good carbonation, little head..

[scottmd06]

it seems with each batch, i get great carbonation but very little head. im not sure if im over mixing my priming syrup before bottling, or maybe too much movement during racking? some tips would be great guys, thanks!

 

[Revvy]

Neither of those would affect your head. Proteins in your grainbill affect your head.

Enhancing head retention.

 

[pkeeler]

Are you using fining agents like irish moss? Do you do a protein rest? If your beer is carbonated, your yeast were fed just fine.

Did your wife clean your beer glasses with a new soap? Did you start using a drying agent in your dishwasher?

 

[scottmd06]

havent used irish moss or other finings before. done extract and partial recipes so my grain bill wouldnt be affecting without grains right? lol not sure what a protein rest is. one of my kits had caripils in the bill i thiink. i loved the foam i got on that brew. i wash my glasses in standard liquid dishwasher detergent, no jet dry or anything.

 

[Yooper]

Try one thing before we give you suggestions on how to fix the head retention.

Get some salt from the salt shaker, a glass, and a bit of water, and do a "salt water scrub". Make it thick with salt, and just a little water into a paste, and scour your glass with that. do it really well, to "scrub" the whole inside of the glass and the rim. Rinse well (NO soap, never, no matter what!) and then dry with a clean lint-free cloth. Then try the same beer and report back and tell us if the head is better. If it leaves lacing on the glass, and if the bubbles cling to the glass at all, or bubble up from the bottom. Then we'll be able to give you some more help.

 

[bowiefan]

What styles of beer are you brewing (say, the last 6 batches that have had this problem), what type of container do you use for primary? temp controler? what type of water do you use? How do you clean your glasses? Do you use a blow off tube and if so, what volume are you losing from your fermenter?

 

[ChillWill]

I like the salt scrub idea, my special beer glass usually gets good treatment, very few nucleosites and no lacing. My beer wasn't properly carbonated using the online calculators so just upped the sugar to the higher limits or above what is suggested for the style. Are you actually using syrup?

 

[scottmd06]

thanks yoop, ill give that a try. i prime the beers with typical dextrose/water solution, i was just referring to it as syrup. ive pretty much only done american ales, fermented in the 70 to 75 degree range, to clear that up. its not that my beers are headless, just that the head dissapears pretty quickly as i drink it, compared to a BMC. i tend to like a beer that gives you a foam mustache a few times as you drink it lol

 

[Yooper]

thanks yoop, ill give that a try. i prime the beers with typical dextrose/water solution, i was just referring to it as syrup. ive pretty much only done american ales, fermented in the 70 to 75 degree range, to clear that up. its not that my beers are headless, just that the head dissapears pretty quickly as i drink it, compared to a BMC. i tend to like a beer that gives you a foam mustache a few times as you drink it lol

Try the salt scrub first, to rule out any issues with the glassware. Then, let us know about a sample recipe and how long it's been bottled.

Let's see- it's what? 7 AM? Your assignment is to have a beer ASAP and report back to us!

 

[scottmd06]

ha ha very funny. i wish i could turn around a recipe on the drop of a hat. no malt on hand, have to sneak to the brew shop soon.