Does anyone have any tips on how to get a fairly white, off-white at darkest, head on an otherwise black beer?
My grain bill for the recipe is as follows:
10 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 80.0 %
2 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 2 16.0 %
8.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 3 4.0 %
The beer itself is a Black IPA. As that stands the head is a dark tan color. Not quite to imperial stout levels but too dark for my liking. I'm assuming black patent is the culprit but would dropping it and increasing the Crystal 120 to 3 lbs give me a fairly white head? Beersmith tells me that the SRM goes from 35 down to 28 when I do that but I don't know if that translates into the color of the head. 28 SRM is still a dark enough color for a BIPA I think. It's not like I can enter it into a competition but I would like to get this recipe dialed into where I really want it.
One other thing I'm afraid of losing by dropping the black patent malt is the roastiness it imparts. I really enjoy how it complements the pine of the hops I use with it. So in a perfect world I would keep the black patent but find some magic trick to replace the dark foam on top of my BIPA with a pearly, billowy white meringue.
While we're on the subject... How does Guinness achieve a beer that is absolute pitch black (probably an SRM of 40 at least or so I'm guessing) and a bleach white head? If there's a trick to that I would like to know
(Not exactly the type of beer I'm brewing here though)
Thanks!
My grain bill for the recipe is as follows:
10 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 80.0 %
2 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 2 16.0 %
8.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 3 4.0 %
The beer itself is a Black IPA. As that stands the head is a dark tan color. Not quite to imperial stout levels but too dark for my liking. I'm assuming black patent is the culprit but would dropping it and increasing the Crystal 120 to 3 lbs give me a fairly white head? Beersmith tells me that the SRM goes from 35 down to 28 when I do that but I don't know if that translates into the color of the head. 28 SRM is still a dark enough color for a BIPA I think. It's not like I can enter it into a competition but I would like to get this recipe dialed into where I really want it.
One other thing I'm afraid of losing by dropping the black patent malt is the roastiness it imparts. I really enjoy how it complements the pine of the hops I use with it. So in a perfect world I would keep the black patent but find some magic trick to replace the dark foam on top of my BIPA with a pearly, billowy white meringue.
While we're on the subject... How does Guinness achieve a beer that is absolute pitch black (probably an SRM of 40 at least or so I'm guessing) and a bleach white head? If there's a trick to that I would like to know
(Not exactly the type of beer I'm brewing here though)Thanks!
