Beginner color question...

Hi all...

My name's Dennis and I'm very new to Home Brewing (only 1 batch in). First I would like to say that I'm very glad to find this forum, I've learned quite a bit so far just by reading, but now I have a question that I can't find an answer to in the archives...

I brewed my first batch 2 days ago, and as far as I can tell all went well.

Here's the rundown of what I used...(it was extract with stepping grains...)

2.5 gls of water to start partial boil
1/2 lb Crystal-10L
1/2 lb British Crystal
Both steeped for 1 hour @ 165 (started from cold water)

Then I added 3 lbs of Light DME and 3 lbs of Amber DME then brought to a boil...

The hops were -
1 1/2 oz of willamette (60 mins)
1 oz Cascade (15 mins)
3/4 oz Cascade (5 mins)

I added to 6.5 gl Carboy and added water to make 5 gls

Yeast - Safale US-05 (Dry Ale Yeast)

It looks like fermentation is going well (nice krausen (sp?) and good bubbles in the airlock)

So...my question is...when I first got the carboy to capacity, the color was a pretty dark brown, similar to Newcastle.

Now that I'm 2 days into fermentation the color is becoming lighter, it is now a dark amber, similar to Sierra Nevada ESB.

So, is this normal? My guess would be that sediment is falling to the bottom and making the beer lighter, but I jsut want to make sure.

Thanks for the help,

Dennis

Sounds right to me. Some of the yeast and other solids are going to fall to the bottom. It will be clearing up as well.

Just to add that the beer is going to be WAY lighter in the glass than it looks in the carboy due to sheer amounts of liquid. I thought my last batch was way too dark (it was NBs Cali Common) in the Carboy, it looked dark brown, but poured a nice amber/reddish in the glass.

So that dark amber will probably be a medium/lightish amber in the glass by the time it's gone through the whole process.

Thanks for the replies!

It's getting a good bit lighter now and it's great to know that it is normal.

Of course I am still a little bit worried, but I'll have to sit and wait to see!

Here's a few pictures of what it looks like.




Does the krausen look normal? I found one post in the archive that talks about green/brown spots in the krausen and that it was normal. The brown in mine just started today. Does everything look ok to you guys?

Thanks,

Dennis

dennisbyington said:

Does the krausen look normal? I found one post in the archive that talks about green/brown spots in the krausen and that it was normal. The brown in mine just started today. Does everything look ok to you guys?

Thanks,

Dennis

Click to expand...

Looks like a yeast infection

Looks good but you might want to see if you can get the temp down a few degrees next time, is that reading a 74?

jmiracle said:

Looks good but you might want to see if you can get the temp down a few degrees next time, is that reading a 74?

Click to expand...

Yeah 74 is high. If I am not mistaken, it looks like you have it sitting right next to the fridge. That is probably not going to be the best spot. Ideally, you would like to be under 70.

Everything is normal though. It doesn't look like you have anything to worry about. Even at that temp, it will still be some fine beer.

I'm searching my house right now for a place that is a bit cooler...unfortunately in San Diego most home's don't have a/c. I'm thinking my closet might be a better option, plus it gets no sunlight either.

Thanks for the help!

I'm also in San Diego. I put my carboy in water - 2" to 10" in the bathtub.

Alternatively, you can put it in a smaller container of water and cover it with a dark wet t-shirt and put it anywhere you want in your house.

I've found that during full-on fermentation, the brew stays about 5 degrees warmer than the temp of the water and about .5-1 degree warmer after all the churning has stopped. I've kept fermentations at an even 68 degrees without ever touching the 2" water, and I kept my latest at an even 66 degrees with 5" of water that I added a bit of cold water to daily.

Hope this helps!

Welcome to the wonderful world of fermentation!

A few tips:

1. Go to Wally World. They have a $5.97 plant dolly that'll hold 120 lbs. Use it to move your carboys around without lifting them. They have little locks on the wheels to prevent movement, but they can be twisted off with pliers to leave them unlocked.

2. At almost any $.99/Dollar Store buy some milk crates and place your carboys in them. They are easier to carry/move around. They also help keep you from breaking them...especially when full.

3. Same place, get a small plastic tub so you can place the carboy in a milk crate in them with cold water to lower your fermenting temps. Placing a shirt over the carboy so the water wicks up is a good thing. Since you are in SD do you have a deck/porch/balcony? Roll the carboy (in the tub) on to the deck and let the cool breeze help keep your temps down.

That's all for now.

Again, thanks for the replies!

I found an old plastic storage bin that was big enough to fit my carboy in and a black t-shirt.

So now I've got it in the bin (away from the fridge), covered with the t-shirt and sitting in about 6" of water (I tried to move it as carefully as possible without splashing).

Hopefully this will get the temps down, I'm going to check it when I get back from work.

I'm definitely going to keep my eyes open for a few milk crates, that's a great idea and probably much easier than ust picking it up by hand.

dennis

Not to hijack this thread or anything but, has anyone had problems with the shirt mildewing while covering the carboy in the tub of water? I'm not worried about damaging the shirt or anything. SWMBO and mini-SWMBO tend to have a bit of a sensitive nose and the smell may tickle their noses the wrong way. Thanks.

Follow up:

I just checked the temp and it's much lower!

It's sitting between 66-68 and the air temp is 71 (it dropped the ferm temp 6-8 degrees!)

Thanks for the advice, I will use this method from now on.

dennis

Glad to hear it!

FWIW, I'm not sure the t-shirt helps at all - at least not until the churning inside has stopped. I've been trying it but haven't noticed a difference. All of that circulation during heavy fermentation will easily keep your temps at 68-69 when in a bathtub with 2" of San Diego room temp water. For cooler temps, just use more water or refresh half of it with cold water every day or two.

Also, where at in San Diego are you? And where do you get your ingredients? I go to homebrewmart, and I live about 1mi east of them.

After talking to one of my friends that brews, he said that the t-shirt will help dissipate heat, but also keeps light out of the fermenter. Either way I think I'll keep doing it, it won't hurt anything!

I'm in Clairemont off the 805 and Balboa.

I also go to Home Brew Mart, but I think I'm going to stop by American Home Brew Supply and see what they have...the same friend from above has gone there and said they have some good stuff.

But as of now I'm very satisfied with Home Brew Mart, they're helpful and you can taste there!