sdbrew1024

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I have a new brewer friend who asked me about a problem he's having. Apparently he brewed two batches recently and into the fermenter the beers appeared to be the color they were designed to be, however after a week or so in primary both batches had darkened considerably. His explanation was from a light beer (Pale ale and Hefeweizen) to a "dark" beer, he likened the color to a porter. I have never heard of this before so I thought I would ask here. Any ideas?

The Pol

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#1. Beer LOOKS darker as the yeast flocculates... this happens to most beers after they ferment. Yeast makes it look lighter.

#2. Beer ALWAYS looks A LOT darker in the fermentor, I mean you are looking through about 18" of beer, when it is in the glass you are looking through 3" maybe? It is light diffusion. The beer is the same color, it is your perception.

sdbrew1024

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So your opinion is that it's a perception issue. So there most likely nothing negative going on, like infection/oxidation and nothing to worry about in your opinion?

sundaybrewingco

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I wouldn't worry. I think just about every beer that was in the primary came out a completely different color than what it was in the carboy..

When it comes time for bottling, you will definitely see a change in color from what it was in the carboy.

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