# How to improve head retention



## chubbytaxman (19/11/14)

Brewers ....

Can I pick your brains for a bit?? :unsure:

I brew a few different styles of beer (until I find some that I would like to brew regularly) ...

Some of the styles I brew are ... Irish Reds ... Porter .... Mild ... English Bitter .... Saison ... Rauchbier

My question revolves around head retention :beerbang:
I cannot seem to get a lingering lace or head in the glass through any style - except .. _maybe_ ... the Rauchbier

I have read that Carapils, Melanoiden or a wheat will assist here but am concerned that may alter the taste of the final product.
I do have a few small quantities (up to 3kg) of Carapils and Crystal (assuming 60 - 80 L), so was wondering if these specialty malts would help at all?

As always, your feedback appreciated ...

chubby


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## manticle (19/11/14)

Full mash brews?
Seeing as this is in ag brewing, i guess it is.
5 minute rest at 55 degrees, sacch rest, then 10 minutes at 72. Clean glasses, well rinsed, sprayed with starsan, then air dried.


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## chubbytaxman (19/11/14)

manticle said:


> Full mash brews?
> Seeing as this is in ag brewing, i guess it is.
> 5 minute rest at 55 degrees, sacch rest, then 10 minutes at 72. Clean glasses, well rinsed, sprayed with starsan, then air dried.


Thanks for the reply manticle.
Sacch rest ??? Ok I am gob smacked ... Can you help a brother out ?
Point taken on the glasses - cleanliness thereof - never used starsan on them before.
Yes it is AG brewing - total of 12 brews under my belt.

chubby


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## TheWiggman (19/11/14)

Saccharification rest, the main rest you brew your mash at (60-70°C).


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## chubbytaxman (19/11/14)

Thanks Wiggman.

I suppose I should have mentioned that I use BIAB, single step infusion (with a twist ... ) on my brews so far.
The twist is that I use 3V as well as BIAB :huh:
Whatthe ??? I hear you yell ...
Ok explanation time .... My system is this - hot water urn (30 odd litre), BIAB in a 50 litre esky, then a 50 odd litre kettle.
Usually do 20 odd litre batches and mostly straight into cube - once or twice used a wort chiller.
If I am doing this wrong then I need to rethink the process ... :lol:

chubby


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## squirt in the turns (19/11/14)

To do a 55°C rest (commonly referred to as a protein rest) and then raise to your saccharification temperature, you can do a step infusion, which will probably require you to reduce your strike water volume and have the remaining liquor at a higher temperature. Software can help you with these calculations.

Alternatively, as you have an urn and a bag, you could do a single-vessel BIAB and use the urn's element to step the temperature up. As it's a 30 L urn, you might struggle to do a 20 L batch in it, but it's a lot simpler and probably more reliable than doing multiple infusions.

As manticle says, keep your protein rest short - 5 mins - and bear in mind the time it will take to ramp up to sacch. temps. Modern malts don't usually need long protein rests and in fact a long rest in the 50s can harm head retention.


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## verysupple (19/11/14)

There are many ways to introduce foam positive elements in to your beer, but usually an all grain beer isn't lacking those anyway. I think far more often it's the introduction of foam negative elements that is the problem, in which case it doesn't matter how much wheat, CaraPils, etc. you put in or what mash rests you use, you still won't get good head.

I used to think it was a bit of a crock and that I must've been doing something wrong in my wort production. I'd tried all the typical remedies mentioned in previous posts, but nothing really helped. I'm fairly certain now that my problem was unclean bottles. I thought they were clean because I scrubbed them with a bottle brush in very hot water as soon as they were consumed and then sanitised before filling. Then one day I decided to give them all a soak in Oxyper and there was all this scuzzy stuff accumulating at the top in the foam. No more head problems now that I soak them before every batch rather than about twice a year. I never got an infected bottle, though, so it was probably mostly protein and yeast and beery stuff.

Even if you keg it has to be properly clean. I'm not sure what your cleaning regime is, Chubby, but it's something to think about and I'm sure others will find this thread in the future, so I hope it helps someone.


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## Spiesy (20/11/14)

manticle said:


> Full mash brews?
> Seeing as this is in ag brewing, i guess it is.
> 5 minute rest at 55 degrees, sacch rest, then 10 minutes at 72. Clean glasses, well rinsed, sprayed with starsan, then air dried.


What does a no rinse sanitiser have to do with improving head?


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## manticle (20/11/14)

Using an acidic product like starsan helps remove residuals from washing. If I want really clean glasses, I'll clean with hot water and perc, then clean water rinse, then starsan.
Vinegar or vinegar/bicarb is an old one too.
It works and it works good.


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## Spiesy (20/11/14)

manticle said:


> Using an acidic product like starsan helps remove residuals from washing. If I want really clean glasses, I'll clean with hot water and perc, then clean water rinse, then starsan.
> Vinegar or vinegar/bicarb is an old one too.
> It works and it works good.


I know Star San is a "no rinse" acid and I'm a _massive_ fan of the product, but I wouldn't personally want to use it - unrinsed - in a small drinking vessel such as a beer glass.

Just my personal preference, of course.


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## manticle (20/11/14)

I'm still here. 3 heads but I'm still here. Unrinsed, excess emptied and glass dried is fine ya big pansy.


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## mosto (20/11/14)

I'd recommend using around 5% Carapils, along with the other steps outlined above. I find it's pretty flavour neutral but does help with head retention. I can get flaked wheat from work for nothing and tried this, instead of Carapils for my last couple of brews. One is still in the fermenter, but the other, a Saison, had no head retention at all. Process, equipment etc was the same as the majority of my brews so can only put it down to the lack of Carapils. I assumed the wheat would compensate for this but didn't seem to. Not sure if the fact the wheat is unmalted had an effect. Anyhow, I think I'll go back to using Carapils.


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## MHB (20/11/14)

Personally I wouldn't use Star San as a no rinse anywhere but especially not in glassware, its an Acid and Detergent mix and the detergent in this case is a 1950's industrial surfactant that I don't want residue of any of anywhere near my glasses.
No doubt it cleans well but do rinse with clean water after use, Chlorinated Trisodium Phosphate (AKA TSP, Pink, PSR...) works really well as does Sodium Percarbonate, Sodium Carbonate (good old washing soda) and Sodium Metasilicate (brewers detergent) or various mixes of the above (i.e. PBW)
But in all cases there is no benefit to leaving any residue in the glass so rinse well and air dry.

Wheat as it is rich in medium sized proteins, used in the 5-10% of grist range it is often included in a grain bill to improve head and head retention, does benefit from a short protein rest (50-55oC), long rests can reduce head forming proteins by degrading them too far, so 5-10 minutes is usually enough.

CaraPillis/CarraFoam, again 5-10% of grist is recommended by the manufacturers as required to get head improvement, more can be used in some styles but additions under 5% really wont achieve much of anything.

Hops improve head, the more you use the better the head, high alcohol tends to reduce head, maturity improves head, correct carbonation is critical.
Dint skim your boil, there is a finite amount of head building ingredients in a wort, a lot of the medium molecular weight proteins that are important for head and head retention form a foam on the wort at the start of the boil - removing them reduces the amount available in the finished beer.

This is worth a read Getting A Head View attachment 07 - Beer foam.pdf


Head can be a vexing issue and the answer is rarely any one thing, there are both head building and head reducing ingredients, head building and head reducing processes, the sum total of the effect of all the factors applied properly is a good looking beer with a great head that laces the glass well, may not affect the taste much but a good looking beer is to be preferred.
Mark


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## manticle (20/11/14)

> Personally I wouldn't use Star San as a no rinse anywhere


Reckon there's many risks to my health I'm more concerned with than exposure to starsan.


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## Blind Dog (20/11/14)

Personally I found the biggest improvements from:
- a simple but thorough rinse of the otherwise clean glass in cold water before use
- a short 5 min rest at 55C
- let the full glass sit for a little while before taking the first drink


Also this podcast from Brew Strong has some useful information: http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/Brew-Strong/Brew-Strong-09-01-08-Head-Retention

but seeking the perfect head on beer can drive you mad if you let it


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## Spiesy (20/11/14)

Blind Dog said:


> - let the full glass sit for a little while before taking the first drink


Dude.


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## pcmfisher (20/11/14)

manticle said:


> Reckon there's many risks to my health I'm more concerned with than exposure to starsan.


I am not sure if MHB is inferring health risks or the surfactant being a head retention killer.

I know they say "Don't fear the foam" but I have wondered more than once about a surfactant of any sort being washed off my fermenter walls into my beer. h34r:


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## djar007 (20/11/14)

Hasn't coca cola got phosphoric acid in it? What's the problem with a little stars an residue. If I had to give up all things bad for me I would start at bacon cured and smoked meats. Not minute traces of starsan left in a dry glass.


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## Spiesy (20/11/14)

djar007 said:


> Hasn't coca cola got phosphoric acid in it? What's the problem with a little stars an residue. If I had to give up all things bad for me I would start at bacon cured and smoked meats. Not minute traces of starsan left in a dry glass.


Coca Cola is hardly the pinnacle of health.

The acid in it will rot meat and clean coins.


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## djar007 (20/11/14)

Neither is beer. Lol.


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## MHB (20/11/14)

Ya, not talking about health effects, just the fact that detergents are bad for head - as we all know.
There is no beneficial amount of detergent to add to beer, so I aim to add none.
M


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## kaiserben (20/11/14)

Spiesy said:


> The acid in it will rot meat and clean coins.


No it won't. 

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/acid.asp


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## Yob (20/11/14)

Wheat I find is the biggest aid, that and appropriate rests, most of my brews contain a minimum of %10 wheat (AIPA / APA) and find I get wonderful lacing every time. 

Glassware and detergents are a killer but now we're using perc in the dishwasher I find that I don't need to do anything to glassware.


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## manticle (20/11/14)

pcmfisher said:


> I am not sure if MHB is inferring health risks or the surfactant being a head retention killer.
> 
> I know they say "Don't fear the foam" but I have wondered more than once about a surfactant of any sort being washed off my fermenter walls into my beer. h34r:


Fair enough. My experience of starsan in kegs, glasses and everywhere else is that it has no negative effect on head. I mash as mentioned, use starsan in kegs, fermenters, etc and when I want a really clean glass and get dense foam which lasts well and clings to the glass.


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## kaiserben (20/11/14)

Yob said:


> now we're using perc in the dishwasher


Could you elaborate on this (ie how much do you use?, do you just pour powdered perc into the compartment that a dishwasher tablet would go?, etc)


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## Yob (20/11/14)

I'd have to ask the missus who usually does that, couple of tea spoons I'd suspect, yep just in the little compartment thing.

As a side, the missus tells me that the whole dishwasher is a lot cleaner and smells better now we've switched to perc and everything is just as clean as when using expensive dishwasher cube thingies.


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## MHB (20/11/14)

Been using it in the dishwasher for years, works a treat on Espresso machines to.
M


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## Dae Tripper (20/11/14)

Please excuse my ignorance but what is "perc"


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## Judanero (20/11/14)

Sodium Percarbonate


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## Dae Tripper (20/11/14)

Cheers Judanero. The best place to get it?


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## Spiesy (20/11/14)

djar007 said:


> Neither is beer. Lol.


Actually, good beer contains lots of positive things. 

Too much of it is bad for you.

I'd hazard a guess that glass of all-natural beer is a shitload better for you than a glass of Coke.


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## Spiesy (20/11/14)

kaiserben said:


> No it won't.
> 
> http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/acid.asp


Seen and raised.

http://www.csiro.au/helix/sciencemail/activities/cleaningwithcola.html


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## zeggie (20/11/14)

Dae Tripper said:


> Cheers Judanero. The best place to get it?


No name/coles/woolies unscented napisan is a cheap easy place.


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## Adr_0 (21/11/14)

Awesome thread, lots of good advice and some to take myself. 

Does lagering contribute to good head retention? If so/not, then why? 

What about splashing beer?


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## Spiesy (21/11/14)

I wouldn't imagine lagering would do much to head retention, it's more about flavour development.


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## MartinOC (21/11/14)

zeggie said:


> No name/coles/woolies unscented napisan is a cheap easy place.


Expensive way to buy Perc.... Most of those products are generally less than 30% Perc (still works OK), but the pure stuff can be purchased for less than $2/Kg. http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/83754-bulk-buy-traders-contact-details/

Keep an eye on the BB forum & get in on one in your area.


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## Mr B (21/11/14)

Hmmm, perc in the dishwasher

Does anyone use napisan/disan in there?


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## slcmorro (21/11/14)

Use a small amount of carapils in your beer, any style. Jobs done.


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## Mr B (21/11/14)

I have to say as well MHB, a lot of talk about head without a double entendre

Now that's raising the bar...........


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## Goose (22/11/14)

For those who have not seen this it adds a bit of weight behind why mants uses starsan spray prior to using his glasses:


http://brulosophy.com/tag/head-retention/


hard to argue with these results:


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## mondestrunken (22/11/14)

Is this thread for real?

People put napisan in the dishwasher?

How is napisan food grade? Starsan is at least actively made as a food-grade product, not that I would use it on my glasses.


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## manticle (22/11/14)

They're talking pure sod perc in the dishwasher, not napisan. As food grade as any other washing powder that goes through the dishwashing post-eash rinse cycle.


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## JasonP (22/11/14)

There's too much effort going on here to clean glasses. Just stick em in dishwasher like normal. If there's still problems then your dishwasher is dirty.
To op, use crystal, wheat or extra hops to enhance head as already suggested by a few.


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## Dunkelbrau (23/11/14)

JasonP said:


> There's too much effort going on here to clean glasses. Just stick em in dishwasher like normal. If there's still problems then your dishwasher is dirty.
> To op, use crystal, wheat or extra hops to enhance head as already suggested by a few.


Maybe its too much effort for you, but not for others.

I hand wash my glasses and drip dry, and I don't keep them in the fridge.


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## JasonP (23/11/14)

Dunkelbrau said:


> Maybe its too much effort for you, but not for others.
> I hand wash my glasses and drip dry, and I don't keep them in the fridge.


Hand washing glasses is fine but ppl who hand wash, clean with perc followed by hot water rinse then starsan clean is over the top.


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## droid (23/11/14)

what about your water, are there things in water that make it better or worse for head retention?

I use grolsh bottles, they are rinsed in hot water and dried upside down, the beer is poored to glass, which is mostly just washed in hot water after the fact

so, being that I can get good head with what may seem like sub standard cleaning procedures my advice would be to look at your water table, mash ph, or the rests/brewing methods as per other posts

good luck

<edit> here's a good link which backs up the hop additions as a help

http://beersmith.com/blog/2008/06/25/enhancing-beer-head-retention-for-home-brewers/


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## chubbytaxman (23/11/14)

Thank you gents for all your replies ....

I have dramatically improved the way I clean my glasses and am now revising favourite recipes to add ingredients as suggested by you brewers more advanced than myself. It wasn't my intention to cause havoc amongst such a fine group of brewers such as yourselves - I do appreciate the input.
I was just wanting to find out what I was doing wrong with my brewing.

I have noticed with a brew recently, that I let some bottle condition in the fridge (around normal fridge temps - as there has been gear in there for SWMBO as well :blink: ) .. and some that were left to condition in controlled conditions. The difference is gob smacking to say the least - Don't condition in *chilled environments* (rather go with the controlled environment) ... but you guys knew that already  ...

Thanks all again

chubby


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## mje1980 (24/11/14)

I used to do vinegar and bi carb on my glasses. Pain in the arse. Then I tried the dishwasher after a thread in here I think. Brilliant results.

I stopped adding carapils and wheat etc for head, and added a short 72c rest as per Manticles advice and i get consistently good to excellent head retention. Might be crazy but I swear some glasses, no matter how they are cleaned ( within reason ) hold better heads than others. If I could be bothered I'll do a short protein rest to boost it a bit. I rarely seem to get problems with head, though I did have a bad run a while ago. Problem kind of went away. 

I tried a pils that has been in the keg for probably 2 months the other day, great pillowy head and lacing all the way. Dunno why.


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## mje1980 (24/11/14)

Oh and if you're desperate, you can get a small die grinder and score the bottom of a spare glass. Not too much, just a few small sections on the bottom and the sides near the bottom of the glass. I've done this to 2 of my glasses, the first time I went nuts and scored most of the bottom and up about an inch off the bottom. Head? Way too much. The other one, I just did a few small 3cm long thin sections. Holds a nice head and laces all the way down. I don't need scored glasses for good head and retention but now and then I like to use them.


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## Tahoose (24/11/14)

mje1980 said:


> I tried a pils that has been in the keg for probably 2 months the other day, great pillowy head and lacing all the way. Dunno why.


Probably relates to conditioning, I'm guessing it also tasted twice as good as it did 6 weeks ago?


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## mje1980 (24/11/14)

Yep, might even be longer than 2 months. This time I did the "pitch cool but then ramp up to 18" style ferment. Didn't like it at all but now months later it's pretty good. Still prefer pitching and fermenting cold though, IMHO gives a super clean crisp result.


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## billygoat (24/11/14)

mje1980 said:


> If I could be bothered I'll do a short protein rest to boost it


According to the Brewsmith article that someone has linked to above, a rest in the 50-60C range is not desirable if you are chasing head retention.


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## mje1980 (24/11/14)

Sigh...... A short rest is fine, a long one is not


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## manticle (24/11/14)

> According to the Brewsmith article that someone has linked to above, a rest in the 50-60C range is not desirable if you are chasing head retention.


55 for 5 minutes helps head retention.

It's been specified in the thread and is what mje is referring to when he says 'short protein rest'.


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## billygoat (24/11/14)

manticle said:


> 55 for 5 minutes helps head retention.It's been specified in the thread and is what mje is referring to when he says 'short protein rest'.[/quote
> 
> 
> manticle said:
> ...


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## glaab (24/11/14)

clean a glass with starsan, let it air dry then fill it with water and you'll have head.
You may as well just put a capful in the keg  .
Manticle knows his stuff and has always been helpful but I'm with MHB on this.
I've copped flak here for rinsing my kegs after starsan-ing them but I always do it.
It takes a lot of rinsing to get the foam out. Congrats on the civility of this thread.
Usually at the first hint of a disagreement there's comments like " I'll ask your mom, she's under the table here"
and real witty stuff like that. Never from the 2 aforementioned though, Cheers


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## manticle (24/11/14)

The head is not starsan foam. Rinse your no-rinse sanitiser by all means. My main point was that glassware needs to be cleaned properly. I sometimes rinse mine with starsan (which I can assure you works well) but however you do it, clean glasses are a major factor in foam retention. I'm drinking a mild now from a pint glass not rinsed/sprayed with starsan and there's foam clinging to the sides from top to bottom.
I am experienced enough to distinguish starsan foam from head caused by proteins and dextrins so ya mum.


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## Dips Me Lid (24/11/14)

As pointed out by many others, clean glassware is the key, I use either sodium perc or bi-carb soda, rinse and air dry, works every time for me, be it a home brew or commercial beer.


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## Adr_0 (24/11/14)

Great that everyone recognises clean glassware is as important as the brewing process.

I found where I read that sloshing beer around reduces its head potential, here:
https://www.ibd.org.uk/cms/file/311



_Factors which...subsequently improve the head retention :_

_[SIZE=13.63636302948px]• [/SIZE]Grist with malt made from high nitrogen barley and all malt grist will contribute increased nitrogen to_
_the wort._
_• Poorly modified malts have less protein breakdown resulting in worts with higher protein content._
_• It is necessary to avoid excessive wort boiling or excess use of kettle finings which increase the amount of protein_
_removed as hot and cold break._
_• Every time the beer foams it uses up some of the precious foam stabilising proteins, which are left behind as a crust_
_on the vessel walls. Avoiding beer fobbing during boiling and all subsequent transfers reduces the loss of foam_
_proteins and ensures more continue into the packaged beer._
_• Protein compounds can also be lost during processing through maturation and tight filtration. Care in these areas will_
_improve foam potential._

I was extremely careful with the dunkelweizen a couple of months ago, and it has rewarded me with an initial meringue which settles into a very tight, stubborn layer of foam about 10mm thick all the way down. 56% wheat may help that, but I would say a good boil, careful transfer, clean glass! would help that too.

Any comments on hot/cold break?


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## manticle (24/11/14)

Hot and cold break are essentially proteins and proteins are a major factor in foam formation and retention.
The potential negative effects of hot break outweigh any positive ones but cold break is a different story in my experience.


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## JasonP (24/11/14)

Is your water high in chlorine? And do over sparge? Chlorine and lipids in last runnings can cause poor head retention.


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## chubbytaxman (24/11/14)

JasonP said:


> Is your water high in chlorine? And do over sparge? Chlorine and lipids in last runnings can cause poor head retention.


Unsure on this one JP ...

I have tried to get a water analysis from my water supplier - still waiting !!!!
The odd time I have mucked up and expected dire results (and got them I might add) ...
I seem to have a lot to learn from this whole process (I said before that I only have about 10 - 12 brews under my belt so far) so it is a continual learning process with me.
Having said that, I have made a Rauchbier that has great lacing - although dissapating toward the bottom - that I am happy with.

Baby steps for this black duck


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