Head retention help

[El Duderino]

I've brewed this beer twice now, and both times it pours with a great head, but its gone in maybe 10 minutes. I'm meticulous about cleaning my glasses, so I dont think thats the issue. wondering what I can add/change in the recipe to help


5 Gallon batch

95% Red X
5% Cara Red - 60 minute mash @ 150


Hops
0.5 Magnum Pellet Boil 60 minutes
0.5 Simcoe Pellet Boil 60 minutes
0.5 Amarillo Pellet Boil 15 minutes
0.5 Simcoe Pellet Boil 15 minutes
0.5 Simcoe Pellet FO 0 minutes
0.5 Amarillo Pellet FO 0 minutes
1 Amarillo Pellet Dry Hop
1 Citra Pellet Dry Hop

And for yeast I'm using Lallemand Voss Kveik dry yeast

 

[dmtaylor]

Swap out 10% with rye malt. The end.

 

[thehaze]

10 minutes is a long time for beer head to stick around, unless you somewhat continously swirl the beer in the glass or every time you sip from it. Lacing is another story - good lacing will dry out on the sides of the glass. I mean, I've seen good head and lacing with some german and english beers, but no matter the amount of head, it will slowly dissipate. Higher carbonation can help you in that aspect, meaning that it will continously flow up and help keep that foam on top - provided the beer itself has a nice protein head and lacing.

But if you have a different idea on how you want it, then dmtaylor's advice is sound. Rye malt will help improve head and the slickness/mouthfeel of beer, moreso than oats or wheat. Certain aspects of mashing and boiling are also important, as they can have an impact on head formation.

 

[Dinadan]

10 minutes is a long time for beer head to stick around

I was thinking the same thing. I wish I had the problem of the head only lasting ten minutes. El Duderino is doing better than me or most of the commercial beers that I drink.

And no, I have no suggestions - if I did I would use them myself!

 

[Miraculix]

Swap out 10% with rye malt. The end.

I actually never brewed with rye malt. Is it better for the head than wheat? How about chill haze? I got this a lot with ten percent unmalted wheat in the grist... Doesn't bother me much, but....

 

[dmtaylor]

I actually never brewed with rye malt. Is it better for the head than wheat? How about chill haze? I got this a lot with ten percent unmalted wheat in the grist... Doesn't bother me much, but....

Much better for head retention. Honestly probably 2-3 times more effective in my experience. Rye DOES cause some haze, and an ugly gray color as well unfortunately. But in small amounts like 5-10%, you can reap some of the benefits with less of the visual effects, IF that matters much. If I wanted to guarantee a beautiful bright beer, I might steer away from rye. Or try it at just 5% and hope for the best.

 

[Jag75]

I'm not sure . Ive used Active Red which can be used up to 100 % of a gb and had zero issues with head retention. Red X can be used 100% as well . 10 min is a long time for the head to stick around .

 

[AzOr]

If I’m not mistaken It’s recommended to do a step mash with Red X. That may have something to do w foam.

 

[AzOr]

https://nationalhomebrew.com.au/brewers-blog/brewing-with-red-x
This article speaks to step mashing being vital to clarity.

 

[AzOr]

I hope someone can chime in because I have 10lbs of Red X waiting for me to get off of my butt and brew it up. I’ve never used it before so I have no experience with it.
I recently bought a Foundry so I suppose I could step mash but it would be a first tine.

 

[Miraculix]

I hope someone can chime in because I have 10lbs of Red X waiting for me to get off of my butt and brew it up. I’ve never used it before so I have no experience with it.
I recently bought a Foundry so I suppose I could step mash but it would be a first tine.

A Temperatur Rest at 72c and a mashout step at 77c is both increasing head retention because Glyco proteins are formed at this temperature range.

A good idea for great foam is to do 62c for 30 minutes, then 72 for 30 and then 77 for 20 minutes.

Another version of this is 65c for 60 minutes and then 77 for twenty.

I prefer the first version.