This is the third AG batch I've done (first two were APA's). I brewed August 16th, fermented at 64*F, transferred to secondary on the 21st, cold-crashed to 39*F on Sept. 4th, kegged on Sept. 7th, and hooked up CO2 (to 10psi) on Sept. 14th.
I pulled my first few pints yesterday, and it tastes delicious! However, I am getting almost NO head. Maybe like 4mm of head, and only around the edges. It does last throughout the pint, but it is very minimal.
If I cover and shake the glass just a couple of times, I get a huge foamy head - but not when I'm pouring from the keg. So I know it's carbed OK, but something else is amiss. Seeing as how I'm still a n00b, what could be the cause of this? Also, this beer is very opaque. I have a strong LED flashlight, and I held it up to the back of the glass, pointed through it towards me, and I could not see the light except near the vertical sides of the glass. What could be causing all of this darkness? I was expecting a more clear look, similar to Newcastle.
For the record, even though I'm a rook I still take great pride in my process. I am a borderline perfectionist and it carries over into my hobbies well. I followed the OP's recipe to the letter, but my mash temp was a bit high (158-160) for 30 minutes or so. I treated my water using
*this* as direction. (I know my city's water profile, and used 3:1 diluted to tap water, adding half a Campden tablet to the tap water before dilution. I added CaSO4 and CaCl2 to the mash and sparge water.)
My OG was 1.050, and my FG going into the keg was 1.010.
Any ideas on the lack-of-head issue?