Too Much Head

Classification: pale ale, Sierra Nevada clone, all-grain

Source: Roy J. Bourcier (rjbourc@nmia.com), HBD Issue #1797, August 2, 1995

I've been brewing for about 1 1/2 years, all grain for 1 year. For the past 6 months, I've been trying to refine my house pale ale. Started out looking for a SNPA clone, but drifted into more "floral" brew (I LOVE Cascades). With my last batch, I'm getting close - with one problem. The head on this brew is TOO THICK. It's somewhere between whipped cream and lemon meringue. Fun to have around to impress homebrew skeptics, but not what I'm looking for. I figure I probably went overboard with the head retention malts. But maybe something is off in my procedure? Here's a rundown of the brew in question.

Ingredients:

8 lb 2 row Klages malt
1 lb 20 L Crystal
1/2 lb Cara-pils
1/2 lb Malted Wheat
1/2 oz Perle hops (60 min)
1/2 oz Perle hops (30 min)
1 1/2 oz Cascade hops (30 min)
1 oz Cascade hops (2 min)
1 1/2 oz Cascade hops (dry)
RO water with 2 tsp Gypsum/5 gal, 1/2 tsp Epsom salts/5 gal, 1/4 tsp NaCl/5 = gal
1/4 tsp powdered Irish Moss (10 min)
Yeast Labs American Ale Yeast (16 oz starter)

Procedure:

Protein rest 30 min @ 122=B0F
Mash 154=B0F to conversion
Mashout at 175=B0F and sparge at 170=B0F
Boil for 60 min.

Specifics:

OG: 1.052
FG: 1.007