The Guillotine Syndrome

[RM-MN]

I have it. The last 5 batches I've brewed have no head. I've rinsed glassware multiple times, washed in vinegar, washed with a mixture of baking soda and salt, everything I could think of to get rid of any detergent in my glassware and I can't get more than a quarter inch of head and that is gone in 10 seconds.

I've read that mash pH may have a role in this and have a pH meter ordered.

When I brewed with extract kits I always got a nice head on my beer, sometimes more than I wanted with good lacing and remains of the head at the bottom of the glass when I finished.

Should I add carapils to every recipe even though they have a pound or more of caramel malt in them? Do I need to add a heading compound? Flaked grain? I want a decent head on my beer. :rockin:

 

[phenry]

I would look at pH first. A pound of caramel malt should be more than plenty for head stability.

 

[bighorn_brew]

Uh, I wouldn't be adding carapils without checking ph,...I get huge rocky heads with nothing more than base malt that almost persist a glass of beer...

 

[onthekeg]

Extract beers have the proper water chemistry from the extract itself. Are you using distilled water, or tap water for your current beers?

 

[erikhild59]

Brew with different water and compare.

 

[RM-MN]

I'm using my tap water and being from a well I do not have the water report available. I can try different water as all the neighbors have wells and likely from different aquifiers as their wells are different depth and we are separated by a few miles or I could buy some spring water at the grocery store.

 

[JayB240]

Does your tap water taste good ?

Are you bottling your beer ?

Jay

 

[RM-MN]

Yes and yes. Neighbors love to have coffee with me because my water makes very good coffee. I've been bottling beer since I started.

 

[JayB240]

Do you keep fermentation in a air locked fermentor (bucket)?

- Is fermentation an active process (Bubbles in the air lock) ?

Do you add corn sugar to bottles ?

Jay

 

[TarheelBrew13]

Head on your beer comes from protein and carbonation. If you glasses are clean and free of detergents and you have good carbonation levels, it's probably a lack of proteins in your beer.

Try increasing the protein content in the next batch. You could add carapils but it's cheaper and probably more effective to add some wheat malt, flaked wheat or flaked barley to your mash. I'd recommend starting with .5 pound of flaked barley for a 5 gallon batch.

 

[dcHokie]

I'm curious about the well water....is it hard/mineralized? Do you have a water softener? Have you tried with bottled or filtered water?

I brewed using my folks well water once with less than memorable results.

 

[RM-MN]

Do you keep fermentation in a air locked fermentor (bucket)?

- Is fermentation an active process (Bubbles in the air lock) ?

Do you add corn sugar to bottles ?

Jay

yes, yes, and yes.

 

[RM-MN]

I'm curious about the well water....is it hard/mineralized? Do you have a water softener? Have you tried with bottled or filtered water?

I brewed using my folks well water once with less than memorable results.

Yes the water is hard. I do have a water softener but I never use soft water for brewing as I plumbed a hard water line to my sink when I built the house. I haven't tried any other water yet as I haven't been brewing all grain long and did several batches to build up a pipeline and didn't notice much out of the ordinary until they had had time to mature. I can try different water source quite easily but I'm reluctant to start another batch until I get my pH meter, plus all 3 of my fermenters are full.

 

[ChillWill]

After the mash is done (at 150f for example), you could raise the temp to 158f for 20mins.

This'll put it into alpha amylaze territory where you'll get better extraction of dextrins which'll help body and head.

Also wheat malt is a good idea, maybe as much as 10%

 

[RM-MN]

Will low mash temperature give this symptom? I had brewed several all grain last year with good head using the same water and equipment but I just noticed last brew session that the thermometer I had been using had lost calibration and was reading about 4 degrees too high according to my digital thermometer, making my mash temp low. The last batch I bottled I had raised the mash temp to try to get a more malty beer and with only a week in the bottle it poured an inch of head that lasted to the bottom of the glass and it took me over half an hour to drink it.

I haven't checked that my digital thermometers (I have two, they read within 1/2 degree of each other) are accurate at mash temperatures either. I could have mashed even lower than I thought. I bought a lab grade thermometer to check them against but haven't got it done yet.

 

[Rip]

Not sure if this is helpful, but here's waht I got.

My personal checklist from past experience:

Adequate carbonation? Always weigh your carbing sugar addition (and measure your beer after racking into bottling bucket).

Add some unmalted barley to the gain bill (flaked or crushed) - only need a few percent. Wheat works too.

Make sure you don't have any soap residue on anything - surfactants kill head.

Don't use too much Foam-control drops in the boil kettle or carboy (surfactant).

Make sure you're wife/lady isn't making spaghetti sauce in the pan you use to catch your vorlauf... (true story, was olive oil residue in that pot)

Don't expect much head if ABV above 8 or 9% (IMO).

I wish you good luck figuring out what's getting yer head - that's no good. :fro:

- M