weirdboy

Recipes 

My latest batch of tripel has really poor head retention. The initial head is exactly what you'd expect for a Belgian, but it's completely gone after a minute or two. The other thing that is "wrong" with it is that I deliberately fermented it a little cool (68F) for the first couple of days) because I was trying to get more banana notes in it. That part worked really well, in fact possibly too well because I really don't get much in the way of cloves/spicy. Although it is still really delicious it's not necessarily to style. Is there a chance the fermentation temp had some effect on the head? Normally I ferment higher and don't run into trouble. There is also the possibility that the mash temp was too low; I started the mash at 152F and got on a telecon, and by the time it was done it was going on an hour and a half and the temp had dropped to 148F or so.

Anyway, if anyone has tips for improving the head on this, I'd love to hear them.


BeerSmith Recipe Printout - BeerSmith Brewing Software, Recipes, Blog, Wiki and Discussion Forum
Recipe: Tres Equis v2.0
Brewer: wb
Asst Brewer:
Style: Belgian Tripel
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (31.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.41 gal
Estimated OG: 1.080 SG
Estimated Color: 6.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 33.1 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
11.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 78.57 %
1.50 lb Wheat Malt, Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 10.71 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 30L (30.0 SRM) Grain 3.57 %
2.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (60 min) Hops 29.1 IBU
1.00 oz Saaz 2009/05/27 [2.80 %] (15 min) Hops 4.0 IBU
0.50 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1.00 lb Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 7.14 %
1 Pkgs Belgian Ale (Wyeast Labs #1214) [Starter 1Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 13.00 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
75 min Mash In Add 16.25 qt of water at 165.9 F 152.0 F
10 min Mash Out Add 9.10 qt of water at 196.6 F 168.0 F


Notes:
------
Pitched onto Wyeast 1214 yeast cake from Wit batch, that I had washed the previous day with boiled/chilled water. Covered fermenter with aluminum foil, and placed lid loosely on top.

Fermented @68F for first two days, then allowed to rise to 71F
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

menschmaschine

Recipes 

I don't think your mash temp or ferm. temp had anything to do with it. You used Belgian 2-row pilsener (probably Dingeman's?) and that should have been fine with the total protein, soluble protein, and your mash temps.

Nothing in your post jumps out at me so I'll throw this out there... lipids. Check out this post I wrote before about lipids, causes and effects and see if anything jumps out at you about your process.

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Judochop

Recipes 

Giving this thread a good defib.

[CLEAR!!!]

I’ve brewed a tripel, a (Belgian) blonde, a golden strong, a dubbel, and a saison. Head retention ratings on these beers ranged from fair, to poor, to none.

I’ve brewed stouts, APAs, IPAs, Weizens, bitters and various other British styles, and head retention has ranged from at least fair up to great.

The one common difference between the two categories, at least that I can see, is my use of adjunct sugar. As it appears to me, if I add sugar, I lose head.

2 questions:

• Can anyone back me up on this, either through academic knowledge or personal experience?
• Can anyone help me fix the problem?

TyTanium

Recipes 

Glassware?

Soma

Recipes 

I don't recall any of my favorite Tripels having very good head retention, so maybe it's not an issue?

Yooper

Recipes 

A protein rest for grain bills with a higher percentage of pilsner malt? I assume that one wasn't done?

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Judochop

Recipes 

True, that I serve my belgian-style beers in different glasses than I serve my english, or american, or whatnot. But all of my glassware gets cleaned and stored the same, so that would really be a frightening coincidence. (I'd call it a curse, in fact.)

Unless you are saying that a goblet-style glass won't hold a head as long as a tulip-style or flute, in which case that is definitely a fair point. However, my retention for these types of beers is shortlived even in the narrowest of glasses.
You mean the commercial versions? I'm not sure about that. I recall having to pour Duvel in 3 different stages b/c the head billows up through the tulip and poureth over before the bottle is emptied.
No protein rests. No difference in my procedures from one beer to the next. All one-step infusion mashes, in the neighborhood of 148-156.

Yooper

Recipes 

Try a very short, high temperature protease rest, like at 131 degrees. I've noticed when I use Weyermann or even Castle pilsner malt, I get better head retention with a decoction or step mashing with a short protein rest.

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smokinghole

Recipes 

I tend to think it's a pH issue rather than a mashing issue.

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weirdboy

Recipes 

I thought the opposite was supposed to be the case. That is, the protease in a protein rest breaks down the medium-length proteins that aid head formation and retention.