I poured a 2 week old RIS, which I understand is very young. When poured it formed an amazing deep brown head that disappeared almost instantly. Will head retention form with time, or is this the way it will always be?
Does head retention develop with age?
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JPHussey
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure I have heard or read anything specifically indicating head retention improves with age...
Some beers just don't retain head as well as others, especially higher alcohol ones. Consult the BJCP style guide to see what the expected head level and retentions are for the particular style you are dealing with.
There are other factors at work here though. Do a little research and you'll find that all sorts of things can affect head retention...namely glassware and cleaning methods. Some glasses provide better head retention and if you have used standard detergents to clean the beer glass they can sometimes leave films that will harm head retention.
Some beers just don't retain head as well as others, especially higher alcohol ones. Consult the BJCP style guide to see what the expected head level and retentions are for the particular style you are dealing with.
There are other factors at work here though. Do a little research and you'll find that all sorts of things can affect head retention...namely glassware and cleaning methods. Some glasses provide better head retention and if you have used standard detergents to clean the beer glass they can sometimes leave films that will harm head retention.
2 weeks and you're complaining that a RIS isn't ready yet? I wouldn't even be thinking about cracking the first one open for AT LEAST 6 MONTHS.
You're beers not even carbed yet, most NORMAL grav beers aren't carbed yet at two weeks, so of course head proteins haven't developed yet. Lacing and head is usually the last part of the process that develops.
Watch Poindexter's video of time lapsed carbonation, he shows how the lacing develops over time, except in your case replace the word weeks with MONTHS.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlBlnTfZ2iw]time lapse carbonation - YouTube[/ame]
You're wasting your RIS if you sample any more of them until summer is over. It's a high gravity beer, they were meant to be aged, and travel....Some sat in casks for a year or more before they were consumed.
Llama's chart should give you an idea.
Ashpun is right though, most of those beers are really low on lacing and head...But what it will have needs to develop over time.
You're beers not even carbed yet, most NORMAL grav beers aren't carbed yet at two weeks, so of course head proteins haven't developed yet. Lacing and head is usually the last part of the process that develops.
Watch Poindexter's video of time lapsed carbonation, he shows how the lacing develops over time, except in your case replace the word weeks with MONTHS.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlBlnTfZ2iw]time lapse carbonation - YouTube[/ame]
You're wasting your RIS if you sample any more of them until summer is over. It's a high gravity beer, they were meant to be aged, and travel....Some sat in casks for a year or more before they were consumed.
Llama's chart should give you an idea.
Ashpun is right though, most of those beers are really low on lacing and head...But what it will have needs to develop over time.
Fer cher, but I'd leave it two months, not weeks. It's a RIS and the OP said it'd been bottles for only a couple weeks, that thing'll take another month at least to carb up properly.
From Brad at Beersmith's description of the style.
The word "imperial" in the name should be a clue...when you have that word in there, that means you should be thinking long term about this beer.
The word "imperial" in the name should be a clue...when you have that word in there, that means you should be thinking long term about this beer.
Oh yeah, IME pretty much anything over ~1.065 or so will take a month or more to carb up at room temp. Even longer for beers that start getting into the 'Double' or 'Imperial' range. I recently made a Pliny clone that took ~6 weeks to carb up, ~8 to really show it's legs, which was faster than I'd expected it to.
homebrewdad
Well-Known Member
I have an imperial nut brown ale that has been in secondary about four months now. I'm planning to finally bottle it this weekend, then forget it for two months.
As a beer is stored more particulate matter drops out. These particulates are enucleation sites for carbonation so as a beer ages, the bubbles become finer and this can lead to a creamier head that can give the impression of better head retention. Head retention itself is really influenced by medium chain proteins in the beer so that really shouldn’t change with time.
As has been said above, if you don’t have carbonation, you can’t have head. So wait a bit…
As has been said above, if you don’t have carbonation, you can’t have head. So wait a bit…
I need to follow my own advice about patience.......... Pez.
Between me and you man, so do I.
Even when I know I have a long wait for bottles, I try one at 3-4 weeks to see if some magic beer fairy helped them carbonate faster than nature allows..... needless to say, I've yet to see signs that this fairy actually exists outside of my own imagination. 
Between me and you man, so do I.
We all do. You think it doesn't get to me too? The only cure is having a pipeline, so you have beer ready and beer at all different stages.
To make matters worse, once you actually have a pipeline built up, store-bought beer is seldom, if ever, going to be as tasty as your own work.
Oh for sure.
Still won't ever keep me from taking early samples of my latest creation, but it really helps to have a supply of ready-to-drink homebrew.And neosapien, that's all too true. There's many, many commercial beers that I adore, but it's always more satisfying to have a pint of your own, well crafted beer.
I can't agree with that. I love home brew but there are some awesome beers from around the world. I get it that no one thinks their own baby is ugly, but to make the leap that everything you make is better than anything you can buy is a bit of a stretch.
+1. I still buy a ton of craft beer.
I should also add that this is one we think is infected. We bottled it after 2 weeks in the primary. Reading on here everyone says if it's infected to bottle it and drink it ASAP. It seems pretty carbonated, could that be the infection. I took a video off the pour because it was so weird. I'll post it when I get home if I have time.
That info brings some questions to mind. So its 4 weeks old total? What makes you think its infected? What was the OG and FG? How much priming sugar did you use and what was the batch size?
I’m willing to bet it seemed pretty carbonated because it was bottled while it was still fermenting. Don't lose a finger.
I’m willing to bet it seemed pretty carbonated because it was bottled while it was still fermenting. Don't lose a finger.
homebrewdad
Well-Known Member
Either this, or it's not done carbonating. Opening bottles early gives you flat beer or gushy beer - CO2 hasn't yet dissolved in solution.
Not carbonated enough yet probably,You may not even get much head on it-its not neccesarily the sign of a good beer.Plenty of strong craft beers and average abv beers dont have much head.It depends on the recipe.And your glass.Head retention seems to develop more strongly for me with age probably because they may not be completly carbonated maybe even after a month.I tend to like mine about 2 mo.start to finish on almost all of the batches.
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