I brewed saison sangreal from “Experimental Homebrewing” - French saison with blood orange juice and zest. A thirst-quenching favorite amongst those whose names shall not be mentioned but are under the legal drinking age. Problem: there is absolutely no head. Was this to be expected? Before that I also brewed the citra saison from the same book, and there the head was ok.
Hrm, nothing about the recipe should be head killing. When I’ve made it it always throws a big head.
I may not have filtered the orange particles very well, maybe that is the cause…
When I pour a bottle it’s like very, very fizzy and then the head is gone. Mind you, I don’t think it’s really very problematic for this beer. I’m just marketing it as a radler right now 8)
homoeccentricus, can you post the recipe or post the link to it? I can’t find it. Thanks. It does sound yummy.
It’s on page 125 of “Experimental Homebrewing”. Not sure whether it’s appropriate to publish. These guys have to make a living too. 
No problem. I thought it was on their website.
Drew,
Did you ever bottle this beer? or only serve from kegs? if there is oil from the zest it would probably float on the surface so if you are serving from a keg you wouldn’t have any problems.
Homoeccentricus (Man, you gotta put your first name in your sig line or something. that’s a beast to type) could it be fusels (hot alcohol flavors) or too low pH? (tartness).
I’m just going to assume you have sparkling clean hand wiped beer glasses of course.
It’s yet another Frank. I collect movies (think Once Upon A Time In The West) and tv series (think House Of Cards) where the bad guy is called Frank, there’s lots of them. Something to do with the name.
Beginning of this year I brewed the citra saison, which is more or less the same recipe without the orange, and there the head was ok. I have the impression it’s killer orange particles that destroy the head…
I would bet more on the oils from the zest.
Frank Burns on MASH was sort of the bad guy.
Scent of a woman, Blue velvet, American Gangster, The Postman always rings twice, Donnie Darko, The Departed, etc. etc.
Frank-frank Binks.
How exactly did you add the oranges? Juice only? Zest? Entire?
Orange (zest in particular but I’ll bet juice too) is a potent detergent, which will eat away at proteins and lipids.
As per Drew’s recipe, for 5.5 gallons: zest of 3 oranges in whirlpool; 3 liters of juice added after primary.
Now that’s a lot of detergent.
+1.
I do have the impression that it’s oil and particles floating at the surface that prevent the head from being formed. Why would that not be a problem when one kegs?
If it’s floating stuff, then kegging could bypass this (at least, until you reach the end of the keg) because you’re not serving the top fraction but indeed the lower fraction (assuming a keg works the way I think it does, i.e. like a siphon bottle).
Correct
This is not fair. And I blame Drew.
Don’t worry, everyone blames me for everything.
I agree it’s probably the citrus oils, but I’ve never experienced it before.
Here’s the real question - does the beer still drink good?