Weird head on IPA.

I made an IPA for my fourth batch (I'm on my tenth batch now) and it's probably my favorite batch of any I've made. If I could pick out one glaring flaw, however, it would be the abnormal head that I have noticed forming after I crack a bottle (all bottled in 22 oz.'ers) and pour my first glass. No matter how gentle I pour, I get a big, fluffy, white head that is very firm. It looks like you could lay a penny on the head and it wouldn't go anywhere. The head lasts for a very long time without receding and it starts to look a bit "craggy", and it even forms on the 10 oz or so left in the bomber bottle after the first glass.

It doesn't seem to be an infection because the beer still tastes great. It's been about 5 months since I bottled this beer, and I only really noticed the beer exhibiting this head about a month ago. The bottles I drank before that time didn't have this problem. This is a mini-mash batch, about 7.5% ABV and I dry hopped with 2 oz for about a week. I can't remeber exact hop varieties as the recipe is at home and I am not.

My first thought was that this batch was just over-carbed, but I've used teh same amount of sugar to carb some (not all) of my other batches and I haven't had this problem. Anyone beer doctors want to give me a diagnosis?

is this your first partial mash? could come from your process. what was your recipe?

EDIT: I notice you said it just started doing this after some bottle aging. could be gusher infection starting, combined with high dextrins etc.

I was worried it might be infected, but there was no off flavors or smells. Is that typical of a gusher infection? This wasn't my first partial, it was my second and the recipe was pretty straight forward, with 2 row and crystal malt added to some pale malt extract.

sounds awesome. what's the problem?

motobrewer said:

sounds awesome. what's the problem?

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LOL, I knew one of these posts was coming. The problem is a glass of this beer perpetually has 3 inches of head on it, and after the head sits for a bit, it looks unappetizing, forming crags and stuff and it's really dense, not light anf fluffy. It's awkward to drink a glass of the stuff when the head never dies down.

sounds like maybe you didn't 'steep' your 2-row long enough. it really needs to be mashed. you probably have a lot of complex carbs in your brew that give it that exceptional foam density. could this be what happened?

Whats a crag? lol

Could it be as simple as an overcarbonation? I remember having some inconsistancy with carbination when I was bottle conditioning. Maybe it was warmer when your bottles were storing and the yeasties went to town

This still just sounds like you have awesome head retention. That's something you want, dude. Maybe take a time lapse video or something, but a thick white head is kinda badass.

Sounds beautiful. I love that. I'm hoping to get that in a golden strong I have going at the moment. If you're having problems in carbonation consistency among batches, use scales to weigh your priming sugar and use an online or software calculator to figure the impact of temperature on the weight of sugar required for the desired volumes of CO2.

Tough to diagnose without a lot more information, but I'd like to throw some other possibilities into the spaghetti flying at the wall: Maybe the priming sugar didn't get mixed well in the bottling bucket and you're now opening the bottles that had a bit more sugar, or maybe the amount of priming sugar was off and it took longer to bottle condition, or, or or or.....

IMO, just be happy it tastes good and drink it...

An infection wouldnt have a long lasting head, those go away pretty quick

I had the same exact symptoms on a Kolsch that I brewed. It gets a huge head on it when pored. It is even hard to pour sometimes. All the bottles did the smae thing. I don't have any gushers and it don't seem to hold alot of pressure when I take the cap off. It is nice having a huge head though. I don't have to worry too much longer because I have 2 bottles left. Beer don't last long when it taste good.

My last beer was infected too!

It had an infection that left it delicious and complex with incredible head retention.

I am considering quitting brewing. ALL my batches have had infections that left them tasting far better than they should have.

Diablotastic said:

Whats a crag? lol

Could it be as simple as an overcarbonation? I remember having some inconsistancy with carbination when I was bottle conditioning. Maybe it was warmer when your bottles were storing and the yeasties went to town

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It's not a term I've seen used when talking about beer head before, but it applies here. The head is craggy, like a mountain top, in that after it sits for a while it forms pits in certain places, while other places remain as firm as they have before.

I've only got one bottle of this stuff left and I'll try to post a picture if I can. I was just wondering if this sort of thing is an effect of dry-hopping or something else entirely. I used 2-row but I mashed at 155 for 45 minutes.

My first thoughts were the hops. Hops help a lot with head retention and dry-hopping would seem to affect that, but I wouldn't think it would have such a pronounced effect.

alright, all you smart alecs... Look at the facts - 5 months into the bottle, he's experiencing symptoms similar to overcarbonation. I say possibility of bugs. You have to admit it's a possibility. a gusher type infection paired with a high concentration of complex sugars/carbs could produce a huge, long lasting head after a long time in the bottle. just sayin.

Head retention is great, but it's a bit bothersome to get dipped in foam up to your eyebrows just to get a sip of actual beer. I'd be bothered, too.

Happens to me whenever I over carb. Sometimes subsides a bit with time....

I think it is the hops.

Gusher would have it spewing a bit.