Beer Forum

Hey Brewing Brother & Sisters,

I've brewed this lovely bier and have received tons of big ups!

But the one negative feedback that I have received was about the head (insert joke here).

So I was hoping for some help with about how much wheat to add before changing the flavor.

I'm an all grain brewer, but I only can access to single infusion.

Thanks in advance and BREW ON!!

DB!

With that much crystal you shouldn't need any wheat. Is it fully carbed? Did you use dish-soap on you glasses?

Other than that I would use CaraPils instead of wheat, maybe swap out a 2 ounces of the crystal 40 with of carapils.

Crystal isn't really going to help with head retention, you're correct looking for some proteins from the wheat. Plug it into some software, keep the gravity the same while exchanging some base malt for wheat malt. I wouldn't go above 10%, but you may not need all that much. I'd recommend starting around 6, 6.5% and up it again on the next batch if it's still not quite there. Just add a percent or so each time until you find it's where you like it.

Thanks a lot! But I did carbonate it for a week. And I have served it in many places and many glasses. When I pour it there is tons of head and then boom two minutes later gone!! I'll take your advice and let you know how it turns out. One more time thanks. Not brewing it for maybe a few weeks but I'll hit you up when I do.

I like the idea of switching out some of the base malt with wheat! Love you guys! This is what I'm talking about. Sometimes it just takes another geek to show you the way.

I'd agree that crystal isn't ideal for head retention, but this recipe in particular had fantastic head retention for me. I'm not a fan of wheat since my water is already so hard. (yeah I said it ) that I am already doing everything I can to keep my pH down.

NervousDad wrote:I'd agree that crystal isn't ideal for head retention, but this recipe in particular had fantastic head retention for me. I'm not a fan of wheat since my water is already so hard. (yeah I said it ) that I am already doing everything I can to keep my pH down.

Like a touch of hydrochloric acid? Not looking at the recipe at the moment but I'm assuming this one's to style. If it's a hoppy red, you can always use sulpheric. I'd never let my water dictate which malts I can/can't use.

Like oz said, you could start by adding .5 # of wheat in place of the base malt. I have brewed that recipe many times and absolutely love it. Are you adding any foam control to your fermentation?