Alembic

Recipes 

Maybe it is just purely psychological but seeing a head on a pint of beer just completes the picture. And it is a pretty groovy picture at that.

Speranza

Recipes 

I have to agree, head is pretty aesthetically pleasing on a beer. Maybe its because I feel in love with dark beers first that I just don't enjoy a good head, beer head...

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Tiny bubbles... In my beer... Makes me happy... Makes me want to cheer!

gonzoflick

Recipes 

Speaking of head... heres a funny joke my GF told me the other day.

"I will go down on you and make you extremely happy,
then I will come back up and F**K the S**T outta you.

Sincerely,

Gas Prices"

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Primary: Fullers ESB Clone
Secondary: Hierra Sevada Pale Ale
Bottled: NOTHING
On tap: NOTHING

Melana

Recipes 

That's sad, funny and unfortunately true!

magnus

Recipes 

ok. here's a story... a lil'over 20 yrs ago i start a 18mo tour in germany in the army. a few of us are talking beer and bragging about our drinking skills and acohol tollerances. (we were all lieing our 18 yr old aces off) one of the guys that had been in country a while said "oh? you guys can drink huh? let's go get some ALT" he informed us that it was 25% alcohol. which was, you know..... wrong. any way, we head in to town (mainz) and go into a local bar who's name translates into "uncle willie's pub", and like every one else i say "ein alt bitta". the heads on all the alts reached above the rim of the strait necked glasses the alt was served in, but when the bar keep gets to mine, the head reaches atleast a full 2" above the rim. a few of the locals actualy applauded. our "guide" informed us that the higher the head above the rim, the better the bartender. concidering this guy wasn't correct about the alcohol content of alt, who knows if he was right about that. but from the locals reaction of the bar keeps foaming feat i can only conclude one thing....

germans really appreciate a good head.

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"Time is the beauty of the road being long" Blues Travelers

EvilTOJ

Recipes 

I hate too much foam on top. It gets in the way of the beer that I should be drinking. Screw the Germans, I'll drink my beer how I want to!

I do like head though.

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There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

landhoney

Recipes 

What about adjuncts that can diminish head retention? If the mouthfeel and carbonation levels are all 'right on' but because of the addition of chocolate, or walnuts, or whatever(oils/fat) a good head doesn't last - are they worth adding? Basically, flavor you want vs. visually pleasing head. Which would you choose?

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"Did you ever kick a woman in the midsection while she was wearing a whalebone corset? I nearly broke my great toe. I never had such a painful experience." -Egbert Souse(W.C.Fields)

DeathBrewer

Recipes 

head isn't just visual. it maintains carbonation in the beer (freshiness if you will) and gives a lot to mouthfeel. But, again, it depends on the beer.

for example:
Hefeweizen - good 1/4" head
Stout - 1/8" head is fine
Belgian Triple - 2-4" head ideally

head retention is always a must in my opinion. despite the size, i like the head to be there at least half-way through the beer.

some well-carbonated beers, due to adjuncts, cannot maintain head retention. can they still be good beers? sure. but you lose the mouthfeel and the visual aspect.

And although it's not the only thing, visual IS still important. I like my beer to have a good head on it's shoulders

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Easy Partial Mash Brewing - Stovetop All-Grain Brewing

"Death is always with us." - Brewpastor

We will remember...