Head "cracks" on hand pulled beer

[simon_george]

I brewed an all-grain London Pride clone for xmas that I've kegged and am pouring through a handpump with a sparkler. At first the head looks great but part way down, it "cracks" into distinct regions as pictured (hard to describe but looks like an ice floe). I've seen this on a pub pint before (but very rarely) and had thought it a sign of a beer past it's best. The beer doesn't taste disgusting or sour but not great either so I'm likely to ditch it. I'm assuming an infection of some kind - any ideas ? My process is usually pretty solid and hasn't gone awol before (grainfather, temp controlled fermentation in an SS brewbucket, O2 avoidance, etc) however with this one I didn't make a yeast starter and the WLP002 I used took 3 days to start working (though hit target FG 1.014 from 1.047 OG).

Thanks for any advice ! Simon

https://photos.app.goo.gl/kghyhdgz46NT5NJYA

[Jim]

Hi Simon, and welcome.

It looks to me as though there's some yeast (or other solids) floating about in there that's getting pulled up into the head. I suppose it could be a wild or mutated yeast rather than the one you fermented with, but how long have you left this one after secondary fermentation? Maybe it just hasn't cleared properly yet?

[simon_george]

Hi - thanks for the reply The beer had been "conditioning" in the corny for 4 weeks prior to pouring and the pint in the picture is the 4th or 5th off it so any crud that collected at the bottom should have been pulled through by now ? I guess it's unlikely to get any better and so I'll treat it as an excuse to get another brew on the go (making a starter this time and using something other than WLP002).

(I said "conditioning" as it had fully fermented prior to kegging which wasn't my intention - although I've brewed quite a few "craft" beers this is only my second "cask" beer).

Cheers, Simon

[Jim]

I missed that you used WLP002 - that stuff drops like a stone, so unlikely to be yeast sediment (unless a lot collected at the bottom of the cornie.

You don't need an excuse to get another brew on surely.

[simon_george]

> You don't need an excuse to get another brew on surely.

Ha - not usually

[IPA]

It certainly does not look very clear. My advice to stop anything being drawn up from the bottom of the keg is fit a float take off. You will have bright beer from the first to the last glass. That is of course if the beer is bright to start with.

[simon_george]

It's not the clearest no - I normally brew hazy hoppy keg beers so haven't been working on my clarity much. Thanks for the float tip, might try that in future.

[WalesAles]

You don't need an excuse to get another brew on surely.

Don`t call him Shirley!

WA

[london_lhr]

"to stop anything being drawn up from the bottom of the keg is fit a float take off."

You can also give your keg a swirl and then let the beer settle with the keg at an angle with the "beer post" of the keg uppermost.
That way any solids will settle in the opposite side of the keg and give you clear beer.
Use a piece of wood on the "beer post" side of the keg.

[IPA]

"to stop anything being drawn up from the bottom of the keg is fit a float take off."

You can also give your keg a swirl and then let the beer settle with the keg at an angle with the "beer post" of the keg uppermost.
That way any solids will settle in the opposite side of the keg and give you clear beer.
Use a piece of wood on the "beer post" side of the keg.

I cannot see how that would work efficiently because the bottom of a cornie keg is concave and the end of the out pipe sits in the middle of the keg. The cheapest float take off is the one supplied by Ballihoo and costs less than a fiver. You do need to replace the included pvc hose with a 60 cm length of silicone hose and install a short gas in pipe. Easily obtainable from Aliexpress. Do not cut the long out tube as they are rarer than hens teeth should you ever wish to sell the cornie.

[orlando]

Does the Beer clear when it warms up? If not it could be a biological haze i.e. some kind of infection.

[f00b4r]

Do not cut the long out tube as they are rarer than hens teeth should you ever wish to sell the cornie.

Nowadays the long beer out ones are pretty easily to get hold of but I would still agree with IPA if you go the float route, as the short ones you need for a float are dirt cheap.

[orlando]

Further proof, if any is needed, that there is not a lot new under the sun, try this thread for disccussions on the virtues of a floating dip tube. See my post on page 3 for a couple of links to particularly cheap versions.

[bobj]

I recently had the exact same issue on an ale fermented with WLP006 (Bedford). The attenuation got up to 85% - and there was a bit of clove in the profile - so I'm thinking something along the lines of infection.

[orlando]

I recently had the exact same issue on an ale fermented with WLP006 (Bedford). The attenuation got up to 85% - and there was a bit of clove in the profile - so I'm thinking something along the lines of infection.

Not necessarily, some yeasts can throw phenolic notes when stressed.