Not that dark is bad or anything...

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half_whit

half_whit

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...but I feel like all of my brews have been darker than they typically should be. My IPA's look like brown ales. My brown ales are almost porter color. And my porters...might actually be blacker than my heart. Or Lou Gossett Jr.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. And they all taste great. I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced this
 
Extract, partial, or all grain?

If extract, liquid or dry. When are you adding?
 
Extract beers are almost always darker than calculated. You can reduce this effect with late extract addition. Add most of your extract at 10 mins or less.
 
I use half a 3lb bag of plain DME in the partial boil of 2.5-3 gallons. Do all hop additions,then add remaining DME & all LME at flame out. Stir,cover & steep for 15 minutes. Since the wort is still boiling hot,& pasteurization happens about 162F,it'll git-r-done effectively.
This gives lighter color like it should be,& no twang.
 
The extract twang is an off flavor from mailard reactions. Usually due to adding all the extract at the begining of the boil. It's a slightly stale/old flavor that can even be a bit tart to me. Been a long time since I had it.
 
huh! I've never noticed that flavor in mine...but now I'm gonna be looking for it!
 
ohcrap- I steep my specialty grains, gradually raising the temperature to just under 170. I turn off the burner, stir in my extract, and then turn the burner back on. As I bring the wort to a boil, I start my hop schedule.
 
I don't like to go above 160-165F for steeping temps. I try to stay under where the tannins get leached out of the grain hulls. so they say anyway.
 
half_whit said:
ohcrap- I steep my specialty grains, gradually raising the temperature to just under 170. I turn off the burner, stir in my extract, and then turn the burner back on. As I bring the wort to a boil, I start my hop schedule.
Click to expand...

Got it. You're adding your extract at the beginning of the boil basically. Flame out usually refers to the end of the boil.

Follow what unionrdr said above (adding extract at end of boil, after all hop additions) and it should help make lighter beer.
 
unionrdr said:
I don't like to go above 160-165F for steeping temps. I try to stay under where the tannins get leached out of the grain hulls. so they say anyway.
Click to expand...

I used to be terrified of getting too close to 170. The guy that owns the brewshop chain around here kinda calmed me down about it. He said yeah, don't go over...but if you do, drop the temperature and don't worry about it. It takes a little time for the tannin to become an issue anyways. He actually told me to bring it all the way to 170 but I'm still not completely sold on that idea.
 
half_whit said:
I used to be terrified of getting too close to 170. The guy that owns the brewshop chain around here kinda calmed me down about it. He said yeah, don't go over...but if you do, drop the temperature and don't worry about it. It takes a little time for the tannin to become an issue anyways. He actually told me to bring it all the way to 170 but I'm still not completely sold on that idea.
Click to expand...

Yeah,I'm hip to the scene. But it still makes the ol' spidey sense tingle,ya know?! As long as you adjust the temp right quick,it shouldn't be a problem. Mashing is kinda like slow mo. Leave it at the wrong temp long enough,you're fooked. But adjust quickly & all seems to go pretty well,ime.:mug:
 
I'm hoping to move to partial mash soon. I'm probably going to be a nervous wreck until I get used to keeping the temperature steady! Any advice there?
 
I'm still working on steady mash temps. I wanna get a couple of beach towels (homer would be perfect!) to wrap around the mash in the BK while it's mashing. I'm thinking of trying my winter huntin coat around it tomorrow & see how ell that works with my floating thermometer in it.
 

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