Head retention

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BrewStew

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I notice my stouts are losing their head retention as they approach their maximum Co2 absorption for 20PSI at 18-20c, which is a shame because i'm starting to prefer them slightly fizzy :(

I do think a stout looks more appealing with a nice finely beaded head on it, a la Guinness. but i also reckon it tastes better too.

have you guys got any recommendation as to what i can to do keep the head going until the last sip? as it's barely lasting to the third at the moment.


cheers
 
I like torrified wheat for head retention, I also like the subtle flavour that it gives especially in an dark beer, having said that at higher pressure not sure how it works and of course am unsure if you already use TW?
 
nope, never tried Torrified Wheat.

How much do you add for a 5 gal brew? can you describe the taste it adds?
 
Brew

5% is about right, i find it adds a sweet smooth taste to the finished product, give it a go :cool:
 
thanks for the tip ;)

the taRd came out far superior to the Genius, and even with the 120min mash it had in addition to 500g Wheat Malt, i'm willing to give it another blast. but it did come out just a tiny little bit on the sweet side, in a nice way though!, would you reccomend adding more hops if i add TW to balance the sweetness? this stuff is even more quaffable than the genius, but it's already coming out at over 5%, If i reduced the Maris Otter to compensate for the TW do you think it would still retain the flavour, but be less brain bashing? hehe
 
I sort of decide if I want TW in a brew, i.e. am i after something with a sweet creamy taste and if I do make sure it's 5% TW

I made a mild that it worked very well in :grin:
 
If you want a really fine tight head BS you're going to have to change to a nitrogen mix on the gas front.
That is assuming your glasses are clean and that you don't have grease on your lips prior to the head going :shock:
 
I gave serious consideration to Mixed gas when i got a refill on friday.

I thought against it because i want to try to achieve out of the tap, what i could achieve out of the bottle.

When i've made the upgrade to a 20gal brewery i'll be wanting to bottle a quarter to half of my brews (i guess you can see the reasoning behind my wanting for a bottle washer now ;)) but i want the very same (or as similar as i can get) taste and mouthfeel between the two, so decided against mixed gas.

I'm not bothered as to whether the head is exactly like Guinness, as to be honest i'm achieving something pretty darn close with CO2 (as per a post i made on another forum that i believe you read ;)) I just want it to last more than 3 gulps hehe. if it compliments the stout, then all the better :D
 
My fave stouts are the oatmeal variety.
Due to the high oil content in oats it's quite a hard balancing act to get a good head with all those oats present.
I recently made an oatmeal stout with an addition of 10% flaked barley to try and overcome the lack of head retention in my OS. It did make the head last longer but it wasn't as tight as the OS made without it.

If you look into the subject you could be adding allsorts to aid in head retention.
My best advice is serve slightly colder then normal and allow to warm up slightly before drinking, that seems to work best for me.
 
that sounds like a good plan actually because i am currently serving from an un-refrigerated bar. as soon as i get a fridge for the bar i'll try serving at a typical cellar temperature.

the taRd recipe included flaked barley. it went as follows:

Batch Size (L): 23.00
Total Grain (kg): 5.750

Efficiency between 75 and 80% (a guestimate as i've not worked it out yet)

Mash Time: 120mins @ 66 deg C
Grain/Extract/Sugar
3.750 kg. Pale Malt - Maris Otter
1.000 kg. Flaked Barley
0.500 kg. Crushed Roast Barley
0.500 kg. Wheat Malt

Hops
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes
70.0g Northern Brewer Hops (60 minutes Boil)

5g Irish Moss Fining 15 Min. (boil)

Yeast
Safale 04

hit 1.053 after watering down (i fly sparged) <- edited after double checking my notes
 
That recipe contains 26% head improving ingredients...you'll be hard pushed to increase that figure without detriment to the overall recipe.
I'd defo look at serving suggestions.
 
okeydoke.

I'll try a run of the stuff in the fridge next time.

do you think i can lose half a kilo of flaked barley without losing taste? I want to bring the strength down a bit
 
BrewStew said:
do you think i can lose half a kilo of flaked barley without losing taste? I want to bring the strength down a bit
Click to expand...

:shock: :shock: :shock: What!!!

Poofy girl alert. :shock:

Add half kilo more and make it stronger.
:twisted:

Then no one will notice the lack of head. :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
this is intended to be a session beer mate :D can't be a session if no one can manage more than 4 pints! haha

i'll cut to the chase and admit that i'm actually thinking about entering this baby into competition once i think i've cracked it :), it's that good already! but i think it could be more ;)
 
do you think i can lose half a kilo of flaked barley without losing taste?
Click to expand...

I reckon so. IMO flaked barley doesn't add much to the flavour anyway. I used it at 10% in my last OS and didn't notice much difference from a brew with none.
 
Now that the hot weather has passed both the Genius and taRd are pouring with very decent heads, and it's lasting to about halfway down.

my kegs are now at 18c.

I think you're right about serving temperatures :grin:
 

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