Does espresso kill head?

OrvilleOrdinary · 07-02-2009, 08:02 AM

I wanted to brew up some espresso (16 oz or thereabouts) and throw it in my stout (either during secondary or at bottling). Will this kill the head? What precautions can I take?

dantose · 07-02-2009, 10:15 AM

I had no issues with head retention when I did exactly this.

Lefty · 07-02-2009, 10:17 AM

I have a Coffee Stout I just bottled a month before. I added a very strong pot of coffee to the bottling bucket. Yes the head did suffer. The oils from the coffee will kill the head. Beer pours with a thick creamy head but it dissipates quickly. Most stout do not have a very big head, so it is up to you. Mine turned out great even if it does not have the best head retention. Are you brewing for a competition or just for yourself to have great beer?

justflow1983 · 07-02-2009, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lefty

Most stout do not have a very big head, so it is up to you. Mine turned out great even if it does not have the best head retention. Are you brewing for a competition or just for yourself to have great beer?

As a Dublin resident, I'd have to point out that the head on a good stout should last through the entire pint. Its not very "tall", but its still in the bottom of the glass when you've drank the pint. Never had a coffee stout but sounds excellent.

thejerk · 07-02-2009, 02:55 PM

As a Dublin resident, I suppose you're drinking your stouts from a nitrogen tap or possibly even from a cask, methinks? I think these aid in head retention.
Also, BJCP guidelines call for a "large, persistent head" on stouts.

**HenryHill** · 07-02-2009, 02:57 PM

Not like a marriage license.

justflow1983 · 07-02-2009, 03:13 PM

Well definitely not from a cask, craft brewing is a pretty dead art in Ireland due to the devil called Diageo. The typical bar here serves Guiness, Heineken, Carlsberg, Budweiser, possibly Budvar, and Bulmer's Cider.

Usually I'd be drinking a Guiness from a nitrogen tap for sure, but if you get the old-school Guiness Extra Stout in the conical pint bottles (no widgets etc) the head still stays for the whole pint when you pour into a pint glass. Same with a Murphy's. The difference is that the extra stout is a lot airier, like the German dark beers. I'm actually from New York, lived here for 2 years and getting into homebrewing because its kind of a novelty here.

The art with Stout is also partly in the pour. Finding a barman that can pull a proper guiness and you're talking about a completely new beverage from the flat, instant coffee flavoured, sludge that often passes for the black stuff.

BTW wasn't knocking anyone's brews. I'm a complete noob, and if its still tastes good, drink it!

OrvilleOrdinary · 07-03-2009, 07:37 AM

Cool. So I've got one fellow saying it won't affect the head, and another saying it will. Anyone want to jump in for the tie-breaker?

(To answer your question, Lefty, I'm not brewing for competition, but a big part of my personal satisfaction with a stout is the creamy head.)

dibby33 · 07-03-2009, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henry Hill

Not like a marriage license.

the old ones are the best.

thejerk · 07-03-2009, 02:31 PM

FWIW, I have had many commercial java or espresso stouts that had great head. I don't know if there is a special technique or not--I've never had a home-brewed coffee stout. It definitely can be done well for good head, but I have heard that the oils can be problematic. I hope to brew one this fall for the colder months.

In Dublin, you can find real cask ale at the Porterhouse Brewing Co. and also at the Bull & Castle.