Anthony Dalton Posted January 23, 2022 Report Share Posted January 23, 2022 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Frothman Posted January 23, 2022 Report Share Posted January 23, 2022 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/ 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain 3 Droids Posted January 23, 2022 Report Share Posted January 23, 2022 Spot on. Make sure you dissolve the Maltodextrin in some water first as it won’t dissolve if added directly in the droid. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Dalton Posted January 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2022 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain 3 Droids Posted January 23, 2022 Report Share Posted January 23, 2022 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Dalton Posted January 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2022 Thanks Captain, Only ever rinse them in hot water, appreciative for the advice pertaining to maltodextrin. Cheers! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hambone Posted January 24, 2022 Report Share Posted January 24, 2022 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain 3 Droids Posted January 24, 2022 Report Share Posted January 24, 2022 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hambone Posted January 24, 2022 Report Share Posted January 24, 2022 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Frothman Posted January 25, 2022 Report Share Posted January 25, 2022 6 hours ago, Hambone said: Great thanks for the info. The quest continues. Cheers I’ve found that dry hopping the Brewprints improves head retention. I dry hop most brews and am getting fairly consistent results. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillies Brewing Posted January 26, 2022 Report Share Posted January 26, 2022 I also would like to complain about getting little to no head. Wait - what? We're talking about beer? ohhhh, nah I haven't tried any of my homebrews yet... 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Frothman Posted January 28, 2022 Report Share Posted January 28, 2022 On 26/1/2022 at 11:58 PM, Gillies Brewing said: I also would like to complain about getting little to no head. Wait - what? We're talking about beer? ohhhh, nah I haven't tried any of my homebrews yet... Ahhh yes marriage … 🥺 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Courtney Posted January 28, 2022 Report Share Posted January 28, 2022 On 26/01/2022 at 11:58 PM, Gillies Brewing said: I also would like to complain about getting little to no head. Wait - what? We're talking about beer? ohhhh, nah I haven't tried any of my homebrews yet... I'd like to point out, for once, I was the grown up here 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Courtney Posted January 28, 2022 Report Share Posted January 28, 2022 To the subject though, Maltodextrin has made a world of difference for me. Granted, there are some glasses that are worse than others for retention but I have not had the issues since adding 50gms to each droid 3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Dalton Posted April 24, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2022 Thank you to all who recommended the maltodextrin, tried it in my second batch of Top End Crisp Lager. It worked a treat. Cheers! Anthony 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Frothman Posted April 24, 2022 Report Share Posted April 24, 2022 1 hour ago, Anthony Dalton said: Thank you to all who recommended the maltodextrin, tried it in my second batch of Top End Crisp Lager. It worked a treat. Cheers! Anthony Great result! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Courtney Posted April 24, 2022 Report Share Posted April 24, 2022 6 hours ago, Anthony Dalton said: Thank you to all who recommended the maltodextrin, tried it in my second batch of Top End Crisp Lager. It worked a treat. Cheers! Anthony That is what I like about this forum, peoplke getting brewing problems solved 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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