Head Dosent Last On Brew

[grantmb]

Hi All,
I am just new to brewing. I bought the Tooheys micro home brew kit to kick off with.

The brew has been bottled for a week and a half now. The first longneck has been tested. When I poured it into the glass there was a decent size head but it then disappeared after about 5 mins. The glass has been washed in hot water only. The beer remained carbonated for the entire time it was in glass.

Is this expected or have I gone wrong somewhere??


Cheers
Grant

 

[Adamt]

What ingredients did you use?

Beers with a decent proportion of adjuncts (such as brew enhancers, sugars, dextrose, etc) are prone to being fairly thin-bodied, which results in low head retention. Head retention can be improved by steeping crystal or caramel malt and adding the liquid to the brew, or by using less adjuncts and more malt extract (either liquid malt extract or dry malt extract).

Does it taste good?

Cheers and welcome.

 

[brettprevans]

as your just starting out, using a bit of wheat malt extract, instead of steeping crystal, in your brews should help the heah retention. Using crystal is the better method though.

 

[Mercs Own]

Hi All,
I am just new to brewing. I bought the Tooheys micro home brew kit to kick off with.

The brew has been bottled for a week and a half now. The first longneck has been tested. When I poured it into the glass there was a decent size head but it then disappeared after about 5 mins. The glass has been washed in hot water only. The beer remained carbonated for the entire time it was in glass.

Is this expected or have I gone wrong somewhere??
Cheers
Grant

Yes something is wrong, you used a Tooheys home brew kit! Did you boil the extract or just dump it in to the fermenter? I dont think the kits are well known for lovely fine lacey white heads on their own. Boiling the extract can help and adding adjuncts will also help as Adamt and citymorgue2 mentioned.

 

[Fatgodzilla]

Yes something is wrong, you used a Tooheys home brew kit! Did you boil the extract or just dump it in to the fermenter? I dont think the kits are well known for lovely fine lacey white heads on their own. Boiling the extract can help and adding adjuncts will also help as Adamt and citymorgue2 mentioned.

Use a pewter mug or a ceramic beer stein when drinking this stuff. If you don't see the lack of head, you won't miss it !!!

 

[RobboMC]

Hi All,
I am just new to brewing. I bought the Tooheys micro home brew kit to kick off with.

The brew has been bottled for a week and a half now. The first longneck has been tested. When I poured it into the glass there was a decent size head but it then disappeared after about 5 mins. The glass has been washed in hot water only. The beer remained carbonated for the entire time it was in glass.

Is this expected or have I gone wrong somewhere??
Cheers
Grant

Hi Grant,

I still remember that ay when I first tasted a brew that I had made myself. At the time, I thought it was the best glass of beer I had ever seen, oh how we lie to ourselves when we wish to. With hindsight, my fisrt batch was flat, bland and basically awful beer. Sounds like your first batch tastes Ok, so that's a great start.

Keep learning and looking to improve; and you will. Get a good book, and find a good home brew shop. As Donald Rumsfeld famously said, " you don't know what it is that you don't know". Enjoy your journey into home brewing. Better head retention will come as you learn to make better beer, mostly as these guys say by using 100% malt ingredients and better quality kits.

I have just found the Munton's kits, and IMHO they are far and above better than the supermarket ones and well sorth the extra bucks.

 

[brettprevans]

Robbo also has a point as far as better quality ingredients give better results. I find the muntons a good brand also but at $20 they are more expensive. Black rock is another good brand. I find their stout very good.

it wont matter too much when your starting out, but when your palate developes or you get more confidence to brew you wil want to start using better ingredients (or will know when you need to use better ingredients and when you can get away with using standard ingredients).

 

[iluvbeer]

Hi, im new to all this brewing also and the advise you get here is fantastic. I think these blokes are sick of my questions, but it is paying of for me as my beers are getting better with every batch i do. I started with the coopers baverian and i have the same problem as you, so im experimenting with the muntons range and so far im impressed. Try the wheat beer and use some malt as well as dextrose. I used 750g malt extract and 750g dextrose and bulk primed at 8g per lt. Let it sit for 2 weeks in a nice warm place 20c and it is a very drinkable beer with good head for a very young beer. :beer:

 

[InCider]

Hmmm... We knows what type of veges eh? B)

Warren -

These glasses made me stop drinking out of the bottle.

Headmaster

 

[Thunderlips]

These glasses made me stop drinking out of the bottle.

It's a bit of a cheat though I reckon.
If the beer is good enough in the first place it shouldn't need gimmicky glasses to cause bubbles and head retention.
That said, I might get some
I do actually have two jar style beer glasses with the special nucleation points engraved into the bottom.
They certainly do make the bubbles go crazy.

 

[simpletotoro]

When I poured it into the glass there was a decent size head but it then disappeared after about 5 mins. The glass has been washed in hot water only. The beer remained carbonated for the entire time it was in glass.

hi..i'm a believer in this magic bullet...works for me...100g carapils steeped in every kit brew...
cheers ST

 

[grantmb]

Thanks for the suggestions

 

[keef12345]

as your just starting out, using a bit of wheat malt extract, instead of steeping crystal, in your brews should help the heah retention. Using crystal is the better method though.

Will using a malt enhance head retention

 

[grantmb]

Thanks for all the help/comments so far.

I am now finding that with age the head retention is better. It has been in bottles for 3 weeks now.


cheers
Grant