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@Portreath sounds exactly like my problem - and yet, my pale ales/bitters the head follows the beer down the glass a treat. I am now thinking it might be "Fairy" faerie with the washing up liquid. That's going to be my first stop. I have a pint (bitter) at the side of me now, it's been there...

@Portreath it is only my bottles that are affected as well, not the barrels, so I am inclined now to wonder if it is a bottling thing. There is plenty of carb in there, when I ease a bottle top I get a rush of gas off the beer which fills the top of the bottle with CO2. But when it pours ...

I'm going to try a narrow erm ... dare I say it - Carling - glass.

@Sadfield I do check mash pH I have some fairly good water testing gear here, but I have been a bit loathe to start chucking chemicals in my beer! I usually get mash pH at about 5.8 - 6 which I know is a bit high and I have just once used citric acid to bring the pH down, I got down to a pH of...

Also weird that it is only my brown ales that are like this. My pale ales - ahhhhhh! Hang on just a minute. Brown ale is usually bottled and pale ales are always in a KK with top tap. Also the porter that I brewed (and one I am doing now) are in KK's as well. PET bottles are used for brown ale...

@the baron Re the wheat thing, I have been reading about it adding all kinds of things into the brew which help with head formation and head retention, I'm going to give this a crack with a couple of side-by-side brews of pale and brown ales. I had wondered about steel-cut oats which I use for...

@Ghillie, I've been looking at one or two things actually and I had come across the hop thing, but I don't use many hops in my brews, and usually low acids like Fuggles. I hadn't considered the glass type (shape) but I usually rinse my glasses after they have been washed - in fairy! SWMBO...

Brilliant - thanks folks! clapaI'm about to go and try that! Excellent - it works a treat - teehee. I've read a bit about head formation and proteins and starches, but it was way above me, so I guess I'll get my syringes out and stick one to the side of each glass! Any thoughts on why my...

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this, but if an admin wants to move it along, then that's fine. My question relates to the differences between different coloured brews and how they retain the head. I find that darker brews, like brown ales have very little head, just a few fizzy...

@Ashman Hi Ashman, I had this problem (I'm new to AG) but I solved it by doing a test boil - I think it was MyQul who suggested it. Find out how much liquor you boil off in one hour add that to your final volume to get a total pre-boil volume. Once you have your pre-boil volume you can use the...

@bobukbrewer Yes, this is a first time for me brewing a really light session ale. I didn't get enough base malt firstly (7lbs + 6oz crystal 70) , that's why I added the syrup. I mashed a bit too cool, really, second fault. And over-pitched the yeast which meant I had huge amounts of yeast...

All the above makes perfect sense, and as you can tell I'm home today with buggerall to do! (apart from :beer1:) so a sample under the microscope shows Lactobacillus infection at perhaps a few percent of the yeast population - don't ask what species, I haven't a clue and I'm not going down that...

Today is IT! I am going to get this into a secondary, try to transfer as little yeast as possible. On opening the FV there was a slightly acid smell, not unpleasant, but a there was a 'whiff' about it - is this acetyl? A quick taste was inconclusive, dry finish, bordering on thin, a nice...

Hi MyQul, you may have hit the nail. 'Syrup' was pure sugar. I make my own 'golden syrup', basically it is a light caramel mixed with partially inverted sugar - sugar boiled for a while with a tiny amount of citric acid and then mixed to the right colour. However, all I wanted was to boost the...

Hi Guys, I have no idea what a erm ... diasticky thingy is, I take we are talking a strain of wild? yeast, or a yeast that is (we had a Saison beer in our local a couple of months back - excellent stuff!). Anyway, @Sadfield No, I haven't brewed using that Saison yeast. I'll give a bit more...

Sorry I meant to add "Thanks for any help or suggestions" but hit return before I go that bit down.

Hi folks, I've done several brews with all grain starting out with the basic recipe on here. I have made some lovely stuff, but I have a question about my latest batch which seems 'Odd'. I decided to do a brew with GP and a little light crystal to make a lightly coloured English Bitter and to do...

I've spent years (40) in trucks of all shapes and sizes, some little ones (Boys' toy's) but mostly in big 'uns proper man-jobs - wide loads and dangerous chemicals. I've always had the greatest respect for other people on the road - not just cyclists, but people with animals, lost map-readers...

Hi @braziliain , That's interesting because I've had a similar experience with CML yeast and attenuation of around 85%, like yours is way higher than they advertise at 75%. Their Real Ale Yeast which is what I'm having probs with is really fluffy? when it settles out. It doesn't flocculate well...

Certainly enjoying the results [hic] ... I think I may have hit on an idea after chatting to a mate last night and he says "Oh, somewhere in the shed I have an old brew belt, electric jobby with an element and ties to go round a FV ..." Sounds good to me, I'm picking it up this evening. I'm...