Where has my foam gone!

[Kev R]

In all my brews so far, the lack of foam has not been a problem. When taking hydrometer samples ect there is always foam on top. On poring to much foam is usually the problem.
This brew has no foam at all. Not even if i shake it up. it is like soft drink only worse. As if all foam building proteins have been removed.
Grain Bill; Ale malt 3.2kg Hops; Galaxy 8gms @60 Mash; 60min @ 66deg
Wheat malt .5kg Cascade 8gms @10 Yeast; 1272
Munich Light 1 kg Ferm temp 17deg
Cara Hell .2kg
The only difference from the previous brew. 1- I forgot the 30gms of Amarillo at flameout
2- I tried to reuse yeast from the previous batch (it is possible i mistook trube for yeast)
Any ideas?
Thanks
Kev

 

[Matplat]

Did you thoroughly rinse all your equipment of napisan etc.?

How does it taste, bacterial infection also does a good job of destroying head.

 

[Kev R]

Tastes passable, a little banana some butter.
Use sodium perc,rinse and then starsan.

 

[Bribie G]

With that grain bill, especially the wheat, you shouldn't have head problems.
Like Matplat I'd be looking at some detergent or even oily material finding its way into the process.

Any chance that dishwashing liquid inadvertently came into contact with a surface? For example I generally clean my beer glasses just with Morning Fresh type stuff and a steel scrubber but if I don't rinse them out five times, it will kill head for sure. Just half a drop would probably feck a whole batch.

 

[fungrel]

Some percieved butter flavour and slickness of mouthfeel would indicate diacetyl.

This can also affect head retention in the finished beer.

If i were to hazard a guess, incomplete fermentation is your issue more than sanitation/cleaning. You may have underpitched the required amount of yeast, therefore throwing a lot of diacetyl into the beer.

 

[Garfield]

What was you OG/FG?

Tastes passable, a little banana some butter.
Use sodium perc,rinse and then starsan.

Passable... you're not too satisfied then? Did it fail to carbonate or have you not yet packaged it?

 

[labels]

I have to agree with fungrel, diacetyl can be an issue so can banana when they are not wanted usually indicating incomplete fermentation ( that is, actual fermentation is complete but fermentation by-products have not been cleaned up by the yeast)

However, there are three pathways to diacetyl with the other two being oxidation and contamination. From your brief description I am leaning towards infection> diacetyl> no head ( and other faults)

 

[Kev R]

Thanks for the replies, No not satisfied at all
OG 1050 FG 1010
Under pitch is a definite possibility. Probably discarded the yeast and pitched mainly trube
Detergents nowhere my brewing gear, only sodium perc
Observations are at packaging pre carbonation.
I am not talking poor foam, there is no white stuff at all

 

[Moad]

Do you mean the Krausen? It falls back in to the beer