Coffee Porter No Head Retention

[andrewcoopergt]

So I set out to make a coffee porter. I made a typical porter, nothing out of the ordinary, and then added cold brewed coffee extract from a specialty roaster I had used stuff from before with no problems. I added the coffee when I kegged it.

I originally was going to put it on nitro, so I set it on 30psi CO2 for 24 hours and then tried it out pushing with beer gas, and I really liked it. But then I decided to bottle it instead. So I set it on about 11psi for about a week. Now I'm trying it out to see what the carb level is. When I pour it (tried with both a perlick 525ss and a stout faucet with the restrictor plate taken out) the beer pours well with a decent head, but then the head immediately dissipates, and no head can even be generated by swirling. The beer even gives off that fizzing sound that a coke does when you pour it. The beer tastes great, and there is some carbonation in the beer itself.

I have never had problems with carbing before and am stumped. I am using 5' beer lines and pushing at 10psi. Like I said, it has not failed me in the past so I'm really perplexed. Any thoughts on what's up? Could it be that I added the coffee at the wrong time and destroyed the head retention?

 

[Piratwolf]

My first guess would be that oils in the coffee are killing the head. But that's from someone who hasn't added coffee before.

 

[texwake]

My porters takes three times as long time to prime, sounds like it just needs more time.

 

[andrewcoopergt]

Thanks for the replies. I think it could be either or both of your suggestions. I guess the only thing I can do is give it more time and see if that helps. If it is the oils in the coffee killing the head, I guess there is nothing more I can do?

 

[Piratwolf]

My porters takes three times as long time to prime, sounds like it just needs more time.

Mine carb just as fast as other styles. I have a 6% porter 10 days in bottle that's fully carbed now. It needs more conditioning time, though. That being said, I do read that many people's dark beers take longer.

 

[Piratwolf]

Thanks for the replies. I think it could be either or both of your suggestions. I guess the only thing I can do is give it more time and see if that helps. If it is the oils in the coffee killing the head, I guess there is nothing more I can do?

I was hoping someone else would get in on this b/c I thought the point of cold steeping was to avoid oil extraction.... I just don't know enough. Did you add the water warm to the grounds & chill after or was it cold all the way through?

 

[andrewcoopergt]

I was hoping someone else would get in on this b/c I thought the point of cold steeping was to avoid oil extraction.... I just don't know enough. Did you add the water warm to the grounds & chill after or was it cold all the way through?

I didn't actually do it myself. There is a guy in my office building that roasts coffee professionally that I got it from. I have used his extract before with great results, thus making this that much more of a puzzling situation. As far as the porters/dark beers taking longer to carb, would that even be a consideration in kegging? I could see that with bottling, but shouldn't kegging take that out of the equation for the most part?

 

[Piratwolf]

A good point about kegging! How long was it on CO2 before you bottled? What method did you use?

 

[andrewcoopergt]

I have not bottled it yet. Trying to get the carbonation right first and can't seem to do so.

 

[andrewcoopergt]

Well, I'm now pretty sure it has something to do with the oils in the coffee. It is fully carbed coming out of the tap, but then it immediately fizzles away. The beer still tastes good and is carbed well, but the aesthetics aren't there. Oh well, there could be worse things than a beer with no head. It's still very drinkable.