scottlindner
Well-Known Member
OK.. I must first admit this is my first uber geek high tech homebrewing discussion. I have been having troubles with head retention of my beers since relocating from a fairly low elevation (280ft MSL) to a fairly high elevation (6700ft MSL). I have been investigating water chemistry differences, fermentation temp differences, and recently elevation differences. This post is mostly focusing on the elevation differences. All that being said.. on with my post.
I have read this article from BYO about the technicals of head retention:
http://***********/component/resource/article/697-getting-good-beer-foam-techniques It notes that LPT1 unravels during the boil which improves head retention. I read these two short articles about LPT1 stability at high temperatures:
http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0014579300024248
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16608238
This got me wondering if stability and unraveling are referring to the same thing, and if my elevation may be causing me issues because my boiling point is 196F/91C but both of these articles refer to LPT1 stability up to 100C. I also noted this detail in the second article, "Unfolding of LTP1 occurred only when heating was conducted in the presence of a reducing agent". What is this reducing agent, and is it something people add to the boil to improve head retention?
My biggest issue to identify is if my relatively low boiling point may be causing me troubles and if there is something I can do to account for it.
Cheers,
Scott
I have read this article from BYO about the technicals of head retention:
http://***********/component/resource/article/697-getting-good-beer-foam-techniques It notes that LPT1 unravels during the boil which improves head retention. I read these two short articles about LPT1 stability at high temperatures:
http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0014579300024248
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16608238
This got me wondering if stability and unraveling are referring to the same thing, and if my elevation may be causing me issues because my boiling point is 196F/91C but both of these articles refer to LPT1 stability up to 100C. I also noted this detail in the second article, "Unfolding of LTP1 occurred only when heating was conducted in the presence of a reducing agent". What is this reducing agent, and is it something people add to the boil to improve head retention?
My biggest issue to identify is if my relatively low boiling point may be causing me troubles and if there is something I can do to account for it.
Cheers,
Scott