Do longer boils darken color?

I am trying to figure out why my Kölsch is not as light colored as it should be. I used 9 lbs German 2-row pilsner 1ºL and 0.5 lbs Munich 3ºL. Mashed at 149º for 90 min, boiled for 90 min. It is darker than it should be and I was thinking that the only thing that might cause that, is a longer boil caramelizing some of the sugars in the wort and darkening it. Is that possible? Could not getting a really good cold break have an effect?

Has anyone else had this happen to them? It's not like the recipe contains a ton of color. This should be a super light beer, yet it has a tinge of gold amber to it (unlike a real Kölsch which is like a st. pauli, light lager, pilsner etc).

Oh, I used irish moss in the boil and gelatin in the secondary when I was lagering for 5 weeks.

Are you looking at the beer in a glass or in a carboy? Even a very light beer will look deep in color when looking at a bulk quantity. Frankly there is no Munich malt in a Kolsch although a 5% addition should not turn the beer dark.

Longer boils can caramelize some of the sugars turning them darker and causing the beer to be a little darker.

The amber is from the munich, it makes stuff orangey/amber, even though it has a low lovibond. A 5 SRM beer with Munich will be much different looking than a 5 SRM without it.

Also, are you certain it wasn't munich 10L? That would really make a difference.

Bittering hops can also influence wort color. There's an episode of Basic Brewing were they keep everything constant in 3 batches, except when hops are added. The batch with the longest boil hops actually did have a more amber color over the one that had hops a few mins before flameout. So if you're using a stronger hop then the recipe, that might also contribute to the deeper color.

I know it wasn't the hops. I used small amounts of low AA German noble hops. 1 addition at 60 min the other at 5 min (i think). I could have sworn that the munich was 3L, but I just looked up the munich I used and you are right - it was 10L. Damn. Good call noeldundas. I guess I will just have to brew it again. Oh darn!

I just read in Designing Great Beers that in very light colored beers such as yours, almost 50% of the color of the beer comes from the boil. So yes the boil does add color, and I would assume that the longer you boil, the more color (darkness) will be added

the only way a longer boil will darken is with scorched wort. Alls a boil will do is up the gravity and meld everything together. (try not to scorch)

as for the no munichs in a kolsch, I use .5 pound in mine, i also use 1 pound of vienna malts aswell and quite frankly, it turns out better than any other kolsch I have ever had! here is my recipe

Brew Type: All Grain Date: 6/4/2009
Style: Kolsch Brewer:
Batch Size: 5.50 gal Assistant Brewer:
Boil Volume: 7.30 gal Boil Time: 90 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 60.00 % Equipment: Brew Pot (7.5 gal) and Igloo Cooler (10 Gal)
Actual Efficiency: 60.57 %
Taste Rating (50 possible points): 35.0

Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU
10.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 86.96 %
1.00 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 8.70 %
0.50 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 4.35 %
1.50 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (60 min) Hops 21.0 IBU
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Kolsch Yeast (Wyeast Labs #2565) Yeast-Ale

What type of water profile did you brew with? Softer water is more condusive to a bright, crisp looking light beer.

Regardless of whether or not it's appropriate for the style - I AM TELLING YOU IT'S THE MUNICH MALT that's making it look that way!!!! Try it again with no Munich and it won't have that darker amber tinge, even if you do a 120 minute boil.

I am going to try to find some German 3L Munich to try in there. I know it is still EXTRA color, but it would be 70% less than what I currently have. That, combined with a reduced boil time (75 mins instead of 90) should help greatly. I love the flavor of my beer, so I do not want to take out the munich.

And I have a water softener, so the water profile shouldn't have added anything.

macabra11 said:

And I have a water softener, so the water profile shouldn't have added anything.

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It's aside from the original topic, labeling water "hard" or "soft" won't get you exactly to where you need to be due to residual alkalinity. Water softeners can actually be detrimental to brew water. As i understand it, they (most types) strip out calcium (substitute sodium) and magnesium, but don't do anything to the carbonates, which are contributing to residual alkalinity. You can run water with a high residual alkalinity thru a water softener and still not have ideal water for making a bright, light beer.

(sorry for the jack)

macabra11 said:

I am going to try to find some German 3L Munich to try in there. I know it is still EXTRA color, but it would be 70% less than what I currently have. That, combined with a reduced boil time (75 mins instead of 90) should help greatly. I love the flavor of my beer, so I do not want to take out the munich.

And I have a water softener, so the water profile shouldn't have added anything.

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I think you should definitely keep it in there if you like it. Just know that a traditional kolsch doesn't have munich, so when you compare the color it will be different. That DOES NOT mean you made a bad beer though! I love munich too, I use it in a Blonde, but that makes it 'not blonde'!

I suggest against reducing the boil. 90 minutes, in my experience, is a MUST for high amounts (60% +) of Pilsner malt. You really want to boil off that DMS.

If you keep your evaporation rate around 10% an hour you will not risk changing the color very much. I am certain of it. The lightest beers I have ever made all had 90 minute boils.

BrewMeister49 said:

the only way a longer boil will darken is with scorched wort. Alls a boil will do is up the gravity and meld everything together. (try not to scorch)

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That's just plain wrong... A longer boil will definitely darken the wort. It's called the Maillard reaction...

People are confusing the OP, I think.

A 90 minute boil will not cause your wort to be significantly darker than would a 60 miunte boil. A small difference will be there, for sure, mostly due to evaopration, some maillard reactions, and possibly even carmelization. Very little of the colour comes directly from the boil, and you're only increasing it by 50%. So the answer is absolutely YES. But generally you won't be even a full SRM darker. Hardly anything noticeable.

We also determined that this wasn't why your Kolsch turned out to be amber.