No Head Retention -Can't Understand Why?

[nigebeer]

Hi all,

I just had a taste of the hop back summer lightning that I bottled two weeks ago, and although it tastes very nice there is no head at all, it is carbonated but the head disappears quickly leaving not even a frothy trace,this is strange because I added some torrified wheat when mashing, as I read that this helps with the head retention, but it is worst than the beers I have made without the wheat.

Any suggestions or comments greatly welcome

[dave-o]

Complete ingredient list please!

[crookedeyeboy]

Ive got a very similar problem. Lovely head when poured but dies away.

[trucker5774]

I bottle all my beers. I have never had a decent head worth talking about, even on some of the beers I consider over carbonated. Sometimes I serve my beer through a beer engine (pumped from the bottle) while this gives a great head it is still short lived.I have since paid more attention to draught ale in the pubs.............most do not retain the head I thought they did in my memory!!

Wish I knew the answer to consistant head

[crookedeyeboy]

There must be some way of improving it to get those lovely tiny little bubbles that stick to the glass.
I thought the answer may well be a beer engine but obviously not...

You are not deceived by your memory...if you go out and have a lovely pint of Deuchars IPA theres a lovely creamy head all the way through it...maybe they are cheating using some PGA solution or something...

[OldSpeckledBadger]

A bit obvious but make sure that your glass is thoroughly rinsed so that there's not a trace of washing-up liquid on it. Don't rely on leaving it to drain as that will leave some washing up liquid on there.

[trucker5774]

Yeah some beers are great. It's just that I tend to think all of them keep a good head and that's not the case. The beer engine does make a huge difference, particularly with a fine sparkler on it. It is also important to make sure there is no residue of washing up liquid.

Doh....OSB beat me to the last bit

[Dr. Dextrin]

Washing up liquid and grease are often blamed, but if you do manage to brew a beer with a good head you'll probably find neither of these really has very much effect on it. Maybe they'll make a difference if the head is marginal, though.

Personally, I tend to use wheat malt instead of torrified wheat. I find it works better for head retention, although it does have a stronger taste. You can use a mixture of both if the taste worries you. I also find it harder to get a good head on a high-alcohol beer than one with a lower ABV.

[Jim]

What's the bubble size like? Rumour has it that slow conditioning (and a long maturation period) make the bubbles smaller, and the head formed with them more stable. The worst-case scenario would be a rapidly force carbonated cornie of beer.

[nigebeer]

Hi,

Summer Lightning

Thanks for the interesting replies, the ingredient list was as follows:-
Water treatment
for brew length of 23 litres

4.99kg of pale malt
0.23kg torrified wheat
46gms challenger hops at start 90min
16gms goldings for last 10min
11 gm goldings at 80deg after flameout
safale S-04 yeast

90 Min mash@66deg C
90 min boil
SG 1.052

The brew fermented out to 1.012 in approx 7days, as mentioned earlier it has been in bottles for 3 weeks now, it tastes good but it is still not clear.

[trucker5774]

I has great clear beer most of the time. I use protafloc in the boiler and no other form of finings. My ber is usually claer about a week after bottling and just gets brighter with time. HOWEVER.......as soon as I chill it below about 10C I get a haze (before anyone jumps on me, yes I know that is a littler cooler than normal for some ales )

[bacchus]

Probably you are not chilling your wort quickly enough so there is no cold break, when the proteins precipitate out, causing a chill haze.
See the xcellent Mr Palmer http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter7-4.html

[Capped]

I can't understand this. Don't wanna make you feel worse but all my ales without exception have good,tight heads which chase the beer down the glass,even if it takes an hour to sup. Makes no difference if 'head-enhancing' ingredients are used or not. I bottle everything and almost always employ low priming rates,such that the hiss when a cap is popped is very subdued. I pour the ale down the side of the glass,then pour the last quarter in from a height of six inches or so to generate the head. All I can think of is that there's something in (or not!) your water,or has already been pointed out,traces of grease/detergent in the glass. Thinking back,we used to have a dishwasher,and head retention wasn't as good then. Before I use my pint pot it gets washed by hand and very,very thouroughly rinsed,but don't bother drying it.

[sam c]

i find that the beers i leave for 5 weeks plus start to get a good tight head that lasts half way down the glass leaving a trace behind. this is not always the case but generally my head retention is better with maturation. the trick is to get a good stock of beers up so you can let them mature longer and still have beers to drink

[trucker5774]

I think water make play a part here. I made a Wherry kit about 5 months ago (to see what all the fuss was about) That was made with water straight from the tap and has always had a good head. My regular All Grain brews vary in terms of head but are never brilliant straight from the bottle. I have tried a few different water treatments and I am about to try bottled water for the first time. I usually have a good cold break with lots of matter forming clumps in the boiler, even if I have steeped late hops for 30 mins.
I have beers (drinking ) ranging from 2 weeks to 6 months. There seems to be no difference (in terms of head)