Bit of a funny one...

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ltp

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Bit of a funny one, wasn't too sure in which board to discuss it. Time constraints usually see me putting down a kit and kilo quickie on Sunday afternoon rather than touching anything resembling a grain.

This, along with an unfortunate mixed Scottish/Jewish heritage usually see me making up a Coopers goo, a BE1, a Safale yeast and some late hopping for a budget pale ale (or now-fashionable "XPA" when using the Coopers draught or larger goo).

Following a recent batch, I failed to save my yeast and so I ran with the kit yeast in a Coopers stout. Weather being what it was, and me without a temp-controlled fridge, the brew saw some high 30s, and a few cold nights either end (in lower Vic).

The beer smelled like a solid Father's Day Cooper's Kit brew after fermentation, and so being a cheap prick, and rather than tipping it, I put a pot of stove-top expresso, a fair bit of brown sugar, some honey, and a good dose of vanilla essence into the keg first.

For a throw-away keg, the beer is now very surprising drinkable with ufront vanilla and molasses notes, some chocolate, and very smooth. The weirdest thing is though that this beer holds a head like nothing else. Thick, luscious, Guinness-style head. The brew pretty much self-carbonated in the keg due to the brown sugar, but the carbonation appears to be mostly an ice-cream head, albeit with enough in the body and fantastic lacing.

To cut a long story short; what's causing the fantastic head here? Is it the "beer style" (a stout goo) having more proteins, is it the brown sugar, the honey? I can't imagine it would be the essence.
 
It's the Vanilla, or more accurately probably the artificial Vanillin (tight prick) used in cheap knockoff vanilla flavouring.
Home brewers have been using vanilla to get a big head on stout for decades, it works, at the price of your beer tasting of Vanilla (not something I look for in any beer), Ok in custard or whipped cream, ice-cream… but not beer for mine thanks.
Mark
 
Thanks for the fast response :); out of interest, do you how the vanillin is causing head retention?

Unfortunately, I'm mostly a computer nerd and couldn't find anything in a quick search on it that I could readily understand the mechanism for doing so (heaps of results for homebrewers doing this though).

Cheers,

-ltp
 
Got a few thoughts on the mechanism, unfortunately I doubt we have the language in common for a simple explanation to be much use.
At the pub one time I remember asking a maths professor for a simple explanation of fourier transform analysis, he looked thoughtful for a moment then asked what I would like from the bar - point being I just don't have the background.
Have a read of this, If your still interested try getting a copy of Foam by Charlie Bamforth.
Mark
 

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