Sat Sep 17, 2005 10:42 pm
Some things that might help:(my 2 cents...)
You need to get things into the beer to aid w/ the head retention. As was stated above, Roasted barley, Carapils, I like to add a little wheat malt (lots of protein). This will increase the proteins and glycoproteins to help w/ bubble formation/stability. More viscous beers have better head retention than thinner ones. All-malt beers are better at head retention than ones brewed w/ a lot of adjuncts (corn,rice) that would thin down the beer.
Keep things out of the beer that cause foam degradation. Soaps, fats and oils. Make sure that all the surfaces that contact the beer are clean of soap residue. Not only the glass you serve in, but ALL your beerware (carboys, tubing funnels,etc.) Don't use ingredients in these beers w/ a high oil content. (Oats,coffee,chocolate,etc.) Trub has a lot of lipids and fatty acids in it. (needed for yeast metabolism and flavor contribution) But you don't want excess in your finished beer. Rack off the trub/yeast cake as soon as the primary fermentation is over. A good reason to start using a secondary fermentation vessel.
Lastly,many Belgian beer glasses (Chimay) have an enucleation site ( A small spot that looks etched into the glass) at the very bottom. This allows the CO2 to continuously break out of solution at a slow rate. This keeps a head on the beer the whole time it is in the glass. This acts to boost the aroma/taste of the beer. Try a clean Chimay glass.
Cheers, Dr Scott
Cheers,
Dr Scott
Beer colder than your Mom, Whiskey older than your Dad...
