Will color change after fermentation?

I did my first brew this weekend and was hoping to get a amber colored beer but when I got done boiling and used the hydometer I could barely see thru the the thing it is only about the diameter of a quarter my question is when it get done fermenting will it lighten up?

Here is what I used and the process,
6.6 pounds, Amber Extract
2 cups Orange Blossom Honey (boil)
0.5 pound, crystal malt 90 lov.

Steeped the crytal malt until about 170º
Added Honey and Malt Extrac at 170º brought to a boil. Boiled for 10 mins. Added 1.5 oz of hopps boiled for 25 mins and added .5 oz. hopps for 5 mins. cool to 75º check w/ hydrometer added yeast sitting in spare room.

It may clear up (proteins and yeast dropping out) giving the appearance of being lighter, but won't actually change color.

Did you add all of the extract at the beginning of the boil? LME tends to darken the more you boil it, so that could be why it's darker than you expected.

I just put the recipe into Beersmith and it ends up at 14SRM. Check here for a chart on what that might look like.

-Joe

The first batch i brewed looked horrible going into the fermenter, i was think the same thing you were about how is this going to look; I was stunned at how clear it was once it was time to bottle. The particulates and yeast settled to the bottom and it nice and clear.

My first batch an amber as well. It was dark appearing at first in the fermentor. I bottled last thurs and it almost looks orange rather than amber in the bottles ( I have a few clear ones).

Does color matter? If the beer tstes good then to hell with it. Color only matters if its going to be judged. Why worry?

You really can not judge beer in a carboy. It's cloudy and light does not go through that much liquid - it will be much lighter once it is finished.

bigmv said:

I did my first brew this weekend and was hoping to get a amber colored beer but when I got done boiling and used the hydometer I could barely see thru the the thing it is only about the diameter of a quarter my question is when it get done fermenting will it lighten up?

Here is what I used and the process,
6.6 pounds, Amber Extract
2 cups Orange Blossom Honey (boil)
0.5 pound, crystal malt 90 lov.

Steeped the crytal malt until about 170º
Added Honey and Malt Extrac at 170º brought to a boil. Boiled for 10 mins. Added 1.5 oz of hopps boiled for 25 mins and added .5 oz. hopps for 5 mins. cool to 75º check w/ hydrometer added yeast sitting in spare room.

Click to expand...

nostalgia said:

It may clear up (proteins and yeast dropping out) giving the appearance of being lighter, but won't actually change color.

Did you add all of the extract at the beginning of the boil? LME tends to darken the more you boil it, so that could be why it's darker than you expected.

I just put the recipe into Beersmith and it ends up at 14SRM. Check here for a chart on what that might look like.

-Joe

Click to expand...

As nostalgia states the more you boil your wort with your extract the darker it tends to get. Do a search here on HBT about "Late Extract Additions". Adding the bulk of your extract at the end of the boil will help to keep your beers looking lighter, as well as increasing your hops utilization. If you want to make a more bitter beer with a partial boil it is one way to help increase IBU's, however there is some debate on this subject, but thats neither here nor there.

My very first brew was an Extract Fat Tire Clone, and it was almost as dark as a porter with a little red in it. Since then I have practiced the Late Addition method and have had a much lighter finished product.

Caramelization is also a problem that can occur especially with Liquid extracts that can lead to off-flavors.

Good luck, Welcome to HBT.