Head retention and extract brewing?

Hello HBT!!

I am currently drinking the Red Ale I brewed about 2 months ago. It is my first solo brew and I am really loving it! I've helped friends do a lot of batches but this is my first solo-flight.

I did pretty good for the first try, but I noticed that my Red Ale has very little head and almost no retention. It pours nicely and I get about a half inch of beautiful head but it disappears very quickly. I know that dish-soap is a head killer so I tried a few pint glasses that were sanatized or "beer cleaned" and get the same result. Is there something I could do in my brewing technique that could improve future batches?

It was an extract kit so the ingredients were chosen in advance but I plan on all future batches being at least from a recipe so I can get some more control. I hear adding some maltodextrin can help and steeping with certain grains improve body. Any advice from the pros is highly appreciated as always!

-Tripod

Maltodextrin does help. If you want to go the same route but with grains try cara-pils or cara-foam. 1/2 lb per batch.

WOW! Thanks for the fast reply!

Should I use the 1/2 lb. of cara-pils in addition to my normal recipe(s) or would I need to cut back on some of the other grains to compensate?

-Tripod

It doesn't really matter whichever you choose. Whatever fits into your style of recipe building. Carapils has little to no effect on flavor, just mouthfeel and head retention.