No Head

I brewed the best beer I have ever made back in September. I am living in the UK right now temp. so I have been letting it age while I was away. I figured it was ready so I had a family member send me a few by post. I have to say, it is just great! If I had to critisize it though, It would have to be the Head. It almost doesn't have one at all. The beer is well carbinated so I don't think it is that. I also put three pounds of different Caramel Malts in the Mash. I did not add carafoam or carapils or anything like that as I figured the three pounds of Caramel should have been enough. Could it be the yeast that I am using (WLP022)? I mean no joke, this beer is in my top five favorits that I have ever DRANK, I like it that much. If I could just figure out how to get a bigger head on it. I might consider entering it into next years LHB Competition. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Well, if there's really no head, you could just enter it in the experimental brew category.....

And call it Jane Mansfield Ale

That title just begs for a smartass remark.

Is the glass clean, did you pour the last bit a little more violently, does the grain bill offer almost no protein?

Yes, the glass was clean. I had three shipped over so I tried pouring both gently and violently with a little difference but not much to get excited about. There is plenty of Protien in my Brew My base grain is 11.70% Protein while each of the Caramels used are 13.20% protein.

Do you get a head that dissipates quickly? Mot of my beers are somewhat like that, a nice head that goes away within a minute and makes it easy to drink.

I don't know what your recipe was but in the future you can try some wheat or even flaked wheat to help out with the head... but again that's about the protein.

does it taste carbonated, just doesn't form a head? or doesn't maintain its head?

you can add up to 5% wheat malt to aid in head retention. wheat malt has more protein, and by simply adding a little and skipping the old protein rest, you get more 'head forming/retaining' proteins.

at least that's what I've read

I always add some cara to my grain bill just for head retention.

How does this beer compare to others you serve off of this system?

z987k said:

That title just begs for a smartass remark.

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Like "did you marry the beer, that usually kills head".

Have you come to any conclussion yet?

BierMuncher said:

I always add some cara to my grain bill just for head retention.

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I do the same. Normally .5#, 1+# on a higher gravity brew.

malkore said:

you can add up to 5% wheat malt to aid in head retention. wheat malt has more protein, and by simply adding a little and skipping the old protein rest, you get more 'head forming/retaining' proteins.

at least that's what I've read

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I've been looking into head retention, due to a recent thread, and it looks like a protein rest actually is good for head retention. A proper protein rest promotes albumin, which is the major structural component in beer head.


TL

How were your glasses cleaned? Supposedly, glasses cleaned in a dishwasher can kill a head pretty quick. I have a set of about 4 glasses that I wash in the dishwasher, and this has not been the case with me, but I have definitely read that.

Thanks everyone for your imput. Replying to a few posts back. This is the first none Stout I have brewed with this system. All of my stouts have had brilliant heads. There is 12 lbs of grain in my recipe out of which, 3 lbs are Caramel malts so I figured I would be fine on head retention. The head does go away very quickly but at the same time, it never really has much of a head to begin with. Awesome flavor and aroma though as I mentioned. The Beer is carbonated, it tastes carbonated and you can see the bubbles are very vigerous. This is my own recipe, not one that I got from anywhere. But I try to think about Head Retention when I am developing a recipe. Like I said, I just though that surely 3lbs of Caramel woudl be enough.

GaryA said:

Like "did you marry the beer, that usually kills head".

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+1 so true, so true

The caramel malts should have taken care of the head for you so in the mean time consider the following: Salt residue from the water clinging to the side of the glass will kill the head almost immediately. London has high sodium levels in its water so if you live in the Westminster that lies in the Greater London area you can rest assured that there is at least more than what you are used to back in North America. Try giving the glass a good wipe inside with a dry towel before pouring the next one and see if it makes a difference.

If that is not the case and the answer lies in your grain bill, I'd suggest a pound of flaked barley if you want to really get the nice head and lacing down the side of the glass. Wheat is alright but frankly I found flaked barley to be far superior and considering you are mashing and not merely steeping go for the good stuff.

Now for a cheap and easy trick. Put three grains of uncooked rice into your pint. It will cause it bubble and will create and hold a head better.

I only had four shipped over from the States and those were gone very quickly. I will be moving back to the States Next week so I will just wait until I return. I do live in the Westminster that is in the London City Center so I will try the beer again when I return home to the States. If that doesn't work, then next time, I will try adding a tough of Flaked Barley.