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Little to no head


Anthony Dalton

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Hey all,

just thought I'd post and seek some feedback.

Over the weekend we knocked over a couple of kegs of the Top End Crisp Lager. It tasted great, however struggled to hold its head. The beer was well and truly carbonated, so no issues with flatness, it poured OK, but after about a minute following pouring, the head had all but disappeared. I was wondering why this would be the case.

Cheers!

Anthony

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Hey Anthony,

A bunch of variables can affect head retention. Are your glasses clean? How cold is the beer? How cold is the glass?

The Top End Crisp Lager is light on for malt and therefore proteins. It's these proteins that help produce and support the head.

You could improve the head on this recipe by adding some maltodextrin to the start of the brew. Something like 80g. It's a non fermentable adjunct and can assist with body, mouthfeel and head retention.

Take a look at the following:

https://beerandbrewing.com/ask-the-experts-improving-head-retention-for-your-beer/

 

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Thanks Dustin and Captain for the heads up. I will try that next time I do this brew. It's not a brewprint I would normally make, but I have several mates who drink mid strength, so I like to have it around if they visit. A few of the boys did suggest glass temperature was a factor, but I tried glasses from the freezer, fridge and cupboard and all were the same.

Thanks again

Anthony

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9 minutes ago, Anthony Dalton said:

tried glasses from the freezer, fridge and cupboard and all were the same.

If your glasses are cleaned using detergent then it doesn’t matter where they are from as the film detergent leaves will flatten your beer in no time.

If this is the case clean your glasses in hot water using a fresh cloth and then after use just rinse the glass out.

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I've done four brews so far on the Droid and every one of them has lacked head retention. I've made sure my glasses are 'beer clean'. I've overcarbed my brews in the keg just to check. My personal opinion is it's the brewprints on first glance. 

Especially after experiencing all grain brewing.

Thoughts?

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23 minutes ago, Hambone said:

I've done four brews so far on the Droid and every one of them has lacked head retention. I've made sure my glasses are 'beer clean'. I've overcarbed my brews in the keg just to check. My personal opinion is it's the brewprints on first glance. 

Especially after experiencing all grain brewing.

Thoughts?

I would tend to disagree. I don’t believe it’s the ingredients. I don’t have a problem with head retention and like others the many photos posted would support that.

What can cause poor head retention:-

. Dirty glass

. Film on inside of glass eg detergent

. Warm glass causing Co2 to escape quickly

. What’s on your lips/mouth. Eating and drinking together particularly if salt or oil is involved. Eating with beer - potato chips, hot chips, peanuts and all sorts of nibbles can be a big problem.

. Not rinsing your glass straight away, meaning the beer has dried on the inside of the glass and just by rinsing doesn’t quite remove it, a brush or clean unused cloth is required. Note most pubs use a glass brush before putting into the hot water washer.

. Reusing the glass straight away.

Now an interesting thing is that poor head retention does not mean your beer is flat. Us Aussie’s are very particular about having a head on the beer but on a headless beer there can be good bubble activity in the beer. I love the beer head and lacing so always attempt to achieve that.

Now someone on this forum had a problem with head retention and went through all the beer glasses and cleaned/brushed all of the and solved the problem.

Something like this is great (I use a 3 prong one ever 4 to 5 weeks)

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Cleaning-Bottle-Glass-Brush-Sink-Suction-Cup-Base-Kitchen-Wine-Cup-Cleaner-/393622922154?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=705-154756-20017-0

 

 

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1 hour ago, Captain 3 Droids said:

I would tend to disagree. I don’t believe it’s the ingredients. I don’t have a problem with head retention and like others the many photos posted would support that.

What can cause poor head retention:-

. Dirty glass

. Film on inside of glass eg detergent

. Warm glass causing Co2 to escape quickly

. What’s on your lips/mouth. Eating and drinking together particularly if salt or oil is involved. Eating with beer - potato chips, hot chips, peanuts and all sorts of nibbles can be a big problem.

. Not rinsing your glass straight away, meaning the beer has dried on the inside of the glass and just by rinsing doesn’t quite remove it, a brush or clean unused cloth is required. Note most pubs use a glass brush before putting into the hot water washer.

. Reusing the glass straight away.

Now an interesting thing is that poor head retention does not mean your beer is flat. Us Aussie’s are very particular about having a head on the beer but on a headless beer there can be good bubble activity in the beer. I love the beer head and lacing so always attempt to achieve that.

Now someone on this forum had a problem with head retention and went through all the beer glasses and cleaned/brushed all of the and solved the problem.

Something like this is great (I use a 3 prong one ever 4 to 5 weeks)

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Cleaning-Bottle-Glass-Brush-Sink-Suction-Cup-Base-Kitchen-Wine-Cup-Cleaner-/393622922154?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=705-154756-20017-0

 

 

Great thanks for the info. The quest continues.

Cheers

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