Poor head retention

[MikeFallopian]

I made a spiced ale for Christmas which was great, apart from one thing: it had very poor head retention. After pouring it would have a large tan head, though this dissipated to nothing in about a minute. This is not a problem I have had with my other brews - in fact my previous beer, a smoked porter, had a huge head which lasted until the final sip!

What did I do wrong? The grains used in this recipe were pale, biscuit, special-B, and crystal. Hops were first gold, brewers gold, saaz, and cascade. It was spiced with cinnamon, ginger, clove, and orange peel.

 

[mcaple1]

try using a little dextrine malt....that helps a bit with head retention

 

[thegerm]

this is one of those simple questions that rarely has a simple answer. it could have something to do with your mash schedule... infections can cause low head retention... lipids in the beer... detergents used on your glassware. or just the carbonation level is low.... did you keg or bottle?

 

[pyth]

Throw some heading compound into the boil. About a gram per gallon. You'll have a giant, thick, creamy, attractive head that lasts a good 15-20 mins.

 

[MikeFallopian]

this is one of those simple questions that rarely has a simple answer. it could have something to do with your mash schedule... infections can cause low head retention... lipids in the beer... detergents used on your glassware. or just the carbonation level is low.... did you keg or bottle?

This beer was bottled. The mash schedule was a 60 minute single infusion. I don't think the problem is down to detergents/glassware as this has been an issue across all of the bottles I have drunk. I don't think it is infected either, as I've had a number of these bottles over the last few months and they have been consistent.

Would it be the presence of speciality malts such as special-B? I hadn't brewed with these previously.

 

[ThickHead]

Could you add the amount of each grain used along with the list of grain types?

And mash temp...

 

[ThickHead]

Could you add the amount of each grain used along with the list of grain types?

And mash temp?

Lol...sorry for the double post. Could not find the edit function on the iPhone app. Got it now.

 

[ajbram]

Did you use dried orange peel or fresh? If you used fresh, the oils in the orange peel will absolutely kill the head.

 

[unionrdr]

That's why when I added lemon to the priming solution for my wife's summer shandy clone,I used True Lemon crystalized juice instead. Head was good,& lasted several minutes with 7-8 days fridge time at 47F.