Egg Whites for creamy head?

[Mayo]

Hi everybody I read somewhere that adding 2 egg whites to your brew 2 days before bottling can greatly increase head retention, has anyone ever tried this?

P.S. I know there are many other ways to do it as well, but I am a kit /kilo brewer and I am really not interested in boiling and adding grains ect. I don't have a local homebrew shop, and refuse to pay outrageous shipping to get them..

I would be interested in trying this or anything else that I could add to my kit, if the ingredience were able to be purchased in just a regular grocery store... any help would be appreciated.

And yes I clean my glasses (no residue) and i sanitize all equipment with star san.

 

[Pie_Man]

I've not tried this. I would assume the egg whites add protein to aid in head retention without too much extra flavor, that's my guess. I'd boil the egg whites to sanitize and reduce their flavor and aroma contribution. This approach sounds a little weird, but what the heck.

 

[broadbill]

I'd boil the egg whites to sanitize and reduce their flavor and aroma contribution.

I guess you've never poached an egg before. Boiling will cause the egg white proteins to denature and solidify. This will lead to white flakes floating around in the wort.

OP: I've never heard of this either. Linky/Source?

 

[Revvy]

SOunds like an invitation to some nastiness....

If you are doing kit and kilo beers with no steeping grains, the best thing to use for a good head is heading powder.

Or Even better prime with KreamyX, which is both priming sugar and heading powder in one.

 

[Mayo]

The link / source was some guy in a thread who brewed kits like me for 18 years (or something like that) he just posted it and said trust me it works.. then that was it.. ill try to find link

Heres link
post number #15
http://www.brewplus.com/forum/alt-beer-home-brewing/758-head-retention-2.html

As for rev, yeah I have read about the kreamyx drops but i also read horror stories (floaties) and stuff from those drops, so a bit worried to try them.

I might have to get the Heading powder

 

[TyTanium]

"Mayo" asking about egg whites. Haha. Add a little mustard, a little vinegar, salt & pepper to taste.

 

[Revvy]

Well I'd be more afraid of putting eggwhites in my beer myself.

If you treat your Kreamy x like any other priming sugar, i.e. boiling it in 2 cups of water there should be no "floaties" to deal with. If it's dissolving in a boil, there should be no solids to be floating.

I've found most complaints in terms of bottling issues to not be what the person complaining really says it is, but usually is some form of impatience, in not seeing the process through, and giving everything time to settle.

 

[Mayo]

TYMAN..I never even noticed that but lol..it is a funny offtopic.

Yeah rev I do understand the risk of contamination but I'm the kinda brewer that will try everything at least once for myself to just see if it works... will i try the egg white thing absolutely, just to see if it works.

Kreamy X would be very convenient and I am willing to try it but it sounds expesnive to be quiet honest.

Hey rev what about an mini mini oat mash? Like I boil quaker oats for like 15 minutes then just strain pour into fermentor prior to adding my can of extract? If i did this how long would I have to boil... ect.. i have no idea.. it was just a thought.

 

[Obliviousbrew]

INMHO egg whites will help you with clarity. That´s use mostly in winemaking and it´s prooved that doesn´t help much in beer. Listen to Revvy the guy really knows what his talking about.
Edit: By the way DO NOT BOIL THE EGGS it is not a good idea.

 

[petey_c]

I've not tried this. I would assume the egg whites add protein to aid in head retention without too much extra flavor, that's my guess. I'd boil the egg whites to sanitize and reduce their flavor and aroma contribution. This approach sounds a little weird, but what the heck.

Think egg drop soup....

 

[Yooper]

Think egg drop soup....

Exactly. The reason egg white used to be used for clarifying wine is because it didn't mix with the wine, and instead they were used to remove excessive tannin. They drop out and "pull" that tannin out with it. Adding to beer shouldn't do anything for head retention, as the protein wouldn't mix in with the beer. But it could put globules in the beer, like egg drop soup.

 

[Obliviousbrew]

Egg white is still used for clarifying wine (at least here in Spain). The reason that is not used as widely anymore is because its expensive. As I say before good option for claryfing wine but not very good in beer. It would do something but don't expect good head retation because of it.