No head on beer
- Thread starter Darby0626
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estricklin
Well-Known Member
Are you doing partial boils?
flars
Well-Known Member
Would need more information about the beer and your bottle conditioning process.
zachssoojdm
Well-Known Member
Higher mash temps contribute to better head retention, also there is additives that you can get from your homebrew store that add better head retention. Are you bottle conditioning or kegging?
zachssoojdm
Well-Known Member
Bump that co2 up to like 30 psi, shake it for like 10 secs and then leave it for 12 hours, Drop it to serving pressure, check. If not good, repeat.
green_bierz
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also, in your recipe you could also add some torrified wheat to your mash, this will add some good head and head retention into your beer (pending style and what you've got in it. cocoa and chocolate tend to destroy head due to the oils in the cocoa (correct me if im wrong on this guys)
Heading on beer has a couple requirements. First it some time. It takes a bit of time for the proteins needed for heading to bind so if you are racking to your keg and drinking the beer the next day, don't expect to have much head on the beer.
The second requirement is clean equipment. Any residue of soap will kill head. I found that the hard way with too much soap and not enough rinsing of the bottles and ended up with 10 gallons of beer with no heading.
The second requirement is clean equipment. Any residue of soap will kill head. I found that the hard way with too much soap and not enough rinsing of the bottles and ended up with 10 gallons of beer with no heading.
estricklin
Well-Known Member
Since your doing partial boils I'm guessing your an extract brewer. Partial boils are a big culprit of poor head retention. Try to boil as much water from your recipe as you can, even if it's not the entire batch.
Until you can do full boils, there is a product I used to use, called biofoam. It's super cheap, I used half of the recommended dose and had good results.
Until you can do full boils, there is a product I used to use, called biofoam. It's super cheap, I used half of the recommended dose and had good results.
So you decided to tackle a biggie as a new home brewer? Foam is a complex. Here's a few thoughts:
Foam Positives:
- CO2 - to create through nucleation but doesn't do much to preserve it
- Proteins - big hydrophobic ones. Complex topic. Try to stay away from protease active temps in your mash to avoid protein breakdown. 125 - 135 dF are the most active protease active temps
- More hops, therefore better foam mostly due to to the bittering acids
- Maillard products, so I have read. The combination of sugars and amino groups that takes place mostly in kilning and the kettle
Foam Negatives
- the opposite of the above
- left over detergents that are on the glass
- higher alcohol has been associated with less foam (all else equal)
- fats/lipids
From my experience, hops really do seem to be the biggest contributor though most do feel strongly about the proteins being the biggest contributor.
Foam Positives:
- CO2 - to create through nucleation but doesn't do much to preserve it
- Proteins - big hydrophobic ones. Complex topic. Try to stay away from protease active temps in your mash to avoid protein breakdown. 125 - 135 dF are the most active protease active temps
- More hops, therefore better foam mostly due to to the bittering acids
- Maillard products, so I have read. The combination of sugars and amino groups that takes place mostly in kilning and the kettle
Foam Negatives
- the opposite of the above
- left over detergents that are on the glass
- higher alcohol has been associated with less foam (all else equal)
- fats/lipids
From my experience, hops really do seem to be the biggest contributor though most do feel strongly about the proteins being the biggest contributor.
