Too much head

[Saskbrewer]

So I brewed an Irish stout, the gravity was spot on when I bottled it, I let it sit for close to 2 months and it does taste great. But has an excessive amount of head when I pour it. Any thoughts on how/why this happened?

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Two most common causes other than pouring prowess:

To much priming sugar
Fermentation was not complete at bottling

Much further down the list is infection but it happens.

So give us details about the recipe, bottling process, method to determine fermentation was complete, etc,

 

[treacheroustexan]

I would say too much priming sugar. If you used a kit to brew this and used all of the priming sugar ( i think they normally give 5oz) that's usually too much in my opinion. I only normally use a couple ounces depending on the style.

PS.. this is the only place I hear people complain about getting too much head.. nerds!

 

[Saskbrewer]

It still tastes really good so I don't think it's infected, it was a grain kit so if anything too much sugar, but I'm hoping in the next month to start buying bulk ingredients and begin brewing my own recipes.

 

[b-boy]

I used to use 5oz per 5-gallon batch because that's what the kits had.

I got a few batches like yours, so now I do 4oz and my beer comes out perfect.

 

[watermelon83]

no such thing

 

[fun4stuff]

That's what she said

 

[FatDragon]

Okay, this has gone on long enough! A thread titled "Too much head" has been up for over an hour, and nobody has given a correct answer...

Options include:

- Too much head? And you're saying that's a bad thing?
- You can never have too much head!
- Too much head? Think your SWMBO could give mine some pointers?

...and so on.

Spoke too soon. Well done, HBT!

On topic, a stout is often carbonated a bit lower than many other beers. I would probably suggest 3 oz. of priming sugar for five gallons of beer (or calculating to around 1.8-2.0 volumes), because you probably don't want a ton of effervescence in a stout. As for the excessive head (on the poured beer ), I notice I get that issue far more often if I don't properly refrigerate my brews for a couple days in advance of drinking them. How long was this one chilling? A careful pour can make a lot of difference as well.

 

[soccerdad]

Yeah - you prob needed 3 oz or less to prime a stout.

But keep the thread going as long as you can - it will obviously drive many of us into a fit of jealous rage

 

[PatrickGoss]

This thread was not what I was hoping for.

I did 5 oz of priming sugar on a kit porter once. The beers I drank at a week (too soon) were perfect but by three weeks I couldn't put a 12 ounce bottle into a pint glass. If you get them very cold, pop them open and immediately re-cap, it can relieve some of the carbonation but still be carbonated enough for the style. Easier than that, open the bottle twenty minutes before you pour it in a glass.