Brew UK Forum | Beer Kits
Not enough head!!
That got your attention I see 
Hello everyone, this is my first post on here after lurking for a couple of months.
I currently live in Japan and have been missing a decent pint of ale so my dad sent me over a Geordie bitter kit. I have just finished this and was very pleased with the taste after I left it for a good six weeks. As the title suggests though I didn't get the desired head on my beer that most people seem to attribute to Geordie bitter, I constantly read things like "Good head retention to the bottom of the glass". I fermented it in a big bucket and then transferred it to 2 litre PET bottles to clear. When I opened to drink there was a reasonable hiss from the bottle and I then poured it out into a jug so as not to get the stuff from the bottom of the bottle in the beer. There would be a slight bubbly head but nothing like what I was imagining.
So my question is, did I do something wrong? Did it not carbonate sufficiently? and if so is there anything I can do next time to improve this such as rolling the bottles during clearing?
I have just bottled a batch of Young's Harvest Bitter and would be very grateful for any advice you have for a newbie.
Thanking you all in advance.
Cheers.
Responses
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Hello there!
How much sugar did you prime the bottles with?
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Hi Broadside I have made both of those a few times But after the first try I have made the rest with an extra 250g of spray malt added when you are making the kit It seems to work ok for keg but not tried to bottle
5 gal St Peters Golden Ale as per tin
Youngs Harvest Mild
all a bit moded
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Peter - I plan to do that on my next batch. Unfortunately it is very diificult to get anything over here as brewing your own is actually illegal! I plan to stock up on my next trip back to the UK
Nath - I used just under two teaspoons for the priming. It recommended half a teaspoon for a pint and the bottles are two litres with a gap at the top for the gas build up. Is this right? Any suggestions?
Cheers guys!
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
That sounds just fine and dandy!
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
It may be the PET bottles. I've heard from several sources that they are gas permeable. Can you get hold of glass and get caps and a capper. I guess you could test the theory with some recycled glass twist cap bottles.
Another approach could be to boil some malted wheat extract with the contents of the kit for 10 minutes, pout it into the bucket and add the rest of the water. Wheat's good for head....retention.
Fermenting:
Condtioning:
Drinking: Twibute Clone, PJ Clone
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
How long was the beer in the bottles for?
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Interesting theory about the PET bottles. They certainly expanded and were holding gas inside, but they could quite easily have been letting some out aswell which would definitely have an effect on the carbonation. What kind of recycled glass twist cap bottles did you have in mind as they would have to be pretty strong caps for the pressure? I definitely can't get hold of a capper etc over here though
Nath - the beer was in the bottle for about a month before it got to a reasonable flavour and then i finished it all over the next six weeks. There didn't seem to be a huge difference in the head from the first to last bottles.
I did decant the beer into a jug where the head was at it's best but it quickly disspated. When I poured from the jug to a glass I was lucky to get a few frothy bubbles. The taste was still very good though.
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Weird. Pet bottles will "leech" over time but I wouldnt have thought a month would have made that much. I do have a hammer capper that I dont use that I could send you, for display purposes, of course.
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Did you allow a few days at room temperature once bottled. some kits say a day or two, but I prefer 5-7 days. different sugars convert at different temperatures, so it may be worth bringing some of it indoors for a few days even at this stage.
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Nath - thanks very much for the kind offer, but knowing the costs of postsage to and from the UK and Japan and the fact that the customs here are militant to say the least, it's more hassle than it's worth. Cheers though
Monk - Yes I left it for 7 days at room temp and then moved to a cooler place. I'm not really sure what happened but hopefully this batch will be head tastic! I'm moving it to a cooler spot today so only a couple more weeks till I can have a taste!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I was thinking of a commercial beer that's sold is twist cap bottles. Not 100% sure how good they are when you twist the cap back on but I've read of people using them. Not sure what beers are sold with those caps in Japan though! Better still [just occurred to me]. What about flip top grolsch bottles? They would be great.
BTW, is this link any use to you:
Homebrew in Japan
Fermenting:
Condtioning:
Drinking: Twibute Clone, PJ Clone
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Cheers Simonb that link will definitely come in handy! Good to know I can get hops delivered for when I start experimenting a bit more!
As for the Grolsch bottles, I'm sure I could find some somewhere, but I imagine they will be very expensive over here. Still, worth experimenting with a few if I can't get good head from the PET bottle. I'm keeping everything crossed for this batch. Only a couple of weeks till I can sample it.
Cheers mate.
Reply
You must log in to post.