Home brew won't give me head

now that i've got your attention with the title

i've brewed several batches and all have been lacking a good solid head

the book says it is a dirty glass but i don't think that is all my problem

this last batch i used 7/8 cups of priming sugar in stead of the usual 3/4

but it didn't seem to make a difference

is there anything i can add to get a really healthy head from my homebrew??

I presume you are an extract brewer.

You can try steeping speciality grains to help.
Other than that I guess it's down to the quality of the wort you use.
Adding more priming sugar will no give you better head retention it could just cause bottle bombs if you're not careful.

I'm not an extract brewer though so have limited experience.

add a little wheat to the steeping (maybe 3 oz or more) that should help. IMHO, if the beer is good then head is the last thing to tweak.

I had the same problem at first too...but then I realized I was pouring my brew like I would a BMC at a party- the standard 45 degree angle thing almost the whole way so i get no head at all. I caught myself and changed up my pour to a half tilt then straight pour method.

You probably were already pouring like a person with common sense, but I figure I'm not the only one out there who was this dumb...or am I? Probably.

Additionally, though specialty grains did a lot for my head retention as well...once I stopped pouring as if I needed every drop in the glass did a lot as well.

You've probably heard it before but I am going to say it again: Drop extract all together and go all-grain. Instant coffee is never going to replace a crafted Espresso, and extract will never replace all-grain.

My next tip is to use a little bit of Cara-pils malt and/or oats in your mash. The oats tend to make the beer "velvety", so it's best suited to stouts and/or english style beers/ales.

I have had very good results with Cara-pils. That will give you head!

the title defiantly got my attention haha...i used some crytal malt on one of my extract brews and the head was significanly larger (that sounded dirty). Good luck with getting more head

Any of the Cara-Malts will help as will a bit of wheat
JJ

I read this a few weeks ago: http://www.beersmith.com/blog/2008/06/25/enhancing-beer-head-retention-for-home-brewers/

It may answer some of your questions.

thanks everyone you have given me some very good ideas

yeah i was pouring at the 45 degree angle - i never even thought about that

and i know doing an all grain would be much better but for me it is about having fun and the all grain just seems like too much work

i think i would loose interest with it too soon

i have a friend here that does it and he says it takes him about 8 hours to do a batch of beer - thats just too much of my free time to give up

well it's like 8 hours for AG but with hour long waiting were you can do other things.

Investigate partial-mashing. You use specialty grains and a little bit of 2-row, and you can convert the starches and get the same "feel" of AG without as much equipment. That is an easy way to improve head and mouthfeel.

squeekysheep said:

well it's like 8 hours for AG but with hour long waiting were you can do other things.

Click to expand...

I guess you could make an AG session last 8 hours by adding several steps and increasing the length of the boil but I am done in 4 to 5 hours.
I am normally up early any ways so on brew days I get up at 8 and have everything cleaned by about 10. That includes time to make coffee and sit down to eat breakfast. Depending on the recipe i can often fit a couple small projects like mowing or gutter cleaning during the brew session.

However you can make great beer using extract. I find that with the lower carbonation of most home brews you need to pour down the middle to get a big head on the beer. Once you do it should last considerably longer than from that fizzy yellow stuff.

Craig