Too much head on my beer!

[slyjeremybrewer]

I've brewed a few batches now and I keep getting a lot of head on my beer when I pour. I've tried bottling with corn sugar and also honey but it doesn't seem to matter. Is there anything I can add to the boil to prevent this? Any other suggestions?

 

[Skaggz]

How much is a lot? If you take a drink out of the bottle before you pour, does it seem over-carbonated?

 

[VTBrewer]

How much dextrin/cara pils are you using? How long are you letting it carb for? Often times a beer has not yet received the co2 and will behave like this, but after another few weeks it will. Can you show a recent recipe you used?

 

[slyjeremybrewer]

I never drink out of the bottle. It is always poured into a frosted mug. I will pour about a 3rd of the mug with beer and the rest will fill up with the head foam. doesn't matter how slow I pour. As for carb time... I'm 2 weeks primary, 4 weeks secondary and about 6 to 8 weeks in the bottle. the recipes are pretty straight forward on an IPA extract. 10 lbs of LME for a 5 gal batch in a 3 gal boil. 3 of the 10 gal I reserved for the last 10 minutes of the boil. 4 hop additions in 15 minute intervals. I threw in a cinnamon stick and paradise seeds at end of boil. 2 strong ale yeast smack packs for fermentation. wort chiller was used also.

 

[slyjeremybrewer]

Oh yeah, Ive never used dextrin.... Is this what I'm missing?

 

[FlyingHumanoid]

Try pouring into a glass that is not frosted. From what I've read, pouring into a frosted glass from a draft system creates excess foam the majority of the time. As far as home brew from a bottle, I'm not sure. I don't use frosted glasses...ever. Anything is worth a try.

 

[fuhmon]

no crystal malts? 10lb of liquid male extract or dry malt extract ? i hadn't seen adding Malt to last 10 minute of boil either.. 2cents.

ya i don't like frosty mugs.. too cold for tasty beers. are the mugs smooth glass or frosted frosty? my mom made a nice gester once and got me some custom mugs with my name on them... they were frosted glass and they foam the **** out of beers.

also have you tried to open a more fresh beer? like 3 weeks conditioned rather than 6 to see if the same thing happens?

 

[Skaggz]

What about priming sugar. How much did you use for your five gallon batch?

 

[jollytim]

Seem like an over-carbonation issue. True all beers 'pour' different, but if you pour really quietly and gently out of the bottle.... you should get little to no head. Or like mentioned, something in the pour is causing turbulence, be it the glass or the method of pour. And yes, no frosty mug.... I prefer a freshly rinsed, room temp Pilsner glass (Bitburger in my case as it's really big, and gives me room for a foamy head.

To calculate your priming sugar amounts I suggest:
http://kotmf.com/tools/prime.php and the temperature you should use is the serving temperature of your beer.

 

[FlyingHumanoid]

Wouldn't an over-carbonation issue be noticeable as soon as the bottle is opened?

 

[jollytim]

Not necessarily. Temperature plays a huge part. Gushers may be indicative of another problem altogether. You can carbonate to any number of volumes, some of which may be too much for a specific style, and still not present a problem just by opening the bottle.

 

[devilishprune]

How old are the beers? If they are too young, then all of the CO2 hasn't dissolved into solution and they will foam up like crazy when you pour them.

 

[Yooper]

You could try using less priming sugar. I use 4 ounces (by weight) for 5 gallons of finished beer.

Pouring into a frosted mug will cause a ton of foamy head, though. So I bet that's the problem. To see what I mean, pour a warm pepsi into a frosted mug. If your beer is warmer than the frosted mug, it'll foam up quite a bit.

 

[Rossnaree]

When I was a little kid (I'm still a kid at 52 but not so little anymore!), I remember the old guys... some liked a big head on their beer, some considered a lot of head a curse. The ones that disliked a head always rinsed their glass immediately before a pour and had almost no head.

 

[l1ranger]

don't frost the mugs and see what happens

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

You should try using a bottle priming calculator that includes a carbonation level guide for the major beer styles. It may also help if you include your recipe so we can look over your grain and extract additions...

Screwy's Bottle Priming Calculator

 

[IrregularPulse]

dumb question, but are you tilting the glass too and pouring down the side as apposed to right down the middle? I'm suspecting the frosted mug as well. It's just your beer telling you it doesn't want to be that cold because it wants you to actually taste it

 

[VTBrewer]

Frosty mugs definitely would play a role in it. If i use one I run the base of my palm up and down the glass a few times, essentially "defrostin" a little path to pour the beer into the glass.

 

[Brewmiser]

I had a batch of overly heady beer once, I drank most from the bottle so It wasn't an issue but I put a few in the freezer for a few mins before opening. it seems the cold temp help control the head.

I never thought getting too much head would every be a problem!

 

[slyjeremybrewer]

Wow that's a lot of great advice, thanks for the help guys! I'll try the unfrosted glass first. I don't think it's the carbing agent, I use 3/4 cup to a 5 gal batch. Does anyone know of any additives for the boil to help the problem?

 

[CDbrews]

I never thought getting too much head would every be a problem!

I cant believe it took 19 posts to get to this joke!

 

[FlyingHumanoid]

Not necessarily. Temperature plays a huge part. Gushers may be indicative of another problem altogether. You can carbonate to any number of volumes, some of which may be too much for a specific style, and still not present a problem just by opening the bottle.

Thank you. I shall look deeper into this subject.

 

[VTBrewer]

Hmmm...while replying to another post I had a thought about this one. How many bottles are you getting from your 5 gallon batch, and of what size?

 

[logan3825]

I used to frost mugs until it was pointed out that a frosted mug will cause condensation and water down your beer. I also prefer my beer a little warmer so I can actually taste it. That is if I am not drinking a Miller product. The frost away. I don't want to taste it.

 

[mwear]

I have the same issue with my latest pale ale. The beer tastes great. It just has annoyingly excessive head. I assume this is an issue with too much priming sugar/malt.

 

[jmisiewicz]

Not necessarily. Temperature plays a huge part. Gushers may be indicative of another problem altogether. You can carbonate to any number of volumes, some of which may be too much for a specific style, and still not present a problem just by opening the bottle.

My first batch was good two weeks after priming. Now it gushes like a Volcano when I open one. Any clue what is up?

 

[Beernik]

I made a wee heavy last year. It poured with 7 inches of head - basically the entire pint glass. It would take me 15 minutes to all the beer into the glass.

I don't know what the F*** I did to it, but every bottle was that way.