Mash thickness effect on head retention

Does anyone know what, if any, effect mash thickness has on head retention? The reason I ask is a month or so ago I brewed up a beer and messed up my mash thickness. Everything else went fine on that particular brewday, and the beer is tasting mighty fine already, but there is 0 head retention. I mashed with 1.7 qts per pound (accidentally). I don't have the recipe in front of me, but I believe it was 6lb Vienna, 1lb Munich Dark, and 1lb Carapils. When you pour the beer, you get a pretty standard, .5"-1" head, but by the time you take your third drink, it is gone. And I mean gone gone, no remnants whatsoever. No Belgian lace, no head, not even a small ring of bubbles around the edge. I dont believe it is a carbonation issue. It has been in the keg for over a week, and you can see/feel/taste the carbonation; it is weird. The only thing I can think of that would have this effect would be the mash thickness.

I've never heard of water to grain ratio making any difference on the head retention.

I know that if you hold your mash at too low a temp, you'll denature the proteins that aid with head creation and retention.

If I recall correctly, that temp range is around 125-130F. It should only be done on under-modified grains that need some help.

As Malkore said a protein rest will affect head and head retention. Mash thickness can have some minor affects on body but I'm not aware of it affecting head or head retention.

GT

Yeah, that is basically what I thought. I mashed at 151, so there should be no denaturing of proteins at that level. I used a pound of CaraPils, so there should be at the very least some head. I am perplexed by this. The only thing that was any different from my normal brewdays is the mash thickness.

I've never really played with it, but I understand that thicker mashes tend to result in greater head retention due to higher dextrin production.


TL

TexLaw said:

I've never really played with it, but I understand that thicker mashes tend to result in greater head retention due to higher dextrin production.


TL

Click to expand...

So, using that logic, could we assume that a thin mash would result in less dextrins and therefore possibly very little, to almost non-existent head?

Yes, it will lead to fewer dextrines, but you cannot go so far as to say it will lead to an almost non-existant head. It just won't have as much head retention. If you depended on dextrines for your head retention before, then you would have little head.


TL

I have noticed the lacing and head retention gets considerably better after 2-3 weeks on the gas. At first the head is full of large bubbles and after another 2 weeks they are smaller, smoother and last much longer. I always mash at 1.25 per pound.

Stupid question but:


Is your drinking glass clean?

Yeah, my glass is clean. It has been washed in the dishwasher previously. I wash by hand mostly, but after 4-5 hand cleans I like to run it through the machine. However, I do that with all of my glasses, and I have gone through a handful of kegs at least, and this is the first time this has happened.

Blender said:

I have noticed the lacing and head retention gets considerably better after 2-3 weeks on the gas. At first the head is full of large bubbles and after another 2 weeks they are smaller, smoother and last much longer. I always mash at 1.25 per pound.

Click to expand...

For the moment, I am thinking that this may be a possibility. I typically don't drink a beer after only a week in the keg, but I tasted it to sample, and it was too good to not have a glass of. We will see how it goes over the next couple of weeks, but I didnt think head retention was one of those things that needed to condition.

cubbies said:

For the moment, I am thinking that this may be a possibility. I typically don't drink a beer after only a week in the keg, but I tasted it to sample, and it was too good to not have a glass of. We will see how it goes over the next couple of weeks, but I didnt think head retention was one of those things that needed to condition.

Click to expand...

All I can say is that my beers definitely benefit from 2-3 weeks in a keg. I see a pronounced difference in the density if the head.

Blender said:

All I can say is that my beers definitely benefit from 2-3 weeks in a keg. I see a pronounced difference in the density if the head.

Click to expand...

I agree with that, too. I missed the fact that it had only been a month since brewday.


TL

+1 on the improved head and lace with time. Im not sure about the contribution of dextrins to head or head retention. My understanding is that is more a protein phenomenon.

GT