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Head Retention

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  • 19-06-2013 9:04am
    #1
    Mister Burns
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭


    So I have a few brews done at this stage (Kits & Extracts) and flavours definitely improving with experience and over time however only two brews (both kits) had any real head retention so I'm beginning to think I'm missing some step or ingredient? Is there something I need to be doing or adding? Is moving to Cornies the answer rather than bottling? Or is this just the way it is with homebrewing?


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    #2
    BeerNut
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,850 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    There's various tricks you can do to improve head retention, but I have to say I've never had any problems when brewing with DME. I suspect the manufacturer throws a wee bit of wheat in for precisely this reason.

    Are you sure your bottles and glasses are all soap free? It could be that obvious.

    My beer blog | The Twitter | My other beer blog



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    #3
    Yawns
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,255 ✭✭✭Yawns


    I'd start by looking at your cleaning regime first and in particular, your bottles. How do you clean everything? Warm / Hot water with a fibre cloth is how I clean all my equipment. Elbow grease is needed. ;) Give it a good going over, then sanitize using thin bleach & vinegar method.

    Back when I bottled I used to use the dishwasher. But you need to make sure there is no rinse aid in it. I got caught on one batch as the OH told me after I had bottled, that she had filled the dishwasher with rinse aid again the day before. Had no head retention from that batch.

    Since I tried kegging tho, I haven't gone back to bottling. Just so much easier. More expensive to get setup than bottles but worth it. Oh I must throw up a new pic of that bar actually. I've expanded it a bit since my old one.


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    #4
    Mister Burns
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭Mister Burns


    BeerNut wrote: »
    There's various tricks you can do to improve head retention, but I have to say I've never had any problems when brewing with DME. I suspect the manufacturer throws a wee bit of wheat in for precisely this reason.

    Are you sure your bottles and glasses are all soap free? It could be that obvious.

    Hi Beernut and thanks as always for your help,

    The last batch was done with new PET bottles which I thoroughly washed and cleaned with non-rinse sanitiser pre bottling and the glasses would have been both glass washed in a dishwasher and hand washed glass both fully dry before use. I would have use Spraymalt in all brews


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    #5
    Yawns
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,255 ✭✭✭Yawns


    Did you use oxi-clean to clean your equipment?


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    #6
    Mister Burns
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭Mister Burns


    Hi Yawns,

    Thanks for that I guess some more elbow grease is called for. I currently give the bottles a good clean after use, the night before bottling I soak the bottles and all equipment overnight in non-rinse sanitizer, on the day I again give them a good scrub in fresh non rinse sanitizer and leave to dry (I have been known to bottle before they are fully dry but not for the last few batches with no change to head retention). I’m planning a new brew this weekend so I will make sure everything is scrubbed to an inch of its life and cleaned of any potential soap deposits before brewing and bottling which will hopefully solve this for me


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    #7
    Mister Burns
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭Mister Burns


    Yawns wrote: »
    Did you use oxi-clean to clean your equipment?

    I'm using Chemipro Oxi No Rinse Cleaner Steriliser from the Home Brew Company


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    #8
    Yawns
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,255 ✭✭✭Yawns


    Mister Burns wrote: »
    I'm using Chemipro Oxi No Rinse Cleaner Steriliser from the Home Brew Company

    Just a guess as I haven't used it, but I have used lidl's oxi-clean in the past. While it cleans great, if left too long it can leave a residue that can be hard to notice on some equipment. Try just using hot water and a micro-fiber cloth on all equipment.

    If you notice any residue on your equipment now, it would be best to try to remove it. I found the best way to remove oxi-clean residue from one of my fermenters was to fill it with hot water and added a good dollop of vinegar to it. Nothing else. After about 40 mins soaking I just used elbow grease to shift it all.


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    #9
    Mister Burns
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭Mister Burns


    Yawns wrote: »
    Just a guess as I haven't used it, but I have used lidl's oxi-clean in the past. While it cleans great, if left too long it can leave a residue that can be hard to notice on some equipment. Try just using hot water and a micro-fiber cloth on all equipment.

    If you notice any residue on your equipment now, it would be best to try to remove it. I found the best way to remove oxi-clean residue from one of my fermenters was to fill it with hot water and added a good dollop of vinegar to it. Nothing else. After about 40 mins soaking I just used elbow grease to shift it all.

    Thanks Yawns,

    I'll give that a go and hopefully that will fix it for me. Appreciate the help


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