Can someone explain the lack of head retention in alot of modern craft?

[shoreman]

As I peruse photos from newer craft breweries via social media I am always struck by the lack of head retention some of the beers have. Seems to be focused alot in the newer "instagram-photo ready" beers like pastry stouts, neipas, some lagers and kettle sours - all the most popular styles at the moment.

Personally head retention is really important to me, pouring a beer and getting zero foam or head retention in the glass makes the experience lackluster.

I've had great lambics like Cantillion and there is always a two-three finger head in the glass or some of the well done neipas like trillium, foam is never lacking there. Look at German or Czech lagers, amazing lace on the glass.

My only conclusion is that these brewers aren't really concerned with this aspect of the beer and focusing on flavor. Any ideas?

 

[VikeMan]

I can't speak to what most craft brewers are thinking, but the styles you listed are interesting. Here's what could be going on with each.

Pastry Stouts: Alcohol (higher ABV, may reduce rigidity of foam surface active molecule layer), Fats/Oils from ingredients like coffee, coconut, chocolate, etc.

NEIPAs: Lipids (e.g. esp. from oats) make the foam bubbles' surface layers too Hydrophobic and Rigid, compromising stability

Kettle Sours: Lactobacillus can break down foam positive proteins

Lagers? No excuse!

 

[shoreman]

Certainly some challenges there with these styles but they have been done properly, I wonder why it seems to be such an afterthought?

 

[Brooothru]

Certainly some challenges there with these styles but they have been done properly, I wonder why it seems to be such an afterthought?

Afterthought presupposes "thought" occurred in the first place. New trends and "wanting to cash in quick" on the latest hipster trend opens the floodgates of mediocrity. I personally do not care for NEIPAs, but I acknowledge many people do, and thus the standout pioneers are offering something that the beer drinking public writ large finds appealing. Heady Topper and the offerings from Trillium have something that most of the rest do not. In short, the rest are mostly crap in IMHO, slapped together with little skill or forethought. The only "sensory appeal" they bring to the mix is haze (and generally hop burn).

Anyone (almost) can make beer. I'm surviving proof of that. Crafting a well designed beer takes time and dedication, as well as a willingness to learn and experiment. That's what I endeavor to achieve. Too many "one-hit-wonder" wannabes out there trying to jump on the band wagon. They should stick to day-trading shares of Game Store instead.

 

[MrPowers]

Sometimes it’s related to lipid heavy adjuncts (oats, coffee, cacao, etc...). But usually it’s just poor brewing process.

 

[aeviaanah]

Add dirty glasses or poor carbonation methods to the list.

 

[couchsending]

Pastry Stouts
-oil laden adjuncts
-virtually no carbonation (Higher carb means they won’t be as Thicccccc feeling. Which is what everyone is looking for in this style (FG: north of 1.060)

NEIPA
-not proper fining in kettle
-a lot of what people think promotes haze is detrimental to head
-poor cellar work
-really high DH rates will have a negative affect on head.
-brewers trying to make them “softer” by carbing to lower volumes.


Lager
-sometimes lower hopped lagers can struggle a bit with head retention
-A high percentage of adjunct grist can negatively affect head retention especially with lower hopping rates.
-keeping the beer on too much yeast for too long can damage head retention
-natural carbonation can really help with foam but sadly lots of breweries don’t want to deal with the hassle when you can force carb in 6-8 hour.

Sadly it’s cause so many breweries just don’t care. Often times it’s a race to get beers out the door ASAP for numerous (usually financial) reasons. The culture of serving beer right to the brim in sh*tty pint glasses here in the US doesn’t help either.

Funny thing is there’s all these downstream hop products that can do wonders for foam so you can still take all the shortcuts and have good foam. It’s what the macro guys are using in the high adjunct lagers. If you don’t care about the rest of the process might as well add some hop derived extract right before quickly force carbing and packaging.

 

[madscientist451]

I guess I never noticed it. One thing I have noticed is that if I use a pint glass and pour a 12 oz bottle of "craft beer" into it, with the head, a 12 oz bottle fills a pint glass all the way to the top. So when you order a pint with a head, you are getting 12 oz of beer, so I would think breweries would want some head retention so they can increase profits in the tap room.

 

[chipmunk]

I like a beer with good head retention - although I’m kind of inconsistent with my own beers. Any tips?

 

[shoreman]

Wheat and carapils are a few I add to recipes for improved head retention. I think clean brewing practices also really help.

I don’t seem to have an issue with my neipas but I use more wheat than oats.

 

[VikeMan]

I like a beer with good head retention - although I’m kind of inconsistent with my own beers. Any tips?

From a draft of a presentation I'm working on:
•Use Malt from Barley with high Nitrogen (protein) content
•Add Flaked/Malted Wheat or Flaked Barley (proteins)
•Avoid Over-Modified Malts (destroys proteins)
•Limit No/Low Protein Adjuncts (corn, rice, sugar)
•Avoid Protein Rests with well Modified Malts (destroys proteins)
•Use Caramel Malts & other Highly Kilned Malts (contain Melanoidins)
•Limit Use of Oats, Coconut, Coffee, Chocolate (fats/oils, i.e. lipids)
•Keep Most Kettle Trub Out of Fermenter (Fatty Acids)
•Make Bitter Beers (Iso-Alpha Acids)
•Adequate Yeast Health and Pitch Rates (avoid stress)
•Pasteurization (commercial breweries, denatures Proteinase A)
•Scrupulously Clean Equipment and Glassware
•Vorlauf (retains more Lipids in grain bed instead of kettle wort)

 

[deuc224]

Ok, im not a total newbie but always wanted to ask, what so important about head retention? Not being sarcastic i promise, i just dont get it.

 

[VikeMan]

Ok, im not a total newbie but always wanted to ask, what so important about head retention? Not being sarcastic i promise, i just dont get it.

It's mostly aesthetics. And it depends somewhat on where you are from. Traditionally, the Brits haven't liked foam on their beers, particularly in pubs, where it's considered to be cheating the customer of a full pint.

 

[deuc224]

Ok that makes sense, thanks Vikeman! Kinda like having a primered lambo lol

 

[shoreman]

Ok, im not a total newbie but always wanted to ask, what so important about head retention? Not being sarcastic i promise, i just dont get it.

Visual impact, but it also contributes to the aroma of a beer.

IMO head retention is also a sign of the quality of the beer and the brewer's process.

I've had some cask beers in England where they fill it to the brim, but more often than not poor head retention was poor glass hygiene. There always seemed to be nice lacing with the cask beers I had in pubs there.

 

[Franktalk]

If you don’t care about the rest of the process might as well add some hop derived extract right before quickly force carbing and packaging.

Sorry to go off topic, but do hop-derived extracts improve head?

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Also, perhaps serving glass? If a beer is poured with a head the glass will seem less than full, as the head subsides, when delivered to the patron. I believe people will bit*h they didn't get a full glass of beer for $7.00 or more!

I've personally witnessed, in breweries, brewpubs, etc people filling the glass to overflowing, pushing out the head, to fill the glass to the top and wasting an enormous about of beer (enormous in number of glasses poured x ounces wasted).

I do like the 20 ounce glasses, with the fill mark at the 1 pint or 16 ounce level.

 

[couchsending]

Sorry to go off topic, but do hop-derived extracts improve head?

Professionals have access to specific hop derived extracts that are specifically designed for maximizing head formation and retention... Tetra and Hexa Hop

 

[Dgallo]

Lack of foam is a big issue for me too.

@couchsending comments hit the nail on the head. In addition there’s a lot of people in beer groups that are more concerned with pouring all 16oz of a can into a 16 oz glass and delicately pour the beer and then take pictures of a headless beer like they look good.

 

[odie]

could be any reason for head or lack there of...

customers complain that they got cheated on their pint if it's foamy.

some cultures expect foam (the Dutch pour 1/2 glasses with 1/2 foam as the norm to get more aroma...but the short pours are also cheap) I was initially shocked during my trip to the Netherlands until I realized how cheap a glass of beer was.

dirty glassware might impact head

serving PSI and/or temp

faucet/line design (back pressure or lack of it, restrictions or any thing that might induce turbulence or minimize turbulence

use or lack of carapils type grains

who says there is supposed to be any head...or there is supposed to be no head? That's what's great about beer...there is a style for every taste...

 

[Dgallo]

I agree with everything until the last little bit. Well made beer should have a head on it.

Also, head does not need cara types malts to have a great head but they can certainly help

 

[okiedog]

After prohibition and before the proliferation of craft beer, Americans were subjected to decades of low flavor, headless (or near headless macro beer). As a result, for 2 generations American beer drinkers either didn't know, or forgot what it was like to drink flavorful beer with a good head on it. In my earlier beer drinking days, I was one of them.
I believe the American Homebrewers Association article, Foam Matters, accurately describes the importance of beer foam. Excerpt: Besides being aesthetically pleasing, the foam releases volatile aroma compounds, which enhance the flavor perception of the beer. Foam also contributes to the beer’s mouthfeel and texture, while serving as a protective, insulating layer over the liquid to maintain its carbonation level, body, and temperature.

 

[shoreman]

So as a few people have mentioned above there are external factors like poor glass handling, tap lines, terrible pours, etc. definitely something to consider and try to manage as a brewery. A lot of that is out of your hands though.

What’s interesting is that I’m seeing the actual breweries putting out a photo of the beer with no head, lacing etc as a showcase of what they created. Just seems odd.

 

[Vale71]

The most important function of a good head of foam in the glass is to act as on oxygen barrier. A headless pint of beer will stale as you drink it, unless you chug it all down in less than five minutes but then taste and aroma are probably not the main reasons why you're drinking beer in any case so you probably won't care one way or another.

 

[wstumper]

What’s interesting is that I’m seeing the actual breweries putting out a photo of the beer with no head, lacing etc as a showcase of what they created. Just seems odd.

I'm going with the Marketing Department (person) creating these images of foamless and laceless (new word!) beer.

 

[OldDogBrewing]

So as a few people have mentioned above there are external factors like poor glass handling, tap lines, terrible pours, etc. definitely something to consider and try to manage as a brewery. A lot of that is out of your hands though.

What’s interesting is that I’m seeing the actual breweries putting out a photo of the beer with no head, lacing etc as a showcase of what they created. Just seems odd.

Are they making sours? Because acidity affects head retention and creation unless you carbonate it at a bazillion volumes of CO2 like belgians do

 

[Dgallo]

Are they making sours? Because acidity affects head retention and creation unless you carbonate it at a bazillion volumes of CO2 like belgians do

There ways to create great head in low ph beers too but a lot of the hype breweries just want to put purée in the keg or can and push out kettle or copitched sours in 10 days. I blame the consumer. This was a beer a guy was raving about in one of the beer groups I’m in. As you can see breweries can get away with anything if there are enough sheep lol

 

[VikeMan]

There ways to create great head in low ph beers too but a lot of the hype breweries just want to put purée in the keg or can and push out kettle or copitched sours in 10 days.

Sour beer foam...

 

[OldDogBrewing]

There ways to create great head in low ph beers too but a lot of the hype breweries just want to put purée in the keg or can and push out kettle or copitched sours in 10 days. I blame the consumer. This is was a guy was raving about in one of the beer groups I’m in. View attachment 718239

We don't have 0.5%ABV unfermented fruit purée yet here in Europe although I think they will start to appear this year.

I don't personally consider that a beer, a beer cocktail in a can? Yes, but that's not beer. I thought it meant regular fruited sours actually fermented, those are hard to get them with a persistent head around here, most of them have a pretty low pH, similar to lambics, there are some examples with a more moderate sourness and a slightly better head retention.

I think it's probably impossible to get any head retention in a fruit juice mixed with beer

 

[Dgallo]

Sour beer foam...

Awesome!

 

[VikeMan]

View attachment 718242

Lots of wheat malt? What Brett strain(s)?

 

[Dgallo]

Lots of wheat malt? What Brett strain(s)?

60/40 floor malted Pilsner and white wheat

Copitched with Imperial Rustic blend and YB - Brussels blend

and then dryhoped

ph 3.6

 

[50calshooter]

Being that it's photos you are looking at that means an entire commercially done photo shoot. No telling how long that glass of beer was sitting there.

Too much sanitizer in the rinse.

Soap residue on the glassware.

 

[okiedog]

Believe it or not, there some establishments that actually set their draft system regulators a little low, to avoid pouring foam. Most brewpubs have it right though. A properly carbonated and properly poured pint is a thing of beauty.

 

[mashpaddled]

I don't feel like I see these problems that much in the beers I buy. It's certainly a problem across pastry stouts but I don't find the other beers I buy suffering from this issue. Maybe it's because I don't buy a lot of puree-laden beers or kettle sours and I try to avoid breweries that make low quality beer where this is an issue. I also buy a lot of beers that tend to have foam enhancing grain so maybe that is an issue.

 

[Homergah]

I agree with the previous statement about the experience and knowledge of the brewer. I apparently have a way of getting onto the brewing floor, many times with the head brewer, at nearly every brewery I visit. It truly amazes me at the lack of knowledge I occasionally encounter. Combine that with a poorly trained palette and the willingness to push every beer out the door regardless of quality, and you'll get a multitude of issues. I also see at breweries that I visit, and where I've worked, a lack of knowledge and commitment to a good balanced draft system. Beer lines too short, one pressure across all taps, no regard for reserving certain taps for certain styles. So you end up with a server pouring two pints of beer to fill one glass. And after all that foam has settled you have an under carbonated beer. My last brewery simply had a catch bucket under the tap tray. After a busy night that 5 gallon bucket would be full. And we were selling out of beer sometimes in two days. Lost revenue, down the drain. That extra money could have fixed the draft system. But it's hard to get an owner to spend when margins are so very small. And then you get the herd hyping a place, along with the Instagram self promoted hype with the purchase two thousand followers, and people think this poor product is great. Kinda like the emperors clothes.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

All driven by $$$, apparently question of skill, etc comes into play. I do know many cities thought breweries where their latest saving grace. I personally know a homebrewer whom was financially encouraged to open a brewery even though there are plenty of breweries around here.

What was it? Back in the 70's and 80 outlet mall. 90's gambling and now breweries. I forgot to add in the phony "town centers".

 

[Beenym88]

This is at least 10 minutes in I love the foam