Creamy Head On Stout

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foxy

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

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.
 
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.
 
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?
 
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.
Click to expand...

Nup! Not quite right KIR... Nitrogen doesn't kill the flavour. The freezing cold serving temps they present these beers at do though. :ph34r:

Warren -
 
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!
 
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. :D )
Click to expand...
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?
 
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.
 
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:
 
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.
Click to expand...

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 :p


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

Warren -
 
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.
 
Gough said:
Love a good stout...

Shawn.
Click to expand...
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!
 
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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