10072015, Brow Your Own July-August 2015, TECHNIQUES BY TERRY FOSTER, KEEP YOUR HEAD! Perfecting head retention verything seems to be “ihtthe carbonation evel isgod, the elepente sy tem works wel he COp bubbles break cut andthe beer pours with a ice fl head. ut - the froth caliapses before you can even The proportion setthectasstoyour expectant tips, il ard cisappoirtment reign evn ifthe Of fFoam-stabiliz- pre ities god ecu bea Ing proteins can ei eratneg oe mere be increased by iainetatwecrine with our eyes as adding materials yom; mocece rich in them {good head on a beer, and watching the suchas flaked Sta Smesors., barley, flaked tetera downy twos wheat and teat rte, apheromeran ats wheat malt, See tion (which | discussed in this very col- ‘umn inthe May-June 2015 isue}-A ‘properly carbonated and dispensed ‘beer will always form a head in the ‘lass but it may not Last long i itis ‘brewed in such a way thatthe compo ‘nents that keep the headin place are absent. Think of American light lagers ‘when you read that ~ do they held the hhead for mare than few seconds? ‘So, what are these components that are responsible for head retention, land how do we ensure they ae present in our beer? Before | go any further, do note that there isan excellent article by Chris Bible dealing with the mathe ‘matics of bubble fermation ang head retention in the March-April 2014 issue ‘of BYO.| am going to deal withthe subject in a more general manner, in ‘order to try to help you understand this [phenomenon so that you can use this knowledge when formulating and ‘brewing your beer. Gas bubbles break out duting dis- ‘pensing ofthe beer and form the head et cas A Faas Pus 86 juLy-AveUS 20:5 BREW YouR own ‘on top oft. But the beer is super-satur rated with COp, which means that the ‘2 is present at a concentration ‘higher than its solubility in the beer. ‘Therefore bubbles will continue to form at nucleation sites on the surface of the glass. These sites are minute im perfections inthe glass surface, gener- ally invisible tothe eye,although some ‘commercial brewers have actually pro- vided glasses (for example a specially ‘designed glass for Samuel Adams Boston Lager) with some form of etch ing onthe bottom in order to ensure ‘that nucleatlon can occur in the glass. ‘These bubbles wil rice to the top and ‘become part ofthe head, so why ‘doesn't the head continue to grow and become bigger and bigger? ‘That is Because when the bubbles ‘reach the surface they end to aggre ‘gate and form larger bubbles whose ‘alls start to thin until the gas pres- sure within the buble simply burets ft. This process is accelerated ifthe liquid drains rapidly fom the head, leaving the bubbles unguarded. The more vis ‘ous the liquid is the stower it will drain,meaning the bubbles are more stable Viscosity decreases with in- ‘creasing temperature, so fora given ‘beer the higher the viscosity the lower the temperature, thus the colder the ‘beer the better its head retention. However, head formation is retarded at lower temperatures so this tempera- ture effect ie generally small ‘Burt the bubbles can be stabilized by the effects of compounds known as surfactant, which ara simply mate- ‘ules that are hydrophilic (water-lov- ing atone end and hydrophobic water hating) atthe other end. These can ‘gang up on a bubble, surround it and [prevent it from growing bigger as well a hindering drainage ofthe liquid There are many such compounds, not all of which we would want in our beer, itp:dimyckitalesue.comtimls: vewerlitametin! 720507071127 194 7BIZOur2K22%GA%22MERIAZF*L2F myegtaliseue com2F mis view. sitsBrow Your Own July-August 2015, but there are some naturally present in beer, thankfully. ‘Ther effects are not always clear cu, for there is much that is stil not understood about head retention, For example, ethanol has some surfactant property and it has apparentty been shown that up to 5% ABV ethanol aids head formation. Yet at higher alcohol levels it decreases head retention, and ‘many stong beers show poor head retention characteristics, ‘even though they are more viscous than lower alcohol beers The mast important head retention compounds are pro- tein derivatives, and their importance lies in the fact that they should be present to a greater or lesser extent in every beer. These are thought tobe polypeptides derived from ‘malt and they adsorb onto the bubble wall and strengthen it Their action is reinforced by that of isohumulones, which fate the compounds that arise fram the isamerization of hop alpha acids. That is they are compounds responsible for ‘most ofthe bitterness in the taste of beer, These hop-de- rived compounds exhibit hydrophobicity and so also absorb ‘onto the bubble wall and help the bubble retain its struc- ture. In short beth polypeptides and isohumulones stabilize the Foam, which is what we wart. ‘Any procedure that dilutes these chemicals in beer, such as high proportions of adjuncts ike corm rice, and sugar will result in beers with poorer head retention capabilities. (On the other hand the proportion of foar-stabilzing pro- teins can be increased by adding materials rich in them such as flaked barley flaked wheat, and wheat malt Its a com: ‘mon procedure in British commercial brewing practice to Home Beermaking by William Moore ane Brainghas Sct eg tel te New 4th edition ey recipes for everything from Honey Crean ‘leo Belgian Tipe. A ‘aac beginners book. ‘Availabe now at fine home brewing real “Make a great batch the fire time, and be hooked for lie Distributed vo alr by L.D. Caron Company brewerafiss. com 800-321-0315, BSG Handeraf ean com 500.999.2440, Dghandcaftcom Brewmaster Ine. Northwest Specialy Co 00-288. 492 brewmasterne.com 253.581-0 aeepeciyc.come ‘adda few percent ff the total grain bil) of Naked wheat to the mash Tha's because many ofthe beers (mild bite) are of tow gravity (by American standards) and therefore use ‘only a small amount of malt and the beers tend tobe Low in polypeptides. Some ofthese brewers also use sugar adjuncts that tend to aggravate this problem, so the addition of aUi- te flaked wheat helps to alleviate matters and to ensure ‘that the beers have decent head retention, But nate inthis respect that there can be probloms with head retention ‘when brewing extract beers. They have already been boiled ‘during processing so if your worts are boiled too tong there may be further protein degradation and a shortage of the polypeptides mentioned abave. For this reason when brew= ing extract beers keep the boll time down to 45-60 minutes; this is @ good argument fer Lte-boil extract adltion. There are ather agents that can be added to help head retention, generally coming under the names heading agents that may be inthe form of powders and liquids. These include certain metal salts, notably those of iran, pepsin derivatives, and alginates | am very wary at the ‘thought of using metal salts for a couple of reasons. First, in the 1960s Dow Brewery in Quebec, Canada, used cobalt salts 35 a heading agent, which was found to cause heart attacks ‘and even death for some drinkers, and the practice was abandoned. Seconé, there was a peri in the 19th century in Britain when adulteration of porter was rife. Some ofthe ‘compounds used were quite toxic, while others such as iron salts and sulfuric acid, were employed to ensure good head Eira ea ears your wicked art skills, Nepbosts= rece m evocom iui aucusr 20187 itpuimyeigitalesue commis. vowerlttamein! 7201507071127 134 7BY.22uK22%IA% 22ND IAAF DF my galissue.com2FHtmlS view. attsBrew Your Own Juy-Aucust 2015, TECHNIQUES @ formation and retention, but surely also changed the beers flavor Further, iran in beer can cause oxidation and develop iment of offflavors.1 am not so certain about pepsin deriva- tives as| have not experienced thelr use, butalginates are certainly effective as head retention agents. The later are propylene glycol esters of alginates derived from seaweed (and are somevihat related to ish moss copper fining) and in various forms are widely used in foodstufts, so are quite sae from the health point of view,and ace effective in im- proving beer head retention. There is however some debate as to whether these products affect beer lava. With the ex: ception of alginates none ofthe methods described earlier face used today. Reeiced hop extracts (used to produc light. stable beers), however ae used by many breweries globally to stabilize beer foam. Certain compounds wil decrease the stability of the ‘bubbles and cause the foam to collapse. Notable among these are soaps, grease, detergents, fats, and alls. The frst ‘three are most Likely to get into beer through the use of lasses contaminated with them, and ifthey have been used ‘tp clean the glasses, the latter need tobe thoroughly rinsed to ensure no traces of them remain before putting any beer in them. The last twa may be more problematic as they can be present in beer due to various flavor additives, such as coffee, chocolate, and oats (or even bacon, as I've seen re cently ina couple of craft brews) If you use 2 lot of choco HAROWARE. MIM eee eee 88 suuy-aveusr 2015 late ina beer, particulary fit is also igh in alcohol, you might just have to accept poor head formation and retention {but read on). So fay, talked about head retention in respect af CO, being the only gas in the beer. If instead you use CO,/nitror ‘gen mixed gas for dispense, head retention becomes less of 2 problem. That is, nitregen tends to form smaller, tighter bubbles that collapse less easily than those from CO; alone Ifyou are keaging your beer and have head retention prob- lems, then nitra dispense may be the answer for you So let me summarize allthis WORST CASE SCENARIO FOR HEAD RETENTION: “High alcohol «= High level of adjuncts especialy in tow gravity beers * Low hop bittering + Carbonation too low + Serving temperature to high * Detergent, grease or soap residues on brewing equipment «= Detergent, grease or soap residues in the glass ‘High levels of fats andor ails in ingredients BEST CASE SCENARIO FOR HEAD RETENTION: * Beer brewed with all malt,no adjuncts “Making FRUrr winks? We have the products and ‘knowledge to guide you. ‘FeRMENTING EER Worul FRUIT i one of or feature articles ‘nthe Spring newsiter! See hitp:wwnthebeveregepeople.com 2015 Beer Catalog Bxceiianr suavice ano sures a yell ss advice and Flat Rate shipping nsec sates Coming io Norther Calfria? Stop in to ist ust www.thebeveragepeople.com itpuimyeigitalesue commis. vowerlttamein! 7201507071127 134 7BY.22uK22%IA% 22ND IAAF DF my galissue.com2FHtmlS view. sorts10072015, + Protein ests in mash limited to no more than 20 minutes at about 122 °F (60°C) + Adced foam reinforcers such as wheat, flaked wheat, and flaked bartejas wel as undermaaified malts, especially for Pilsner beers. + High levels of hop bitterness (ul, rolling 90-minute bois best for all-grain; 60-minute boil for extract beer, with late ‘extract addition to limit protein degradation) ‘+ Medium alcohol level (45-6% ABN) * Proper level of carbonation (hiss even better with a nitro dispense) + Proper serving temperature “Added heading agent ‘+ Brewed without fatty or oily ingredients + Serupulousty lean equipment and glasses ‘Obviously. some of these factors may be aut of your control, since things tice hop bittemess, malt bil, and so on are de- termined by the style of beer you are aiming to brew. You cannot make a medium aleaholbarleywine or imperial stout afterall And hop bitering levels will be dictated by the type of beer brewed an English bitter at, say, original gravity (OG) 11.045 will taste very, very biter, thin and unbalanced if you 9010 a level of 70 BU just to ensure a good heat. Yet,my ‘experience Is that anything at 25 IBU and up should be {geod in terms of head retention all other things being Brew the World’s his socal nowstan nyu ava at sca Rato arr yo ng itpuimyeigitalesue commis. vowerlttamein! 7201507071127 134 7BY.22uK22%IA% 22ND IAAF DF my galissue.com2FHtmlS view. Brow Your Own July-August 2015, ‘equal. After all,commerciatPilsners that usualy have less than 20 IBU do not retain their head wel Ifyou want to brew a beer using adjunets suchas corn ‘or sugar, make sure that adjuncts are used at arate of no more than 20% of the malt plus adjuncts bill With such a ber consider using some flaked wheat or barley inthe mash,or if you are using malt extract try doing 2 partial mash with either ofthese ingredients long with some pale malt ofcourse). Just tobe certain, you might also want to add some propylene glycol alginate heading agent, although [must admit | have rarely found it necessary todo So. Ifyou de brew a beer that uses fatty or cly flavoring ‘components but you sill want ta keep a good head on it then, again, use ofa foam reinforcer ora heading agent can help. But do consider nitro gas dispense, especialy when coupled with a stout tap to aid the formation and retention ‘of small, ight bubbles. Since mast brews using caffee or ‘chocolate are stouts,this approach is very suited to them. Basically you just have to jugole with the points | made according tothe type of beer you ae producing; control those factors and you can limit the effects of problem= «causing factors. But above all,do make sure that every last piece of equipment and drinking receptacle i just as clean 3s you can mae itt comes back tothe fact that cleanliness Is everything in brewing, and the brewer s frst anc fore most acleaner! me evoccom iuiy-aucusr 201s 89 nits