How do you create a beer with good head

[trustyrusty]

Thanks Guys for all the info,

I will go through.

I actually have a couple of brews that are getting better,

some I used with sugar, some with coopers BE2, and some with coopers brewing sugars....The one with Be2 (Aust.Coopers Ale - International series) is getting quite good, the head is better. One month in the bottle.

I will let you know how the others are going - too early too tell..

cheers

 

[dicko]

Matw your spot on there , that
Glass was filthy , that happens when the mrs cleans them and puts in the cupboard haha

I never let my Mrs touch the beer glasses unless of course she has to take the empties out to my cleaning area after a session :lol:

 

[Adr_0]

Rusty, sounds like even those ones that are along the way you might be able to help with glass cleaning (sodium percarbonate). It's here if you want to grab some:
http://shop.beerbelly.com.au/catalogsearch/result/?q=percarbonate

 

[barls]

don't know where i got this but have a read

View attachment Beer foam.pdf

 

[verysupple]

As usual when the topic of head formation and retention comes up, glassware cleanliness and foam positive ingredients have been discussed. But nobody has mentioned the huge affect the quality of fermentation has on head formation and retention.

Yes, an all malt beer probably has more foam positive molecules in it than a beer with a high proportion of simple sugar, but there should still be enough in either case. Look at many Belgian ales that often have quite a bit of simple sugar in them, they have superb head retention. I tend to agree with the author of this article that more often the problem is excess of foam negative compounds (and often dirty glassware isn't the cause of these) than a lack of foam positive ones.

Get your fermentation sorted and it's likely that a lot of your head issues will be sorted too.

 

[dicko]

Great link vs.

 

[jimmy86]

Well said verysupple!
Ferment temp and cell count make a world of difference to more than just flavour.

 

[trustyrusty]

Hi Guys, a bit of a report back.....

I have found that time in the bottle is probably the best for the head retention too, as long as you have done the right thing in the process.(At this point since I made the post I dont have any beers that I have changed the recipe but may next one ready is a coopers pale ale with a mix of malt, dex, etc from brew shop)

I have a number of brews (kit 'n kilo) some with brewing enhancer, some with brewing sugar, some with plain white sugar as fermentables
but the glassware has to be clean, and the best thing I have found so far is the dishwasher (finish soap) with rinse aid (in fact I think the rinse was even low - not even sure it was in there, I will run again) but last night I had a brew and the head lasted right till the last sip.. and tasty, one of the brews had extra hops and that seemed to really fire up in the bottom with headmaster glass...so that helps too...

Thanks

 

[zeggie]

Bad habit Ive seen is chucking beer in a freezer for an hour then cracking and pouring it. Very bad for head especially homebrew.

 

[peekaboo_jones]

I've never had any luck with head on simple kits beers like OP uses.
I'd focus on making sure your glass (drinking) and bottles are thoroughly rinsed and devoid of any soapy residue. Try not to use too much soap when washing. Apart from that, the above recommendations - where applicable - are good.
There are additive products like Big Head Powder that you could play around with, but I've never tried them.

Very true, I've found this is my main problem. I typically clean and sanitize bottles with a home brew shop powder mixture then rinse with cold water straight from the tap but I try and do it without using too much water. Tested a few rinsing with heaps of hot water and the difference is there

 

[trustyrusty]

but the glassware has to be clean, and the best thing I have found so far is the dishwasher (finish soap) with rinse aid

False alarm, I think I thought I used a glass from dishwasher. I may have been wrong...I am going to do some tests with different glasses at the same time with the same beer....
BTW I just rinse bottles with hot water, twice, add sanitizer and leave until I need to fill, then whn needed I rinse with high pressure hose a couple of times then fill....I never use soap, but do you think you can use the pink glass washing powder... Could this have an effect on head, how do you wash your bottles...

 

[TheWiggman]

I have found that time in the bottle is probably the best for the head retention too, as long as you have done the right thing in the process.(At this point since I made the post I dont have any beers that I have changed the recipe but may next one ready is a coopers pale ale with a mix of malt, dex, etc from brew shop)

Cheers for the follow up. I was thinking about this last night too and I'm certain that beers I have kept longer in the bottle have better head retention.

 

[Grott]

I only wash my glasses in water and if having a few use these brushes and rinse the bottles straight away with a pressure rinse. (both from ebay.)
Cheers

 

[trustyrusty]

I only wash my glasses in water and if having a few use these brushes and rinse the bottles straight away with a pressure rinse. (both from ebay.)
Cheers

Thanks, so you you just wash glasses with hot water, I was thinking that would not be a bad way, no chance of contamination. cheers

 

[mr_wibble]

IMHO it's not about whether you wash in no-detergent, brewery cleaner, or off-the-shelf-whatever.

It's a rinsing problem.

The detergent does help sanitise, remove fingerprints & other fats from your lips (from whatever you have been eating), lipsticks (et.al.) from the used glass.
But just ensure you rinse it away.

The shape of the glass also benefits head retention. Tall, narrow glasses help retain the foam, shorter/wider glasses do not.
I've also read that glasses which taper in at the top (e.g.: German wheat beer glass) hold the head even more.

There's some more information here: http://byo.com/hops/item/621-fabulous-foam but it's more of a general overview.

cheers,
-kt

 

[Adr_0]

Few heaped teaspoons of sodium perc in the dishwasher, crack open the dishwasher when it's done and things are still got and steamy.

It really is as simple as that for the glass side of things. A very easy fix... Then look at your beer which may not be as simple.

 

[peekaboo_jones]

500 grams Wheat DME works a treat. Excellent head retention & doesn't effect flavour at all. Either that or steep 250g Carapils

I'm going to do this from now, might even do a wheat dme and carapils combo

 

[trustyrusty]

Hi Guys, thought I would check back here....

I found that yeast is a good contributor...

Coopers Dark Ale + BE2 + 250 g brown sugar (..not sure why the sugar....nothing fancy) but I used American West Coast BRY-97

This beer as a great head right till the bottom. I can only assume is the yeast that made a difference... I don't think it could have the brown sugar? The Coopers

brew enhancer I have used a few times.. and not the same result. Also used brown sugar in bottle conditioning..

 

[butisitart]

just got onto this thread -
briefly flicking through above, i didn't see carapils aka carafoam mentioned -
you can steep it, and i find that dumping 2-300gm of that into something that i want a creamier head on noticeably helps. i once dumped 650gm in cos it was in danger of going stale, and that was a seriously creamy brew.

 

[DanIAm]

Torrefied wheat, 125g - 250g in a 20 litres of wort is plenty (and cheap).

"Torrefied Wheat consists of grains of soft wheat varieties that have been cooked at high temperature resulting in gelatinisation of the starchy endosperm. Addition of Torrefied Wheat will promote head retention and add body to the finished beer." www.crispmalt.co/files/19%20Torrefied%20Wheat.pdf