A two part question: How does oil inhibit formation of head in beer? Homebrewers take as gospel that oil-containing ingredients such as nuts will negatively impact head. But I can't find any articles or other materials explaining how and why this is true. I am trying to understand the chemistry of how this works. Do citrus oils (from citrus zest or orange peel) inhibit head formation? Randy Mosher says that in his experience citrus oils do not affect head.

Is there a particular way to manipulate a grain bill to change the color of the head of a beer? Ie if you want an off-white head in an RIS as opposed to a brown head?

I've tried looking for duplicates to this question, but can't quite find a single question that covers it, so here goes (pls let me know if I've missed one) Last night I tasted the first bottle of my first ever homebrew! It was just an extract kit (Coopers Real Ale), and I was quite pleased by it. The only thing that surprised me was the complete lack of head when I poured the beer. The beer was carbonated, at least …

I just brewed by first DIPA, which is batch number 3 for me when it comes to all-grain brewing. I've forced carbonated before, but this is the first time I tried to speed up the process by agitating the keg for a couple minutes at 30 psi, then put the keg in my kegerator for about 18 hours. When I poured my first beer it had carbonation, but it didn't have any head. At that point I increased the psi …

I've been testing out my brigalow homebrew! All the reviews I've found said its one of the worst kit beers out! Being my very first home brew... can't comment on comparison but can say that by tweaking the instructions a bit... I've now got a beautiful beer! I've no idea of ales, lagers, and all of that! Carbonation is not too bad but very little head. How do I change that? How do you know if it has completed the …

Especially if I am extra brewing, and making a lower gravity beer, the ingredients (cara, crystal) that add mouthfeel and head retention also add too much sweetness. Thinking of a low gravity Belgium style (Blonde, Patersbier, etc), but this could be a problem for other styles too.

I have head retention problems in an extract bock, and I've been working my way through the potential issues. It's in a keezer. Line is 3/16, length is 8ft Pressure is 14psi (I live at 5,000ft) Pour time is 8-9 seconds Fan circulates air Keezer is 38F Lines are coiled on top of keg, no CO2 breakout in the lines I'm confident in the carbonation levels, it has been slow-carbing for months Once the beer hits the glass, the CO2 …

Stouts, especially beers like Guiness (its cousin Kilkenny as well), have a head that's really creamy. Being a stout lover myself, I always envied this head, but I have no idea how one can achieve it. What is so different about these beers' recipe that produces such an exceptional head? Can we achieve it at home?

I just brewed my first beer. It's called Cascadian subduction, but I think it means more about the process than it does anything else. My problem is that there's no head, but there are bubbles. Also, the taste seems way off. To my novice opinion, it seems it either needed to boil longer, or hotter. Does anyone have any ideas from what I described?

I've been brewing wine for a few years now but only just recently turned to beer. I've just finished (as in "consumed") my first brew and have now got my second one on the go. Both of my brews are extract/hops type brew. I've done a lot of reading around the subject and dipped into various forums and I think I pretty much understand the whole hopping process and such... however there are a few things I can't find clear …

Does the head improve something on the beer flavour/aroma? Back home in Brasil, the folk has it that head is useful to keep the beer cold, but in colder lands (and warmer beers) as they have in Europe that is probably a non-issue. In fact, some fast drinkers over there would argue for smaller head to get more beer. Why head and head retention are important?

Last night I embarked on a fun adventure to create a 14-16% ABV beer (Dema Goddess Ale), and it calls for aeration via an air pump that you would typically use in an aquarium. Due to the high concentration of sugar (a collective pound of demerara and cane sugar), as well as 13+ lbs of LME, it quickly produced an overwhelming amount of head that, unless looked after for the entire duration, would overflow creating a mess. Are there any …

I just finished brewing a series of 5 Belgian beers, and at least 3 of them have exhibited problems with head formation and retention. I haven't tried the last 2 beers yet, so I can't say if those have the same problems. In the Blonde, Dubbel and Tripel, I'll get a rush of carbonation after pouring and then a thin head that dissipates quickly. And I'm getting little to no lacing. All of these beers used Belgian Pils as the …

Just opened a bottle conditioned "Belgian Black"-- delicious and well carbed. However, there is little no head on the pour and the lacing is pretty weak, too. How do I ensure good head retention?

Me and my friend made a hefeweizen a time ago and this beer had a strange behaviour, when we open the bottles the foam grows up fast until get out of the bottle. The beer is ok, in fact it tastes great, but we don't know what we could made to this strange foam behaviour happens. We have never experienced this on our batches, only on this hefeweizen. Someone have an idea what causes big foams growing up after open …