heading powder?

[RobWalker]

My lhbs were out of torrified wheat but sold me a packet of heading powder instead, which helps with head retention. This is for a graff...

It tells me to add the powder one day before kegging. My beer is clearing in primary on the yeast cake, at which point I always move to my work surface the day before, allow to resettle, and then keg. Stirring the powder in fully will disturb the cake too much and my only other secondary is my keg. I don't want to go from fermentation bucket to keg, return to washed bucket, stir in powder and then put it back in the keg...too much air exposure and hassle in my opinion. Am I okay to add the powder when kegging?

 

[Rob_B]

I don't keg, but I would say mix it in when you keg and wait a day before you start carbing that bad boy.

 

[RobWalker]

Not a bad idea, I was thinking it may have something to do with the yeast needing to work on it, but even then my keg will let any excess pressure out...and its all in a sterile, airtight environment anyway so...meh

 

[smokinghole]

Why would you add a powder to the graff just to get a head? Just leave it out and add a heavy dose of wheat next time.

 

[unionrdr]

He said the LHBS was out of it in the 1st post...

 

[smokinghole]

I know he said they were out of torrified wheat, I can read. I said to just leave the powder out and use wheat next time.

 

[RobWalker]

That doesn't really solve the problem at hand though...hahah...

 

[smokinghole]

I don't see not having foam on top of graff as a problem. Most every cider I ever had does not have a head. If you see it as a problem then use the heading powder. You could always grab some flaked wheat (a little more work), or even malted wheat. It won't be the exact same flavor as torrified wheat but it will be close. Another interesting grain to replace the torrified wheat would be flaked oat or malted oat.

Also just an FYI. The heading agent is most likely polypropylene glycol alginate which is derived from kelp. It's completely safe for use in food and beverage obviously but why would you want to?

 

[Rob_B]

To each their own. I don't care if my cider has head or not, but hey my cider is for the wife not me. But then agian I dig when my beer has a nice head but if it doesn't I don't worry about it. And on the note of the heading agent being made of kelp, who cares in the world of brewing we're always adding sea life to our brews in the form of Irish Moss (an algea) or Isinglass made form swim bladders of fish, not to mention geletin made from other animals. Malt, hops, yeast and water are not the only things craft brewers use on a daily basis.