high head retention?

[Merleti]

I get high head retention only after a few months of bottling? It goes from low head to extreme head in a couple of weeks?

 

[1977Brewer]

Yeah...that's called bottle conditioning.

 

[Merleti]

Why?

 

[flars]

The proteins have formed tighter bonds. You will notice in the longer lasting head, the bubbles formed are small and dense, almost like meringue.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah. Once you get a good process down, you start getting thicker, longer lasting head. It's formed by proteins in the beer, but driven by carbonation to an extent after pouring. Personally, I like that thick, creamy head. Kinda tastes like citrus meringue on an IPA to me.

 

[ThomasO5608]

To me, after the overall taste and mouth feel, having that thick creamy head is proof that you did a good job brewing that batch. I get disappointed when I pull a beer and the head dissipates quickly.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, I kind of thing we're all like that, whether we're likely to admit it or not. Sooner or later, we all like good head...on a beer! (you can get your head outta the gutter now!)

 

[day_trippr]

The paradox is the uninformed are in such a rush to drink the fruits of their hasty labor.

eg: folks that keg, burst carb, then start pouring the next day.
It's like drinking prepubescent beer. And that ain't right...

Cheers!

 

[daksin]

The biggest thing that everyone omits about head retention is carbonation. Head forms when bubbles rise to the surface and stay there. Faster bubble formation (from higher carbonation) equals better head retention. See also: tripels. Your carbonation is coming up so head retention improves. If you feel your beer is too fizzy or has too much head, this could be overcarbonating from too much priming sugar, or microbial contamination.

 

[unionrdr]

Head is formed by dissolved proteins in the beer. Carbonation drives it after it's poured into a glass. Not by carbonation alone.

 

[Merleti]

flars Thank you that makes sence when I think ionic.
uniondr Thank you. This makes sense to me as the higher the density with the higher ionic charge equals more foam.
day trippr yes you are right on drinking it early from what I've experienced. I am doing it so I can learn more about brewing.
uniondr your last post sums it up form what I am thinking. The proteins get converted by conditioning. Then the co2 makes an ionic charge attracting proteins and that is why the head has increased.
Am I correct?
Thank you all for replying to this post. You help make HomeBrewTalk.

 

[unionrdr]

Well, I'm no research scientist, but the carbonation maintains the head formed by pouring that stirs the proteins up with dissolved Co2 to initially form the head. It seems to have a relationship between how much dissolved proteins are left in the beer & carbonation level. Even a light carbonation level can maintain a head on the beer if enough of the proteins have been stirred up with the Co2 to form it to start with. I also think clearing agents have some effect on the amount of head formed, since they coagulate dissolved proteins to settle out to clear the beer. Cold break does this as well. So doing the minimum to clear the beer seems to give a good balance of clarity & dissolved proteins to form the head.

 

[Merleti]

unionrdr thank you again for all your help. Would a clearing agent like whirfloc help attribute to this? I also haven't mastered getting all the break material out when I transfer the wort to the fermentation vessel during the cold break.

 

[unionrdr]

I found that a whole Whirlfloc tablet is better suited to 10 gallon batches. When I first got them, a whole whirlfloc tablet in 5 gallons of my ESB gave not quite one finger of head. After getting a pill splitter for these horse pills the Dr gave me, I decided to split all my Whirlfloc tablets. Using half of one in the same beer, same recipe, the head increased to about two fingers worth. The head was thicker & longer lasting as well.
Getting all the trub out of the wort going into primary isn't 100% necessary, but I do strain mine. The strainer aerates the wort as well. But since I still top off, using spring water that's been in the fridge a day or two before brew day, I get a decent cold break in primary anyway. The Whirlfloc is also responsible for this. It'll settle down & compact with the rest of the trub. I have plastic fermenters, so a 10 1/4" dual layer fine mesh strainer can hold more gunk when adding the chilled wort to primary.

 

[Merleti]

I currently cut the tab in half.
I also just bought a wider pot to whirlpool.