Do barrel aged stouts not usually have a big head?

Complicated but kind of. High alcohol content doesn't do head formation and retention any favors.

 

Could also just be a sign of glassware that isn't beer-clean. In this case, I would imagine that is the case rather than an infected beer.

 

With the degree of fanboy fawning they receive on here, you'd think their heads would be bigger.

 

Beer is a funny substance. The glass may be new and "clean" but often times there are invisible compounds in a clean glass that can destabilize the foam in beer. Oils and fats from dish soaps will do this as well as many other chemicals. This is why restaurants use special sanitation when they clean their glassware. Homebrew shops sell it and many people will clean their beer glasses at home with it rather than run them through the dishwasher.

 

Not a dumb question at all... I thought the same thing about that particular beer the first time I had it... It pours as still as motor oil... I was afraid I had gotten a bad bottle...until I tasted it... I find that most of the barrel aged stuff will have very minimal carbonation at all...

 

I have had Bourbon County on an occasional basis since 2008 and I have regularly consumed Bourbon County since 2012. I have had the regular, two batches of the coffee, and Cherry Rye. As I have noted numerous times in my blog (see hyperlink on my profile page), it is the same story with every bottle. In brief:

1. This is what Goose Island wants you to believe Bourbon County ___ looks like. Note sexy foam.



2. This is what Bourbon County ___ really looks like. Note sad, depressing foam.


Some bourbon barrel imperial stouts have a bit of foam, some have almost no foam. I have never---not once in 6 years---seen Bourbon County Stout get more than 2mm of head, no matter how hard the pour or how spotless the glass, and even that 2mm doesn't stick around long. And I know it can't be any more than 2mm high because it's always thinner than my guitar picks.

 

Pouring temperature will also play a role. If you let it warm up a bit before the pour, you'll get more head

 

My first thought when I first tried a barrel aged stout, no head, very little carbonation, but they taste great!

 

Agree with spicoli00. BA don't like to foam up and the warmer they get the more I start to see foaming.

 

I recall that Grey Monday had no head. BCBS requires the most vigorous and frothy of pours to get a little bit of foam. Black Gold had a teensy bit that stuck mostly to the edges where the beer met glass. 8Wired Bumaye had no head. What I'm trying to get at is that in general, they do not have much foam haha.