That's been my method up to now. Kolsch and Blonde Ales in particular get around 5% wheat. Lagers have been all Pilsner and Vienna (and maybe corn or rice). I mash low and long and though I get some conversion in the dextrin rest, I need a little something to make the head hold up a little better.
Carapils/Carafoam. Accept no substitute... Wheat works, too, as does unmalted rye or barley. Crystal malts increase head retention, too.
These have been tested and proven to not be foam positive. If you are looking for foam positive procedures, I have a blog post about it. http://www.lowoxygenbrewing.com/uncategorized/foam/
Nice but whose beer did they test? I get a much better foam stand when I use them than when I don't. Being an engineer and a process geek, I'm well aware of the dangers of n=1 so I wouldn't make my word gospel under any circumstances.
The comment? I have been wishing they would add that feature for a while for threads that I start that don't get responses.
I believe you, except for the part where I get much better head retention when I use Carapils or Carafoam. As I said, this is an n=1 observation and in the larger scheme of things not worth much. I have read Kunze but won't pay $7 to read this study. And a long history of studies showing chocolate is a health food tells me not to put too much weight on a finding until it's been replicated a few times. In my beers, the effect is not small. In fact, I was amazed at the head on my beers when I finally started using carapils/carafoam. So I'll keep using it. It all comes back to doing what works for you. The science, the equations, the predictions are great starting points and can get you in the ballpark but ultimately, the beer's quality comes down to the brewer's skill in finding what works for them.
