No head no foam please help!

If the carbonation was adequate with the fizz drops, try subbing in a little wheat extract (10-20%) and see if that helps. Cheers

 

It's hard to have any brewing defects when brewing with extract, so the problem would seem to be with the carbonation process. Do you get any 'whoosh' when you uncap a bottle, or any carbonation 'dancing' on your tongue? If everything checks out okay there then the next thing to consider would be soap residue on the inside of your glass. Soap will kill a head very quickly.

 

Do you get enough carbonation but no foam? There is a difference between having flat beer and having no foam or head. It is important to know because the problem is solved at different points in the process.

No carbonation is usually because the bottles have not conditioned properly. Either not enough priming sugar, not enough time or too cold. Or any combination of the three. My guess is your priming drops are not getting the job done. Consider using dextrose that is weighed (not volume measure but weight in grams) specifically to the volume of beer you are bottling. Even a small variation of 10 or 20 grams will make a difference with 1 gallon batches. Huge difference actually.

If you do have fizzy beer and decent carbonation then it could be greasy glassware (hand wash, very hot water. twice. rinse. Air dry completely. Avoid the dishwasher. And really, use very hot water. The glassware your kid uses for chocolate milk is killing your beer) Or the beer is too cold (hint 38 F. Not 44. Not 32. 38F).

Lastly and least likely, stale extract. Poor extract with too many adjuncts.

Truth is, homebrewed beer will almost always have great head retention, and it's easy to fix.
Cheers.

 

Given what you have told us, I don't think your bottle cleaning is the issue because I do the same procedure. The one-step does not have to be rinsed, but I do it anyway.

You didn't reply that you know the carb tablets are working correctly, so I'm assuming that you know that carbonation has occurred in the bottle, at least to some degree. But that could be your issue due to under-carbonation because the tablets aren't working right. Try using table sugar on your next batch to see if that fixes the problem.

 

Which one step sanitizer are we talking about? Something legit like star san or some white powder that came in an unmarked bag with your brew kit?

 

One Step is actually a brand name for a no-rinse cleaner from LD Carlson. It's technically not a sanitizer, but a lot of people use it as one.

 

What @VikeMan says above is what I usually use. However, I just walked to the basement to verify that, but discovered that I use a different product (also from LD Carlson) that I got at my local homebrew supply store because the One Step wasn't available the last time I bought a tub. It requires rinsing, which is what I always do anyway.

 

Anyone know LD Carlsons source? Sometimes if you check the manufacture location it is a hint. Just curious.

 

@billandsuz The container of stuff that I mentioned above that I'm now using is called Easy Alkaline. It has no mfgr. address other than the LD Carlson location in Kent, OH. However, the plastic bucket has a mfgr. location of Canada noted on the bottom, and maybe that could hint of a Canadian source for the contents. Does that give you any clue?

 

Add some yeast to the bottles,reseal and see what happens. Maybe those 1 gal kits don't have enough yeast for the drops.

 

It would be very hard to include enough yeast to ferment the batch of beer, but not have enough yeast left in suspension to do the carbonation. It takes very little yeast to carbonate. Anyway, I could be wrong, but it doesn't sound to me like carbonation is the problem.

 

So this isn't related to the carbonation issue, but it's important to use cleaner and sanitizer appropriately. Cleaner is meant to remove soil (unwanted material) from your equipment or bottles. It should leave the surface free of all debris. @Mothergoose03, the product you are describing sounds like a cleaner, not a sanitizer.

Sanitizer is meant to kill the vast majority of microorganisms on the surface of your equipment/bottles. It is inadvisable to sanitize your equipment before it is clean, because sanitizer is generally ineffective if there is soil on the surface. So the standard approach is to use a cleaner, then rinse it off, and then use a sanitizer. If you are using new bottles, or bottles that are already clean, obviously there is no need for the cleaning step. Most sanitizers used by brewers do not need to be rinsed, which is convenient because rinsing with water could reintroduce microorganisms (unless the water has itself been sterilized, e.g. by boiling).

Anyway I bring all of this up because I don't think it's advisable to use OneStep (much less an alkaline cleaner like the one described by @Mothergoose03) to sanitize bottles. This is for two reasons. First, OneStep is not marketed as a sanitizer, it is marketed as a cleaner. You should use a sanitizer to sanitize your bottles (or you should use another method like heat - see below).

Some people believe that OneStep is effective as a sanitizer notwithstanding its marketing. I have no strong opinion on the matter, but I will point out two important things to bear in mind. First, OneStep loses its effectiveness quickly once it has been mixed with water. You must mix a new batch every time you use it. (This is by contrast to StarSan, a solution of which will last indefinitely if made with soft water and stored properly.)

Second, OneStep is an oxygen-based cleaner. Brewers typically try to avoid introducing any oxygen into their beer once fermentation is complete, because oxygen can lead to staling of the beer. Therefore even if I were going to use OneStep as a sanitizer, I would want to wait until the excess oxygen that it introduces (this is how it works) is completely gone before bottling. Speaking for myself, this would mean waiting at least a day after using the OneStep on my bottles. But in truth, I would never rely on OneStep to sanitize bottles.

By far the best method I have found for sanitizing bottles is to run them through the "sanitize" cycle on my dishwasher, without using any dish detergent. (Bear in mind, they must already be clean, with all cleaner rinsed out, before sanitizing them in this manner.) It is very convenient to open the dishwasher and bottle over the open door, which contains any spills. Then I simply close the door and the spilled beer drips into the inside of the dishwasher. If you have a dishwasher with a "sanitize" cycle, I strongly recommend using this method. If you don't, I would recommend StarSan (just be careful because it makes the bottles slick). StarSan is a no-rinse sanitizer, and there is no need to wait after using it.

I don't think any of this has anything to do with your carbonation issues. But I hope it helps you think through your cleaning/sanitizing procedures, which can be the source of a lot of "fun" if you don't handle them properly.

 

You're right it is a cleaner. It's been a while since I brewed and I forgot that I didn't have the One Step anymore. I also forgot that I've been using iodophor as a sanitizer after using the Easy Alkaline. (And since I've always been anal about sanitation, I also use the iodophor after using the One Step too.)

 

I happened to be reading Randy Mosher's book, Tasting Beer, yesterday and saw a quote that he included in it. I forget who he attributed the quote to. but it fits here: "You can't sanitize dirt. "