Head improve With Conditioning?

[MDB]

I brewed an IPA, partial mash -- after 3 weeks at 70 in bottles I cracked one, delightful taste, truly a great tasting beer but I named it "Post-Wedding IPA" because, er, eh, there was none of that foam on the top A week later same, another week, same ... no head. One more week and WOW! This is the best looking beer I've brewed -- beautiful creamy head, lacing like a Stone brew, it was as if I knew what I was doing. Been drinking it for the past week and all bottles giving the same wondereful features. Can longer duration in conditioning improve/increase the head on your beer? I have read lots about the flavor development but nada on this aspect. Thanks all (and apologies for my slightly off-color joke but being happily married for an extended duration I could not resist).

 

[jonnyp1980]

Some beers take longer to fully carb and or to condition. A double IPA of mine took two months in bottle to get that awesome 2 inch thick head. Others took 2 weeks. Seems to me your time period was the sweet spot for that beer you made. Congrats.

 

[TopherM]

How long are you putting the beers in the fridge before you sample them? A good % of the carbonation produced when carbing at room temp does not absorb into the beer, it stays in the headspace of the bottle. It take a good 2-3 days at fridge temps for this carbonation to actually absorb into the solution.

If you are just getting them cold then drinking them within a few hours, most of your carbonation is just escaping without ever absorbing into the beer. Give them at least 48 hours in the fridge before opening them!

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Yeah. But you gotta deal with a few scrapes before the technique improves.

Wait, what?

 

[dfaridoni]

agreed. Co2 has a pretty low boiling point so even at 45 degrees you lose a lot to atmosphere when you pop the cap. No foaming at that temp but I imagine a lot of co2 loss. It is, though absorbed into the liquid even at room temp because of the air tight enviroment. It comes out pretty quickly when you open the bottle.

 

[unionrdr]

I found out by accident after last labor day that 2 weeks fridge time gives thicker head & longer lasting carbonation. I've since repeated this & know it works. So the co2 absorbtion rate isn't that fast. But the beer does need to be fully conditioned as well,which takes at least a week longer than carbing ime.

 

[pjj2ba]

I think there is more to it than just the carbonation level. In terms of foam, all carbonation contributes to the process is to create the bubbles which elevates the foam when pouring . It does not give you a long lasting head. You can shake a totally flat beer, and it will make foam - that will persist depending on the quality of the foam. A properly aged and carbonated beer can still have no head if the other components are not there

There is some kind of protein modification that is occurring as the beer ages that makes them produce a more stable foam. Yeast are known to produce extracellular proteases that modify the proteins in the beer. I've seen this in plenty of my kegged beers. The head that I get initially can be very different from that at the end of the keg

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,it does have something to do with the protiens left in the beer after cold break,etc. And it is lifted by carbonation. But I've also had beers with lower carbonation produce a thick head as well. So it is indeed more the protiens then the carbonation. But the two are linked somewhat.

 

[Sixmilecross]

This thread has so much potential

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Yeah. But you gotta deal with a few scrapes before the technique improves.

Wait, what?

This thread has so much potential

Awww yeah!!!

 

[MyNameIsPaul]

Awww yeah!!!

I came here for the obvious, leaving satisfied.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I came here for the obvious, leaving satisfied.

TWSS!!!