Guinness: Silky creamy head...How?

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Jayhem

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I've always wondered how Guinness have such a silky smooth creamy head when poured. No other beer I've ever had has a head like this. It's almost like the head is not created by bubbles but a dairy product! What ingredient or process creates this? It's quite amazing really.
 
The nitro pour allows the beer to be served at high pressure which essentially knocks out some carbonation, giving it the creamy mouthfeel. Nitro is used because it goes into solution much less readily than CO2, so you can crank up the pressure. Years ago, bottles of Guinness would come with a syringe. After you poured the beer, you'd use the syringe to suck some up, then shoot it back into your glass. It did the same decarbonation and produced the same effect.
 
So how would I replicate this at home from bottles? I have 6 gallons sitting in the primary and it tastes pretty much the same (although purists would argue). I don't have kegs. My IPA is doing something similar, but that isn't what it's supposed to do.
 
Being that you dont keg, you should stick with Denny's plan, by sucking some up after the pour with a syringe and shooting it back into the beer.
 
Guinness Draught with the widget,pours nice for bottled beer.
Or use an inverted spoon and pour over that.It`s not quite
like the nitrogen pull from a tap but for bottles it works well.
 
Guinness Draught with the widget,pours nice for bottled beer.
Or use an inverted spoon and pour over that.It`s not quite
like the nitrogen pull from a tap but for bottles it works well.

Just had one today and felt like I was in Dublin all over again. How can that affect be applied to any beer? Without forced liquid explosion (borat voice)
 
+1 nitro.


Go to your local microbrew. Ask for whatever they have on nitro. Marvel at the creaminess of tiny bubbles.
 
I've even gotten that creamy,fine textured head on my IPA. Since going partial mash,.5lb of carapils in the mash helps a lot. In extract ales,my using DME with LME & at least 2oz of hops for flavoring/aroma seemed to help things along. Many extracts,cans in particular it seems,have carapils in them that help give good head.
But also,proper priming for the style,except for ESB's,stouts,& the like (which traditionally have little head),& the proper amount of time will give finer bubbles & thicker head. At least 3-4 weeks at room temp for carbing/conditioning. Then two weeks fridge time for thicker head & longer lasting carbonation. Def no short cuts will work here,with the rare exception.
I love the creamy citrus head on an IPA.
 
One reason you get a thick creamy head on an IPA is because of the hopping level. The hops bind the proteins in the beer and increase the beer foam. The more hops, the more foam.
 
True,I did touch on that breifly. But I can get it in all my beers by the methods mentioned. It takes time & a good process. Can't shortcut time.
 
It's Nitro partially, but the very low actual carbonation level and flaked barley are also big contributors and can go a long way in emulating that dry irish style if you don't do nitro.
 
It's Nitro partially, but the very low actual carbonation level and flaked barley are also big contributors and can go a long way in emulating that dry irish style if you don't do nitro.

Which is why I recommended the old Guinness procedure of using a syringe to shoot some beer into the glass. It decarbs it and produces the creamy foam.
 
So flaked barley works much like carapils in the mash? Mashing sure does open up more possibilities for the creative mind,doesn't it?!
 
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