Brewing light colored beers

BrewmanBeing · 10-01-2006, 08:59 PM

I recently brewed an Imperial Ale using 12 pounds of light malt extract and a little bit of 10 degree crystal and vienna malts. According to the numbers, it should be pretty light in color. On the contrary, it's dark!!! What did I do wrong?

**Bernie Brewer** · 10-01-2006, 10:27 PM

Is it still in the carboy, or have you seen it in a glass? All beers look darker in the carboy...........

Also Malt extract beers can be a bit darker too, from carmelization.

**the_bird** · 10-01-2006, 10:29 PM

You can make them lighter by adding some or most of the extract near the end of the boil (give it fifteen minutes or so to make sure it's sanitized). This will reduce the caramelization that can result from brewing with extract. This will also help with your hops utilization (boiling in lower gravity = better extraction).

BrewmanBeing · 10-02-2006, 01:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_bird

You can make them lighter by adding some or most of the extract near the end of the boil (give it fifteen minutes or so to make sure it's sanitized). This will reduce the caramelization that can result from brewing with extract. This will also help with your hops utilization (boiling in lower gravity = better extraction).

I always thought this (about hop utilization), and wondered if I could wait till the end of the boil to add the extracts, but then read somewhere that the "extract character" would be there if I didn't boil for the full hour.

Someone talk more about caramelization. Does it only occur with extracts?

BrewmanBeing · 10-02-2006, 01:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ablrbrau

Is it still in the carboy, or have you seen it in a glass? All beers look darker in the carboy............

It is still in the carboy, but it looks darker than the amber ale I brewed last week (with 60L crystal) next to it.

boo boo · 10-02-2006, 10:15 AM

Was that 12 pounds of extract for a 5 gallon batch?

Look up the Maillard effect on google. It affects everything that's heated.

BrewmanBeing · 10-02-2006, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boo boo

Was that 12 pounds of extract for a 5 gallon batch?

Look up the Maillard effect on google. It affects everything that's heated.

I tend to brew 6 gallon batches. Unfortunately, I lost a gallon when the carboy cracked. Moral of the story: Buy a counterflow wort chiller.

rdwj · 10-02-2006, 06:25 PM

You don't have to even go 15 minutes in the extract late method. Several Palmer recipes call for addition with 5 minutes left and others have extract added at knockout

homebrewer_99 · 10-02-2006, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdwj

You don't have to even go 15 minutes in the extract late method. Several Palmer recipes call for addition with 5 minutes left and others have extract added at knockout

I like to get another hot break before turning off the heat.

SteveM · 10-03-2006, 10:45 PM

For flavored beers (like a Black Raspberry Ale currently brewing) I use extra light DME 50/50 with rice solids, and sometimes skip the steeping grains altogether. This will give you a very pale beer. I've never simply made one like this and bottled with with no fruit added, but I might bottle up a six pack worth from this batch just to see how it turns out. I gotta believe it will be pretty bland.