Head retention.

[An Ankoù]

So to summarise, head retention....carapils, clean glass, drink faster.

edit, eat exceedingly good cakes!

.... and some wheat, in some form, in the mash.
Sorry. It was a kit. Wasn't paying attention.
What kits are you making, by the way?

 

[chillipickle]

OB that’s by far the most logical solution so far.

 

[Horners]

Someone of this parish also used to swear by a bit of flaked barley in the grist.

 

[foxbat]

My barreled beer forms a nice head immediately after pouring, but very soon disappears before the last drop from the glass is drunk. Is there something that I can add to my kit brews to help retain a nice beer hugging glass froth. When I drink beer bought in a pub, the head clings to the glass right to the last drop. I would like to emulate this with my brews.

Your glass is the most likely culprit. Make sure it's 'beer clean' (link)

 

[Clint]

On the subject of Mr Kipling - I have an amazing claim to fame

My younger brother was originally fostered by my parents who then adopted him - well

his birth mum's sister's husband's dad was the man who used to say in the ad "Mr. Kipling does make exceedingly good cakes"

Beat that

I made Patrick Moore's monacle...

 

[foxy]

I have shaken hands with a man who shook hands with the man who shook the world.
On a serious note, carapils and slow low temperature conditioning will do the trick. But you still need a clean glass.

 

[BigAlBrewer]

Kit beers? Have a search for PGA which you can add at bottling/ packaging. Otherwise make sure everything you use is clean, don't use normal dish detergents etc.

Cheers for that, I’ll look into it.

 

[The Baron]

I made Patrick Moore's monacle...

I was born with 3 legs on the Isle of Man Beat that

 

[CD]

As others have said, some wheat in the mash and no trace of detergent on the glass produces the best 'lacing'. One that has just been in a dishwasher isn't good in my experience.
'Claims to Fame' should probably have a different thread in The Snug. Mine is that I once bought Acker Bilk a Gin and Lime - after offering to buy him a beer!

 

[Clint]

As others have said, some wheat in the mash and no trace of detergent on the glass produces the best 'lacing'. One that has just been in a dishwasher isn't good in my experience.
'Claims to Fame' should probably have a different thread in The Snug. Mine is that I once bought Acker Bilk a Gin and Lime - after offering to buy him a beer!

Good idea for a thread CD!

 

[Ale House Rock]

I don't know what kit you brewed but with some, head retention improves with a few months conditioning.

 

[Skello]

On the subject of Mr Kipling - I have an amazing claim to fame

My younger brother was originally fostered by my parents who then adopted him - well

his birth mum's sister's husband's dad was the man who used to say in the ad "Mr. Kipling does make exceedingly good cakes"

Beat that

Well, my younger sister once stopped Justin Rose (the golfer) mid round at the Open to ask for his autograph.
He was still an amateur at the time and must have only been 17 or so himself. It was just as he was starting to be talked about as the next big thing in golf.
All of this was broadcast live on TV too, the best part was Peter Alliss (RIP) who was commentating at the time and said ‘and here is Justin Rose stopping for a young fan, treasure that autograph young man’ or something similar I can’t quite remember. She was not amused!
Back on topic, a bit of carapils or wheat in the mash. As it’s a kit, as others have said, steep some and then add to the malt extract. Also a clean glass does wonders! Conditioning too helps massively. I’ve had hefeweizens that wouldn’t retain their head until they had been bottle conditioned for 2 months, witchcraft happens and the head forms and stays like magic.

 

[clib]

Grains, hops and yeast all contribute to head formation and retention.

- Adding hops to kits is a no brainer for me, they put oils and compounds into the beer that lift the beer, even if the flavour impact is low, like in a stout. And they do boost the head.
- Adding grains is a very good idea too, for similar reasons. Steep some carapils or crystal malt, maybe 200g, in some hot water for 20/30 minutes.
- Yeast health is also a big and overlooked factor, a weak fermentation tends to result in poor foam, I think. And some strains seem to promote foam more than others, in my experience.

 

[Bill_g]

I have all the above problems with head retention. Certainly a good clean glass rinsed before filling helps. Also have used Cara Pils, Torrified Wheat or rolled oats in various brews which helps too.
I wonder if it also has a lot to do with the dispensing nozzle. i.e. a real ale is delivered at very low carbonation but often pushed through a nozzle on the hand pump which creates a fine head with very small bubbles. When I pour a pint from my keg fridge I get a nice head but the bubbles are releatively large compared to those created by a hand pump.
(By the way I'm disgusted by all the members who think they are being funny and have almost wrecked this interesting and relevant thread. Far too much of this on this whole forum for my taste )

 

[colliefish]

My barreled beer forms a nice head immediately after pouring, but very soon disappears before the last drop from the glass is drunk. Is there something that I can add to my kit brews to help retain a nice beer hugging glass froth. When I drink beer bought in a pub, the head clings to the glass right to the last drop. I would like to emulate this with my brews.

I can’t comment on barrelled as I’ve only done bottles or corni kegs.
i mainly kit brew and get really good head retention with no additions to assist. I force carb my kegs to 30 psi for a couple of weeks making sure u shake them on the initial gassing for 5 minutes. Then chill for a few days. Gas again then leave as long as I can.
usually a couple of weeks. Seems to work for me.
I know washing up liquid destroys the head but my glasses just go through the dishwasher. Seems to be ok. I guess the dw must have a good rinse cycle.

 

[CD]

This is what nice lacing should look like, and the beer was poured the simplest way possible – by gravity straight from the tap of a basic pressure barrel. It has also been at precisely atmospheric pressure for a week, which is how it will stay for as long as it takes me to finish it. It is called Draught Beer!

 

[Sadfield]

What kits are you brewing? Most "should" have all the necessary bits in to make it right. I usually added malt extract to one can kits and never had any issues... definitely no issues with premium all malt kits..

Exactly this. Malted barley and isomerised hops in a kit, where the mash and boil have have been done professionally, should result in no head retention issues. Adding extra ingredients to rectify the problem is all well and good, but the issue remains.

Would possibly help list the kit, it's ingredients, your cleaning sanitising chemicals and any finings added.

The issue could be anything from chemical contamination to bacterial contamination, or even yeast health.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I have all the above problems with head retention. Certainly a good clean glass rinsed before filling helps. Also have used Cara Pils, Torrified Wheat or rolled oats in various brews which helps too.
I wonder if it also has a lot to do with the dispensing nozzle. i.e. a real ale is delivered at very low carbonation but often pushed through a nozzle on the hand pump which creates a fine head with very small bubbles. When I pour a pint from my keg fridge I get a nice head but the bubbles are releatively large compared to those created by a hand pump.
(By the way I'm disgusted by all the morons who think they are being funny and have almost wrecked this interesting and relevant thread. Far too much of this on this whole forum for my taste )

By the way I'm disgusted by all the morons who think they are being funny and have almost wrecked this interesting and relevant thread. Far too much of this on the whole forum for my taste.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

(By the way I'm disgusted by all the morons who think they are being funny and have almost wrecked this interesting and relevant thread. Far too much of this on this whole forum for my taste )

@Bill_g
Again I will ask members to use the report link under a post if they don't like its content calling members morons is not helpful and not the way we do things here normally the post would have been deleted but I am leaving it as an example to show others how not to post here, posting in that manner is more likely to get you a warning than the person or people you were aiming it at for hijacking the thread.

 

[Jim Brewster]

A lot of my brews lose their head quickly
5-10% wheat helps
Oats are very good but add a lot of body so I limit those to NEIPA type ales and stouts.

Also:
Water treatment is a factor, if I use hard tap water with no treatment then the head is gone immediately after pouring.
And as mentioned the glass cleanliness.
And for all grain mashing temperature will have an effect due to effect on final gravity.