Getting better head.

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calumscott

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Something we all crave but sadly so far I'm left wanting...

Eight kit brews in and lovely drinkable results from each but the one thing they all have on common is no real head.

To be fair I could happily prime a bit heavier as I do quite like a bit of fizz but even then I don't reckon the head would hold.

So how does a chap get better head?
 
With AG beers I have always been told to add wheat malt to the beer, or torrified wheat. However all beers I have done (including 3 wheat beers) have yet to hold a nice tight head even thru a sparkler. My glasses are uber clean and my dishwasher is renovated regularly to remove grease before washing glasses only. I suspect time is the true key as I tend to still drink quite young after 4 weeks from kegging.

Does wheat improve :shock: head?
 
dishwasher soap leaves a glass shine residue on glasses, always rinse in fresh and dry with clean tea-towel, also the gentle pour is fine until the end then lift if needed for a little splash and help in head formation, that's my technique and i get decent lasting heads most of the time from my bottled coopers kits,(usually 500g dry malt extract and 500 brewing sugar )
 
I use a dish washer to sanitise my bottles but I have no rinse agent in when I use it but iv had no problems with head I would agree that you just to give your beer more time ;-)
 
Mine are all hand washed being as I don't have a dishwasher.

I'm only a lowly kit brewer at the moment and I've heard you don't nececssarily get such a good head with them but I would expect something! I get a reasonable carb with the 1/2 tsp per bottle so there's gas in the beer. I just don't seem to have bubble integrity.

Can tap water quality cause problems? Should I start down the camden tablet route for the next ones do you think?

FWIW, the very green admiral's reserve that I opened last night seemed to have a bit of promise on the head front. Could it just be that my setup, process and water just isn't right for getting a decent head on a one-can kit brew?
 
Give THIS a listen for some useful ideas.

I swear I could listen to Dr Bamforth talking all day long, so full of knowledge.
 
Maybe if all else fails. I'm a horrid purist when it comes to making stuff...

...even though I'm brewing beer from cans! The idea for me is to get everything working as well as I can without adding stuff to my beer. That way when I make the move to grain brewing I'll have the knowledge to tinker with recipes to get them right too.

But if I've tried everything and I'm still not getting anywhere, I'll give anything a try!
 
Adding some Maltodextrin to kit brews, especially single tin kits adds body and aids head retention...

100 ~ 200 grams in addition to the normal sugars / fermentables works well.

:cheers:
 
I am a little "foxed" (as the antiquary book dealers say) at present ...remind me ...maltodextrin - NON fermentable sugar ? :drunk: :wha:
 
+1 for Runwell Steve's suggestion, I used to have flat beer for the first pint or so and then it got better, I stopped putting my beer glasses in the dishwasher and started to clean them in the sink after using them and the head just got better and stays with the pint all the way down.

good luck anyhow :cheers:

Colin.
 
shocker said:
I am a little "foxed" (as the antiquary book dealers say) at present ...remind me ...maltodextrin - NON fermentable sugar ? :drunk: :wha:

Yes only 3% fermentable but unlike lactose etc it's not sweet so doesnt really change the taste much just adds body and aids head retention. I get mine from a sports suppliment place ... 9 quid for a 3 kilo drum.

:cheers:
 
So, I've opened one or three of my first premium kit (Woodfordes Admirals Reserve) and it's still young but it has by far the best head of anything I've done so far. Still not great but I do expect it will get better with a bit of age.

The next one to go in the bucket is another from the same stable, a St Peter's RRA. The results of that might be interesting. I think I'll also go back and brew another can of something I've already done, maybe a Coopers IPA, and prime it a little heavier and leave it a little longer and see what happens.

I have also been bottling straight from the primary FV so I end up with a decent yeast pack in the bottle and have to pour quite carefully, the more careful the pour the less the starting head. I think I might also rack before bottling as I now have a second FV. Smaller yeast pack, less likelyhood of a cloudy pint so a quicker pour to generate a head. Slightly fizzier beer from a bigger prime should still retain a bit of fizz in the pint...

Does all that sound sensible?
 
If this was all grain I'd say add about 1 to 1.5% carapils to the grain bill. This is a modified malt which adds complex dextrins (dextrin malt) to the beer. This adds to mouthfeel and head retention.
 
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