Variation in Head Longevity

That would be my first guess: glass 'cleanliness'. If a glass is washed using detergent/soap it needs to be thoroughly rinsed to remove all detergent/soap residue or else this will mitigate the head of the beer.

Cheers!

 

I have heard from credible sources that this can be the case as well.

 

Yes. I can attest to this. Detergent left on the glass (not visible, but there) will very much affect the head and the lacing.

 

The other option if you are not a germophobe is to just rinse your beer glasses thoroughly after use with water. There really is no absolute need to utilize soap/detergent to 'clean' your glasses.

I have some very tall Pilsner glasses that I do not feel comfortable putting into my dishwasher (I broke one once by being a bit too rough placing it in). After that break I simply just rinse my pilsner glasses after use and place them upside down in a rack to drip dry. Those glasses yield a beautiful head and gorgeous Belgian Lace as the beer is consumed.

Cheers!

P.S. I do wash my non-Pilsner beer glasses in the dishwasher but the dishwasher detergent I use includes a rinse aid so those glasses also yield big and sustaining heads.

 

You're going to fit in nicely around here!

 

I agree with that totally, I have some tall glasses I just cannot clean with my hands and the dishwasher will destroy them. I just drip some soap into them and run hot water over the glass and towel dry, smells good and no issues. I actually started the same process with most of my beer glasses and zero issue, sometimes I think we over wash on glasses.

 

Firstly, eating anything oily while drinking will kill the head.

Following that, when talking about a "beer-clean" glass, you should never use soap, and always immediately rinse it with hot water after using it, running your fingers around the lip to remove anything you might have gotten on there. Then, periodically fill it with an inch or so of salt and warm water and spread it around, getting the salt mixture over all of the inside and the outside lip. Second to that is using an acid like distilled white vinegar which helps break up any bio-film that might have developed. I usually do that every 8 weeks or so. Finally, if your glass shows any bubbles stuck to the bottom or the sides that means it's not clean, that there's something on there acting as a nucleation point for the carbonation to stick to, and you need to clean it again. In that case, a run through the dishwasher would probably be good followed by the acid and salt.

 

As you pour the beer into the rinsed pilsner glasses, do you get those bubbles that hold on the glass in little clumps?

I have found that one hand wash cycle with my glasses will have the beer bubble on the glass, and reduce head/lacing. Two washes (back to back) in hot water yields inhibited head retention and lacing. I haven't had good experience with just rinsing out my glasses, but perhaps I need to let them air-dry longer. I would like to find a dishwasher detergent that I'm pleased with for my beer glasses. What product do you use?

 

To be honest I really have never looked. I have an undersink water filter and my process is to just place my Pilsner glass under the filter's faucet and let it run until the glass is overflowing and I place the glass upside down in a rack to dry. I do not expect the glass to be 100% pristine; it is clean to the eye and the next time I use it the beer has a big. long lasting head.

In short: this process 'works' for me.

Maybe I should periodically do a more thorough cleaning (e.g., using dish detergent) but frankly that is not going to happen since I am personally satisfied with the status quo.

Needless to say I am not a Germophobe. When I drop food on the floor the 5 second rule is always in effect!!

Cheers!

 

I am just curious if the beer glass accumulates bubbles as you pour a beer into it.

I like your method. I am far from a germophobe, haha. I just wasn't able to get clean looking glass once I poured beer into a rinsed glass vs. a washed one. I never wash out my coffee mug either. I do rinse it with some water, and the occasion fill of hot water, but I haven't had any problems not washing mine.

 

I will run mine through a short cycle in the dishwasher without any detergent (i.e. a hot water wash), and then every few times, I will add a small amount (much less than recommended) of dish washer detergent.

BTW, I have found old, well-used household glasses eventually get a haze, like a fine etching sort of, that is permanent. I place the blame on dish washing detergent.

Anyone else see anything like that?

 

I had some glasses that had the appearance of having a permanent haze; this happened when I used 'basic' Cascade as the dishwasher detergent. I switched to Cascade 10X and after a few times of washing the glasses changed from hazy to crystal clear.

It is my understanding that this hazy/cloudy appearance is due to mineral deposits from tap (or well) water. Mostly calcium?

I did a quick websearch and according to the below link a trick to get rid of this haze is to clean the glass with toothpaste.

http://lifehacker.com/236413/how-to-clean-cloudy-drinking-glasses

Cheers!

 

I have had a lot of luck rinsing my glasses with just water. The secret is to do it immediately, while the beer is still wet everywhere it contacted. Semi-violent swirling does everything it needs to on the inside. I hand rub/was the outside if I was eating sloppy hand food while drinking.
I never need the dishwasher for my beer glasses unless I let the vessel linger too long before I get to it.
I always seem to get great head (on my beer anyway).

 

My guess would be the glass. Hand washing mine seems to do the trick.

 

I use a dedicated beer glass sponge with dye/scent free dish liquid. Then I rinse very thoroughly with hot water. I find that my dishwasher leaves a bit of residue so I don't like to use it for my beer glasses, and if you use the same sponge you use to clean greasy dishes, you'll just be introducing a small amount of that grease to the glass.

 

Dude, I feel your pain! I went through a similar situation recently with Founders PC Pils. I always hand wash my glasses with unscented dish soap, rinse thoroughly, and air dry, but I still could not get any head retention! This drove me crazy for over a week. I tried everything I could, followed every procedure I could think of it, and I still couldn't get any head retention. The head was always really foamy and soapy and quickly fizzed away. I was losing my mind. Then I finally found out thanks to @StoutElk_92 that PC Pils is brewed with corn, and since corn is a low-protein adjunct that fights head retention (as in your typical adjunct lager) the poor head retention was normal. I'm probably OCD, (or a number of other mental issues) but that was source of non-stop frustration for me.

 

The life of the head is inversely proportionate to the thirst of the drinker. Geez don't they teach science over there?

 

As the finest pint of Bass I ever drank had no head and was as limpid as a mountain lake I do feel that the head of a pint is a little overrated, But I drink in pubs 95% of the time where glasses are machine washed by law. A well kept and poured pint will keep its head to the bottom of the glass even though cask beer has no extra carbonation.
It is a thick and creamy head rather than a collection of large bubbles.

None of these glasses was washed by hand or without soap.