RussB Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I seem to be having an issue with my brews of NOT GETTING/KEEPING a good HEAD. I have read the topics on getting a good head, but so far they do not seem to help me. I stick to Coopers, keep my gear clean, do not use sugar at all. I rack my brews off after about 3 days. I generally let them brew out for 6-7 days (due to work commitments) & use a hydrometer to guage when to bottle. At the moment I am opening stout and some draught and none have a good head & do not keep it. Can anyone help me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 G'day Russ - I find 2 weeks in the fermentor (I don't see a need for racking) and plenty of time in the bottle are key to getting a good head. Steeping a small amount of grain such as carapils and adding the resulting tea to your boil. If your not doing a boil steep the grains and boil the tea (not the grain) for a bit to ward of infection and use this to mix your other ingredients. How long have the beers you mentioned been in the bottle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozale Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Hi RussB I guess you have read about not using dishwashing liquid when washing your glass, the other one that has caught me out is having your beer to cold. Only other thing I can suggest is a new glass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Russ, can you post some examples of the recipes you are using. It is hard to say what you should or not do if we don't know what you have done already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Hi Russ, Two thinks to consider: Use more malt and less suger in your recipes and let your brews age a couple of months. It really does need some aging. Chad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I was having a similar problem a while ago, after eliminating such things as detergents, ingredients etc I eventually started to add about 200g Dry Wheat Malt to my Brews.. (as well as some grains) as noted above. result? Never had a problem since, ALWAYS get a nice creamy lacing head (even at a few weeks of carbing) and ALWAYS gest better with time. I freakin Love Wheat malt!! Yob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Agreed Yob. Not too too long ago I put down Muddy's FNA and Neill's Centenarillo back to back. These two are very similar recipe's, both full extract brews but for one ingredient. The FNA has 100g Crystal malt and the Neill's does not. Muddy's FNA has a very rich creamy head and Neill's is a little thin. They are both exellent brew's but Muddy's is far better just for this reason. Chad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Agreed Yob. Not too too long ago I put down Muddy's FNA and Neill's Centenarillo back to back. These two are very similar recipe's, both full extract brews but for one ingredient. The FNA has 100g Crystal malt and the Neill's does not. Muddy's FNA has a very rich creamy head and Neill's is a little thin. They are both exellent brew's but Muddy's is far better just for this reason. Chad It is recommended to add 200g-300g of Crystal. I always add 250g (120)Crystal and have never had a problem with it. [love] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasond4 Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Hi Russ, I was wondering if you bulk prime? Mabey this could have somthing to do with your carbonation levels especially if what you said that you rack the beer after 3 days. Maybe it wasnt fully fermented then you take it off the yeast and try to clear it and then try to bottle it after it has cleared. If this is so you need to remember that bottling is also called secondery fermentation so it needs the yeast(some of it ) suspended in the beer to be avalible to ferment the sugar that you have added to carbonate the beer. Best to leave the brew sit/ferment in the FV the whole time 6-10 days then if you bulk prime do as normal or just prime each bottle individually and you shouldnt have any problems I hope! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 You can cold condition your brew prior to bottling and still have plenty of yeast to carbonate the bottles. No need to worry about dropping the yeast out of suspension if the brew is too cold. However, when bottled you still need to maintain correct temps to carbonate. [rightful] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I also find the beers I make with either crystal malt or wheat malt keep a better head. The beers I make with a higher wheat malt percentage end up with a huge fluffy head like soft serve ice cream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RussB Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share Posted August 20, 2011 [lol] ; well found the "reply" button, so here goes. I would really drink my brews under 8 weeks, more often than not they would be 6 months and often 12 months old. The only brews I use grain in are my stouts. (Muddy & Ozale, thanks). With the beer, I tend to use 1kg dextrose, some corn syrup (suppose to give it good head)and that is about it. In my Stout, which I reckon is pretty good, the can, dark malt, boil up some cracked/roasted barley, licorice, lactose & corn syrup. Not too keen on the strong hoppy flavour so tend to leave this out. I not the use of Crystal Malt etc, so may be should try this in my brew instead of lactose?? Not too keen on wheat beers though. Jasond4, I tend to rack off between 3-5 days, but do not bulk prime. I use dextrose to prime. The brews that I have noticed the difference in are probably at least 12 months old. I wonder if I am leaving them too long. I do use a hydrometer to check the readings, but sometimes due to my shifts, it could be up to 7 days before I bottle. The one thing that I do not do, is to do the bottle fermentation at the same temp. as when brewing. I tend to bottle and then put in the shed, so is subject to the weather conditions that are dealt up. So, will try the crystal malt. New to this forum, so taking me a while to work it out. Will have a look around at the other areas, and I assume there are some recipes to try somewhere. Thanks for you input. [cool] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I not the use of Crystal Malt etc, so may be should try this in my brew instead of lactose?? Not too keen on wheat beers though. I definitely recommend the use of crystal malt, especially if your beers are mainly kit and dextrose. However, don't discount wheat malt because you're not too keen on wheat beers. Adding 200g-300g of wheat malt won't make it a "Wheat Beer" but may help you with the head. Also, replacing some of the dextrose with light dry or liquid malt might also help. Don't be concerned about leaving your beer in the FV for a few extra days before bottling. For ales, I leave mine 2 weeks before bottling as this helps the yeast to settle and the beer the clear up. Also, have a look around the forum and the other threads. You will find lots of ramblings etc (I am one of the culprits of those) but you will also find lots of useful information. Good luck with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasond4 Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I think you are leaving them too long. You have to remember that beer is a "food product" so it will go off with or without preservatives even if it is on the yeast. Any way ale is meant to be fresh and lager is to be stored at 2-0c for a month or two and then served. Just remember your not making wine, that has 2-3 times the alcohol as beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Russ, there may be nothing wrong with your beer - might be worth checking your glassware. Read here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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