Head retention issue with Beer Gun

[PhillyBrewer]

I just read a few Beer Gun topics to see if I found anything about head issues when using a BG. Only thing I found was Mylo hating on it.

Seriously, though, I've used a BG to bottle four 5 gallon batches now. I've been fairly displeased with the head on all the beers. The carbonation is OK, but the head ends up being 1/4"-1/2" and dissipates to nothing within seconds. My last beer, I overcarbonated slightly in hopes that it would result in some head, but it didn't.

I forced carb and push at a minimum PSI (2-4), just enough to slowly get the beer in the bottles without foaming much. I don't chill the bottles beforehand and don't really have the space to do so.

Anything I can do? I was considering overcarbonating more, but carbonation and head aren't necessarily linked AFIAK.

[Effingbeer]

Maybe a recipe issue? I like to add a small portion of wheat to every batch.
As far as chilling bottles, do you get a lot of foam when filling?
So here's what I do to chill bottles:
Sanitize bottles. Saniize a bunch of little squares of tin foil. Put foil on opening of bottles. Now you can put them in a fridge right side up. Before bottling, shake the last couple drops of StarSan out of the bottle.

[Lewybrewing]

I've had good, not great luck with the BeerGun. I have my Co2 tank inside of my keggor and when filling I have the pressure at 13psi. This creates a small amount of foam when bottling but not so much that it comes out of the bottle. Just enough to cap on foam.

Here is a review of my Flanders Red, bottled with a BeerGun last November. With Pictures of the beer. The pictures are about 15 mins after I poured it. (I couldn't find my memory card for the camera)

Flanders Red Tasting Session

Every bottle I've sent to comps have been beer gunn'd. While I think the product has some faults, it works well. You just need to play with it. I have noticed that I need to have the beer on tap for 3 weeks to get the results I want. Maybe its something with the Co2 going into solution better as it ages?

[PhillyBrewer]

I don't get much foam at all because I bottle super slow at like 2 PSI. The last beer I bottled was the slightly overcarbonated one which had more foam, but just enough to cap on. I figured the foam produced when bottling is taking away from head/carbonation when I open the beer.

The recipes have been a 10.5% barley wine, 10.5% brett'ed Belgian dark strong, flanders red, and one more I forget so the recipes have varied.

What is chilling the bottles before bottling actually supposed to accomplish? I simply don't have the refrigerator space to chill 2 cases of sanitized bottles.

The thought of CO2 getting into solution better as it ages is an interesting one, but I'm not sure how plausible it is. Dispensing beer forced carbed over 48 hours I imagine would have a nice head as opposed to the same beer being BG'ed. Could the tubing in the BG setup potentially be too long even though I don't have foam issues?

[Ozwald]

What is chilling the bottles before bottling actually supposed to accomplish?

The temp difference can create carbonation to come out of solution. I still haven't used mine yet, but I'd imagine that if you're quick it wouldn't matter all that much. Or you could always over-carb to compensate.

[PhillyBrewer]

Yeah I would say that isn't an issue in my process. I cap each bottle within seconds of filling and the low PSI I push with reduces the foam.

[Effingbeer]

Maybe these were recipe issues. So you haven't poured one from a tap and one from the bottle side by side?
Most barely wines I have had don't have the greatest head retention. Seems like beer with Brett or other bugs would lose some body too.