Head

[mattieharding]

Why does my brew lose its head quickly after being poured?

I have the beer in kegs, gassed to a little under 100kpa

Pours a nice 1/2" head but is gone within 30 secs.

any help would be great

 

[discoloop]

I bottle and have a similar problem. Some batches pour a nicer head than others but even then they're never great. I'm very interested to hear if anyone has ideas about this too.

 

[blackbock]

Apart from altering you ingredients, or healthy fermentation issues, a cold glass will slow the rate the bubbles come out of solution and hence make the head last a little longer.

 

[mattieharding]

Apart from altering you ingredients, or healthy fermentation issues, a cold glass will slow the rate the bubbles come out of solution and hence make the head last a little longer.

Already using cold glasses, any other tips you might have?

matt

 

[blackbock]

Already using cold glasses, any other tips you might have?

matt

Well, OK. What type of brews have you had this problem with?

You can fix most head issues by adding a little wheat malt extract, not too much, 250g tops in a standard kit-sized batch. You will really notice a difference to the head. Another thing you can try is steeping some carapils or other crystal grain, but personally I didn't find this made much of a difference. Lots of people swear it's a magic bullet though.

Typically the brews which suffer the most from this problem are the ones with the largest proportion of sugar (either cane sugar or dextrose). The more maltose, usually the less the problem. I think the same applies to hopping levels - hoppier brews tend to hold their head much better.

Also don't believe anyone that tells you corn syrup fixes head problems. It doesn't, at least not by itself.

Hope this is of help.

 

[gavpk]

Why does my brew lose its head quickly after being poured?

I have the beer in kegs, gassed to a little under 100kpa

Pours a nice 1/2" head but is gone within 30 secs.

any help would be great

are your glasses super clean, i had a prob like this, went out bought some headmaster beer glasses, perfect head every time
PS, some people have said if you scratch the bottom of the glass a few times, it can help

cheers :beer:

Gav

 

[pint of lager]

Have a read on Brew Your Own website.

There is an excellent article on head retention as well as heaps of other good articles.

Good brews (with plenty of the right protiens and hops) and clean glasses are key points.

 

[Pumpy]

Why does my brew lose its head quickly after being poured?

I have the beer in kegs, gassed to a little under 100kpa

Pours a nice 1/2" head but is gone within 30 secs.

any help would be great

250 grms maltodextrin in a 23 ltr batch gived body and head

Pumpy

 

[simpletotoro]

maybe try 100 grams carapils.. (speciality grain) ...works for me ...cheap as chips to.
cheers simple totoro

 

[boingk]

I use the following points to get and hold a good head on my beers:

1) Rinse/clean the beer glasses in hot water only - no detergent. Detergent destroys head! If the glasses have been washed with detergent, rinse 3 times in hot water and this should alleviate the problem.

2) Keep the glasses cold, I just have a few in the fridge or whack one in the freezer for 10 minutes before pouring the beer.

3) Try an all-malt brew! These hold head [almost] no matter what in my experience.

4) Let the beer age a bit, 4 weeks and over is best. This will give better head retention and formation - 'young' beers generally just don't hold or form a good head.

5) Keep your beer quite cold, as this aids head retention as well. Only remove from the fridge just as you intend to pour it. Kind of goes without saying, but doesn't hurt to put it here.


There we go, you should be pouring a nicely headed beer in no time! :chug:

 

[mattieharding]

I use the following points to get and hold a good head on my beers:

1) Rinse/clean the beer glasses in hot water only - no detergent. Detergent destroys head! If the glasses have been washed with detergent, rinse 3 times in hot water and this should alleviate the problem.

2) Keep the glasses cold, I just have a few in the fridge or whack one in the freezer for 10 minutes before pouring the beer.

3) Try an all-malt brew! These hold head [almost] no matter what in my experience.

4) Let the beer age a bit, 4 weeks and over is best. This will give better head retention and formation - 'young' beers generally just don't hold or form a good head.

5) Keep your beer quite cold, as this aids head retention as well. Only remove from the fridge just as you intend to pour it. Kind of goes without saying, but doesn't hurt to put it here.
There we go, you should be pouring a nicely headed beer in no time! :chug:

In reference to point 3.

An all malt brew can you explain this to me, as i am only new to HB'ing. Any help would be great

Cheers

 

[frogman]

I use the following points to get and hold a good head on my beers:

1) Rinse/clean the beer glasses in hot water only - no detergent. Detergent destroys head! If the glasses have been washed with detergent, rinse 3 times in hot water and this should alleviate the problem.

2) Keep the glasses cold, I just have a few in the fridge or whack one in the freezer for 10 minutes before pouring the beer.

3) Try an all-malt brew! These hold head [almost] no matter what in my experience.

4) Let the beer age a bit, 4 weeks and over is best. This will give better head retention and formation - 'young' beers generally just don't hold or form a good head.

5) Keep your beer quite cold, as this aids head retention as well. Only remove from the fridge just as you intend to pour it. Kind of goes without saying, but doesn't hurt to put it here.
There we go, you should be pouring a nicely headed beer in no time! :chug:

Always let you glasses air dry before placing into the fridge.
I used to work in a bar and if the glass racks went into the glass chiller whist wet they would never hold a head.

FROGMAN

 

[boingk]

Frogman - good point I forgot to mention that one. Also, if they go wet into the freezer for a quick chill, chances are the water will crystalise [freeze] and you'll get a beer with *too much* head!

Matty, an all-malt brew is simply one where you only use malt as an additive, instead of maltodextron or dextrose or what-have-you. They are around in many forms and its only limited by your imagination and drinking style!

You can simply use two cans of the normal hopped extract [search for the 'Toucan' thread], or one can of hopped extract as per usual and then 1kg or so of either liquid or dried malt. 3kg cans of hopped malt extract are also available for this purpose...my nicest beer so far was made with one, the only addittion being 12g of Hallertau hops that had been soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes. Came out similar to a Becks, with a fantastically dense head that hugs the side of the glass - you can see how much you've been drinking by the rings it leaves on the glass, haha.

 

[FazerPete]

The simplest way to ensure a consistent head is to use scratched glasses. You can actually buy beer glasses that have pits put into the bottom of the glass that work really well. The increased surface area of the glass allows more CO2 to come out of suspension and create a lasting head. If you can't find these, just lightly scratch the bottom of the glass with something very sharp.

Of course this is cheating a bit and using less dextrose and more of other ingredients that give the beer body will help as well.

 

[boingk]

Fazer - yes and no. Whilst a scratched or pitted glass will definitely release more CO2 from the liquid because of an increased number of liquid/gas interface points, it will not help with the absolute head holding ability of a given beer - it generally make the given beer look better with swirling bubbles and all, but for a price: as the CO2 is released from the beer it gets steadily flatter...so it looks better for a shorter period of time.

Absolute head-holding ability is given by heavier final gravities, lower serving and glass temperatures, appropriate age and carbonation for the style of beer, and absence of wetting agents [detergent].

Having said that...I did manage to 'liberate' a pitted schooner glass from the local after a particularly unimpressing night there - the beer I was served tasted like liquified and carbonated cardboard. No exaggeration. h34r:

 

[applecracle]

My Brother inlaw is a glassy, he brings his tips home in glasses and has giving me a set of 6 schooner glasses and 2 middies.

they come with a gauze of scratches in the bottom which gives great head every time

Applecracle