Head on a pint?

[DaveDesign]

Am i supposed to get a head on a bottle conditioned larger when pooring out?

I thought i would, but i haven't!
Bottles primed with brew sugar and there is a 'ok' amount of fizz to it but no head when pooring.

young's larger kit, bottle conditioned in a cool fridge for 4 weeks.

cheer

Dave

 

[Wendy1971]

you should if its carbonated properly how long have you left it bottled

 

[DaveDesign]

Left for 4 weeks so far in a fridge

some are bottled in coopers pets 500ml and others buxton fizy water bottles 500ml.

All were primed with a teaspoon of brewing sugar.

 

[Wendy1971]

leave it out of the fridge for a while then half an hour before drinking put it back in to cool. Did you put straight into the fridge after bottling?

 

[DaveDesign]

i kept the bottles in the house for 3 days before moving to the fridge.

Is it worth given them a shake when i take them out or will that really mess things up?

Cheers Wendy

Dave.

 

[Wendy1971]

wouldnt shake them or you will have all the sediment floating around in the bottle. If we ever bottle anything we always bung in a teaspoon of granulated sugar never had a bad batch yet :thumb:

 

[DaveDesign]

Think i will try granulated for priming next time.

i wasnt sure that the brewing sugar is too fine and sat in the ridges without dissolving fully.

Perhaps granulated and a good shake on next batch.

At least now i know to look for enough fizz for head!

 

[graysalchemy]

When bottling disolve a batch of sugar based on 7g per litre in a little boiling water then place in a clean sanitized bucket/fv and transfer your beer onto this. This will ensure mixing of the sugar. Then bottle. Leave at fermentation temp for 3-4 days. If you are using plastic bottles you should be able to tell if they are primed as the bottle will be hard. However you are best leaving for at least a month, the longer you leave the better.

One last note head retention is dependent on the malt used in the brew, being a northern lad I always add awheat malt to my brews, obviously you can't do this with a kit but it may be the kit want have a lasting head anyway because of the malt used to make the kit.

Hope that helps

 

[abeyptfc]

when bottling did you give the bottles a shake to dissolve the sugar? i would usually leave for a week or 2 at room temp then bung in the fridge.
dont shake the bottles now or you will mix all the sediment up again. Just another wee thing, ITS LAGER NOT LARGER!!!!!!!! :x ( AND POURING NOT POORING!)

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Head retention and carbonation are totally different things. Proteins at molecular levels and all that... you can have a well carbonated beer that does not hold a head and also you can have a "flat" beer that does hold its head. With the cheaper kits you tend to get a beer that is pretty flat. This is not a bad thing, iits purely cosmetic, it does not effect the taste, but it does effect the "mouthfeel".
If you want to use a cheaper kit (ive got nothing against these) and have a good head I suggest your do a partiaal mash using torrified wheat

 

[DaveDesign]

Thanks for the replies and spelling lesson :whistle:

It was a cheap kit, the basic stuff that comes with a youngs brewbuddy setup. (my first brew)

Think i will take a batch of bottles in the house and only chill shortly before drinking and see how this works. It's not a dissapointing level of carbonation just no head. Guess i should get a better kit on the go!

I did shake after bottling, but i know for a fact i didn't shake untill all the sugar was dissolved.

Next time i favour dissolving sugar in hot water then transfering all into a secound FV and then bottling, sure it will help me with transfering less sediment also.

I have a John Bull Ale kit to try next.

Thanks again

 

[john_d]

you put it in the fridge too soon.

 

[klaus]

FWIW, I recently liberated a few bottles of a "Pineapple Lager" I made about 6 years ago, perfect head, good fizz which lasted for ages, hint of pineapple flavour.
When I brewed a lot (kits) I always used the small end of a "Calpol" plastic spoon (5 ml) to measure out the sugar to prime each bottle. When starting to fill I give the bottle a good shake to dissolve
I still have that spoon and used it again recently. BTW Calpol, if you don't know, was the painkiller medicine for our kids when they were little ....
Just to tell you that this method works for me, and perhaps proves that once you have a procedure which works stick with it.
My 2p's worth ....

 

[jinxy72]

prob just too cold as already said .. take out of fridge and try at room temp to see if head appears :thumb: