 
> Shawn.



Do tell! :lol: 

Warren -


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## sog (12/8/06)

Gough said:


> Love a good stout...
> 
> Shawn.


Haha! Who'd have thought a guy called Shawn would love a good stout!?!?

Back to the topic, I do a mini-mash with cracked chocolate malt to add to a can of stout wort (Muntons Imperial Export is excellent). This gives a nice brown creamy head. I also add a stick of soft liquorice and 50g ground coffee to the mash.

YUMMM!


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## mike_hillyer (12/8/06)

Fingerlickin_B said:


> warrenlw63 said:
> 
> 
> > Keep it real by name... However by nature I'm not so sure. :blink:
> ...




... 
Hair splitting followed by an attempt at side splitting, albeit a poor one.

Anyway, the advice stands as it works for me, without any synthetic chemical, bleach etc


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## vlbaby (12/8/06)

Nobody has really answered lucas' question, I'm dying to know to answer to that one too. Or was it on the the howtobrew website? I couldnt find it if it was :blink: 

The guiness beers are the only beers I have ever had that were dark and had a snow white head. Every other dark beer I've bought and brewed has had a tan coloured head. 

How do they do it?


cheers

vl.


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## mickk (20/8/06)

Ive always believed that Alginate was added to beer for the foamy head.

I have found it sold as Stabilfoam http://www.cbsbrew.com/Fiches/Fiches_PDF/F..._Stabilfoam.pdf

I wonder if anyone uses it?


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## mike_hillyer (20/8/06)

Cheers for that I'll check it out. I believe wheat malt is good for a foamy white head and I bet our Irish brothers and those who decend form their stock can obtain a white head on a black body, using all natural ingredients. Whether they will tell us is another matter


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## berazafi (20/8/06)

The whiteness of the head is part of the malting/genetic strain of the malt.


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## Adamt (20/8/06)

We don't need to ask the bloomin Irish about how to get a white head on a black body; we just need to ask Wacko Jacko! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW! :lol:


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## mickk (21/8/06)

Algate its coming back to me. The best is from the King Island kelp, its just extracted from the dried seaweed. They export it to Guinness and other places around the world. yes thats one of the Irish secrets.Its also used in ice cream and some other things that havent come back yet.


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## Mr Bond (21/8/06)

Clearhead,Brown head.! What a crock 'o ' s#*t.

All my botle conditioned stouts to date have produced a brownish head,with no infections,

A Coopers stout(commercial) pours with a brown head.
The very tasty "southwark old stout" that I'm sippin on has a brown head.
Guiness from a stubby has a brown head.

Nitro pumped anglo stouts have a gay white head on a black body for marketing reasons(contrasting advertising).
Get a real dark ale into ya,brown head an all(Ya Wussys)


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