Very dark Bavarian Hefeweisen

I just brewed a Northern Brewer kit of Bavarian Hefeweisen

http://www.northernbrewer.com/docs/kis-html/1251.html

it's hanging out in a 5 gallon carboy finishing fermentation and it looks VERY dark ... close to the color of guiness -

it smells and tastes pretty good but i was expecting a very light color

it fermented at a cellar temp of about 70F and i think i followed the directioned pretty well ...

does anyone else think that this kit is supposed to be very light in color?

if so - any clue why mine would be so dark?

Everything tends to look darker in the carboy then it will be in the glass. Also extracts can caramelize while boiling and end up giving you a slightly darker beer.

Well , it will look darker in your fermenter than it will in a glass. I myself don't worry about color too much, It will look prettier in a glass. I know for lighter colors, it is preferable to do a late extract addition so your malt does not boil so long. Is this your first brew? You will be pleased with your hefe, try to keep your fermentation temps. in range as it is very important in the tastes you can develop!

I used the same exact kit for my first batch over the weekend. I agree that it looks darker than expected, but I think its all relative. You're staring at a huge batch in a white bucket. Once its in the glass I don't think the color will look so drastic.

You may want to consider adding about half of your LME in the last 15 minutes of the boil. This will lighten up the color of your brew.

ohiobrewtus said:

You may want to consider adding about half of your LME in the last 15 minutes of the boil. This will lighten up the color of your brew.

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LME .... is that the malt extract?

kriso77 said:

I used the same exact kit for my first batch over the weekend. I agree that it looks darker than expected, but I think its all relative. You're staring at a huge batch in a white bucket. Once its in the glass I don't think the color will look so drastic.

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actually i'm stare'ing at it in a glass carboy

Willy Boner said:

Well , it will look darker in your fermenter than it will in a glass. I myself don't worry about color too much, It will look prettier in a glass. I know for lighter colors, it is preferable to do a late extract addition so your malt does not boil so long. Is this your first brew? You will be pleased with your hefe, try to keep your fermentation temps. in range as it is very important in the tastes you can develop!

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this is my fourth brew ... but i've noticed that they ALL have been darker than expected - just this one is crazy darker than expected

i was curious if it had something to do with the boil and carmelization ... i like the idea of a later addition of malt extract and will try that next time

thanks y'all

Malt extract will produce a darker beer than you can get with all grain. That being said, I still think it's just the amount in the carboy that's making it look dark. I just kegged a pale ale that in the carboy looked about like a dark iced tea color but in a glass looks like Sierra Nevada.

just tell your friends that it's a dunkelweizen