Head

I poured a beer this weekend and almost got no head. Tonight I poured the same beer but in a chilled glass and got mass head. It in a red amber ale. Why is that?

Same style glasses? How were they cleaned?

Be nicer to her?

Really though, did you make sure to gently stir in your priming sugar? Unless your priming sugar is mixed into the batch well you'll have inconsistency in carbonation between bottles.

I cleaned the glass in the sink each time. I did stir in the priming sugar. I tried to pour it the same way but maybe that was it.

Maybe I should have wined and dined her the first night!

Jbird said:

I poured a beer this weekend and almost got no head. Tonight I poured the same beer but in a chilled glass and got mass head. It in a red amber ale. Why is that?

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Maybe the first time you had something in the glass that the beer cleaned up so you could get a good head the next time.

Feed her more beer

unionrdr said:

Don't use dish soap to wash your beer glasses. It contains an enzyme that sheets off water spots. It coats the glass & kills the head. So freezing the glass might've done something to it.

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I wash my glasses all the time with dish soap and have no problems with head retention or lacing. After drinking, I rise them with how water, scrub lightly inside & out with a sponge that dispenses Dawn dish detergent, then rinse again and dry immediately. Always have great head on my beers & good lacing. I've seen argument about dish soap on here several times, just don't think it holds up. There must be something else causing poor head retention.

I have had something similar. In my case, my first two beers had nice thick heads. The next six beers had almost none. But, there was a lot of small bubbles in the beer, so it was carbonated. Any thoughts? Your help is appreciated as I am inexperienced.

Head is created by dissolved proteins in the beer. But is driven after that by carbonation. Dark styles generally have less head than lighter ones,unless something like carapils is added to enhance it.

Gerald314 said:

I have had something similar. In my case, my first two beers had nice thick heads. The next six beers had almost none. But, there was a lot of small bubbles in the beer, so it was carbonated. Any thoughts? Your help is appreciated as I am inexperienced.

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Assuming a clean glass with no "jet dry", there are many variables that effect head retention.

-Recipe. All extract generally doesn't hold a head as well as all grain. Extract with some steeped crystal malt will do better, but still not as well as all grain. If all grain, many types of grain can be added to help with head retention.

-Conditioning time. Many homebrewers are in a hurry to drink their efforts. Extra time in the bottle or keg improves head retention beyond just carbonation.

-Yeast strain. Different strains leave behind different levels of non-fermentables which effect the head.

-Water profile. Mineral content and pH of your brewing water can influence the head as well. If your water is suitable for mashing, you should be ok.

Without seeing your problem recipes and more details such as fermentation timeline and temperature, it's really impossible to fully answer your question. Hope this helps...

Idk about the extract recipe thing. I use plain DME & LME in my AE recipes,& the head is great after 2 weeks fridge time. Head is created by dissolved proteins,but driven after pouring by carbonation.

Demus said:

Assuming a clean glass with no "jet dry", there are many variables that effect head retention.

-Recipe. All extract generally doesn't hold a head as well as all grain. Extract with some steeped crystal malt will do better, but still not as well as all grain. If all grain, many types of grain can be added to help with head retention.

-Conditioning time. Many homebrewers are in a hurry to drink their efforts. Extra time in the bottle or keg improves head retention beyond just carbonation.

-Yeast strain. Different strains leave behind different levels of non-fermentables which effect the head.

-Water profile. Mineral content and pH of your brewing water can influence the head as well. If your water is suitable for mashing, you should be ok.

Without seeing your problem recipes and more details such as fermentation timeline and temperature, it's really impossible to fully answer your question. Hope this helps...

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You know this was done with by using an extract kit. It was an Octoberfest. Pretty bad ass right? And you say this cant happen.

Jbird,I'm with you.
http:// My AE APA...

unionrdr said:

Jbird,I'm with you.
http://My AE APA...

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That's what I'm talking about man.

Try salt washing the glass (scrub it with salt and a little water, just using your fingers, then rinse well) and pour another.

unionrdr said:

Jbird,I'm with you.
http://My AE APA...

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That's awesome! I didn't say you can't get a good head w extract, just that specialty grains and all grain tend to be better. You obviously have no head issues, you lucky dog!!!