Ways to improve Head/Head Retention?

Steep some Carapils.

 

obtaining a thick head is generally not a problem with all malt beer. not even with extract really. it is usually the result of high adjunct and sometimes less than ideal brewing technique.

head retention is related to protein content among other things. wheat will hold a great head. think of a hefe. carpils and other no flavor specialty grains will also build in some head retention, but the grain is really only needed in adjunct brews. 5% - 10% wheat will works wonders but it does come at a slight cost because it is not appropriate for most styles. that is not always a disadvantage for homebrewers however.

also, super clean glass ware. zero soap residue.
cold beer, 38 degrees or so.
pay attention to your carbing or priming if bottling. use a scale to weigh your priming sugar and don't use volumes.
rack carefully. leave behind trub and hop residue as much as possible.

Cheers.

 

Anecdotally ... when my beer pours a weak head ... the second round from the bottle usually produces a better result.

 

To me that screams some sort of residue on the glass

 

If you steep Carapils = starch haze though, it needs to be mashed doesn't it? @VikeMan. My go to in all grain is flaked wheat and flaked barley, never been a Carapils fan.

 

Carapils arguably will become a bit more fermentable after a full fledged mash, but a mash is not necessary, per say. It can be treated like any other cara malt.

 

Any thoughts on using flaked wheat or barley vs flaked oats in a IPA? I usually add a half lb or so of carapils and a half lb of flaked oats but feel like the fat in the oats is counter productive.

 

Do a mash rest at 160F. Have a healthy fermentation, control the temps to avoid fusesls.

 

Traditionally, I've done 5-10% Flaked wheat in my pale beers, only used flaked barley in my dark beers. Knowing what I know now, I'd make my pale ales with 10-15% flaked wheat, or a split of flaked wheat and flaked oats at the same rate.

 

Ferment cooler, make sure your glassware is clean, add wheat or rye.

Next!

 

Sadly ... BA forum rules prevent me from responding to this obtuse comment.

 

I also like to use wheat.

 

No. The starches in Carapils have already been converted to dextrins. The reason I recommended steeping carapils (and didn't recommend mash temps, flaked wheat, flaked barley, etc.) is that @PorterPro125 is an extract brewer, at least for now. @PorterPro125: Those other recommendations, while good, apply to All Grain brewing, not extract.[/QUOTE]

 

How long have your bottles been chilling before trying?

I found with my first beer I brewed that I was disappointed in the head after it just chilled 2-3 days... After about a week it had large and long lasting head on it just from the cold conditioning. If yours had enough time to chill, carapils or wheat are known to help with head retention as mentioned above.

 

The real issue is that CaraPils can refer to pretty different malts, depending on the maltster. Briess CaraPils is a crystal malt, and steeping it isn't a bad idea (although fermentability will go up when it is mashed). However, Weyermann CaraPils (CaraFoam in the US) is starchy, and actually has enough enzymatic power (barely) to self-convert.