Smoked porter - no head

[thehorse]

So, I've cracked open the first bottle of my first ever extract brew. I couldn't be more pleased with the taste: it's genuinely up there with the Beavertown smoked porter I was aiming for, with added freshness from the Columbus and Cascade hops, mimicking what the Kernel used to use in Export India Porter. But, while it has carbonated, there is no head to speak of. I did use flaked barley among the grains, added priming sugar and put it in the warm for a week followed by two weeks in a cool place. Any idea what I may have got wrong or could do differently?

 

[MyQul]

I dont care about head on my beer so usually clean my FV with washing up liquid. This normally destroys the head (interestingly enough the surficants in the washing up liquid also severely retard the krausen). Did you have any washing up liquid anywhere near your brewing kit or the glass you poured your beer into?

 

[thehorse]

I don't think so. Cleaned the FV with kitchen cleaner, then sterilised and rinsed.

 

[Leon103]

Perhaps it needed longer in the warm after priming

 

[sponge_]

Probably just young. Store at room temp for a few more weeks and re-assess. If it is still lacking head, let us know.

You can always throw in a bit of steeped carapils to aid with head retention.

 

[lukehgriffiths]

I clean my FV with washing up liquid but never had head problems. Give the glass a good clean and dry it and try a few more bottles in the name of science! (I have had bottles where some seem to pour better than others)

 

[TheRedDarren]

How would longer at room temp improve the head?

 

[JapanBrew]

I'm with sponge!!! Porters and stouts need lots of time to grow. I usually get my winter stouts and porters going in July so come the holidays, I got some great aged dark beers.

 

[sponge_]

Similar to aging in a keg, but I find the CO2 dissolves into smaller bubbles and a tighter head after a bit of time. If you pour two identical beers, one aged for 2 weeks, the other 2 months, you may find they have the same level of carbonation but (more often than not) I find much smaller bubbles in the aged beer with big bubbles and a head that dissipates quickly in the younger beer.

I'm unsure of the science behind this and is purely from many years of experience and observation.

Glass type and cleaning regime will affect head as well, but you can at least rule that out by pouring a different beer in and seeing how the head holds up.

 

[JapanBrew]

Glasses matter. If you have a sandblaster, who doesn't, you can scratch the bottom of even the cheapest glass and it will keep the head strong on some beers as well as aroma.