Why is my wort darkening?

Ok guys I have a question. Why is my wort always darkening?

I copied the recipe Ferocious IPA from Midwest Supplies. Followed it closely and as I look at it in my carboy in primary it's dark.

I used all DME in thinking it would make it lighter. What am I doing wrong?

It called for 6lbs GOLDEN, 3lbs AMBER, I added the hops and then yeast. It was a 30 min steep with 4 oz of grain, and 60 min boil, also used 6 gal water to anticipate evaporation and sediment to get a true 5 gal batch.

This is my 7th brew so I feel confident I know what I'm doing but am open to ANYTHING you all may suggest.

Here is a pic. Hopefully it turns out

It seems dark in the carboy because the light cannot get through the liquid in the carboy as easily as in the glass, hence it looks darker. If you follow the recipe correctly, the color difference should be very slim to none.

There's also tendency that the beer will turn darker at the end of the fermentation than it is at the start; this is due to yeasts flocculation. Because there's not enough yeast particle to bounce the light back off, it looks darker. It will look a lot lighter in the glass.

So, if the recipe is followed correctly, you dont have to worry about anything.

Holy trub!

Does the beer come out darker than expected?

I made a Honey Bee Ale using an older method I boiled 3 gal water then added to make the 5 gal at the end. It was darker than I expected but it was the first time I had made it.

This was the first IPA I had made but totally thought it would have been lighter. Should I have steeped for a shorter amount of time? The directions do say that you can steep for 10 to 30 minutes. Maybe that is my problem.

bioguy said:

Does the beer come out darker than expected?

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In my opinion it does

Boiling darkens extract- it just does. Just like toasting bread makes it darker.

To keep the color light, add the majority of the extract at flame out. That will help a lot.

Well this is primary and maybe secondary might lighten it up a little bit more. It may even light in a little bit more in the bottling process too.

bioguy said:

Does the beer come out darker than expected?

Click to expand...

The honeybee ale came out darker than I expected it to. It was still a great beer I just don't understand why came out so dark.

my last few batches i leave half the DME and put it in at flameout, for exactly the same reason. i was getting really dark beers using an electric stove.

reduces the caramelization during the boil, and so far seems to be working pretty well.

Yooper said:

Boiling darkens extract- it just does. Just like toasting bread makes it darker.

To keep the color light, add the majority of the extract at flame out. That will help a lot.

Click to expand...

richlong8020 said:

The honeybee ale came out darker than I expected it to. It was still a great beer I just don't understand why came out so dark.

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Again, boiling darkens it. It's due to maillard reactions.

Add the majority of the extract at flame out. It will make a huge difference, especially if you're only boiling 2-3 gallons of wort.

Yooper said:

Boiling darkens extract- it just does. Just like toasting bread makes it darker.

To keep the color light, add the majority of the extract at flame out. That will help a lot.

Click to expand...

So if I have 9 lbs of extract ur suggesting to add 3 lbs at the beginning then 60 min boil then at the end of boil and flame out stir in the last 6 lbs? Or if it was 6 lbs then do 2 then 4?

I'll look into it on my next batch.

richlong8020 said:

So if I have 9 lbs of extract ur suggesting to add 3 lbs at the beginning then 60 min boil then at the end of boil and flame out stir in the last 6 lbs? Or if it was 6 lbs then do 2 then 4?

I'll look into it on my next batch.

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Yes. I'd suggest using one pound of extract per gallon boiled, and then adding the rest at flame out (or with 5 minutes left in the boil). Take it off of the flame, stir it in well (a whisk helps for DME, as it clumps!) and then chill the wort.

So, if you're doing a 2 gallon boil, start with no more than 2 pounds of extract.

richlong8020 said:

In my opinion it does

Click to expand...

In that case, I'm going to agree with Yooper. Maillard reactons.

This is great guys. That you so much for this info.

Now that I have a better heat source and a bigger pot for a full 6 gal boil I will totally add half or less at boil then the rest at flame out.