Wort too dark... Did I screw up?

I made an extract version of https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/jamils-blonde-ale-35824/ yesterday, and as I was pouring it into my fermenting bucket, it looked really dark. Did I do something wrong? I can't help but think that maybe I bought the wrong DME, or too much Crystal.... The Tasty Brew Calculator said it should be a nice golden color, but it looked more like the English brown I made

Details:
1lb of 10L Crystal steeped for 20 minutes btw 150 and 160F
5lbs of Breiss Golden Light DME
1oz Fuggles Pellets (4.3%AA) boiled for 60 minutes
Safale S-05 yeast (pitched at 78F)

My OG was 1.044 @80F, so I think that's right about on target.

Am I freaking out for no reason? Will it lighten up as time goes on?

It will look lighter once you have it in a glass, the reason it looks so dark in the bucket is because there is more of it and it absorbs and refracts more light.

Caramelization of your wort may have also occurred, generally with extract beers that are boiled in concentration you will see some darkening. Over all it is nothing to worry about.

Also, when did you add the majority of your extract? Nailing color on extract recipes can be difficult due to Maillard reactions during the boil- they invariably turn out darker than the recipe indicates. You can minimize this by doing late extract additions.

I added all of the extract after steeping the grains. So, I boiled it for an hour. There was no scorching on the bottom of the pot (which was my first thought), so I was just assuming I bought the wrong DME.

Oh well, as long as it's beer and drinkable, I guess the color really doesn't matter all that much.

Your beer will be fine, you can't judge anything until it is in a glass all sparkling and jewel-like...but that won't be for awhile yet. SO walk away.

There was no scorching on the bottom of the pot (which was my first thought), so I was just assuming I bought the wrong DME.

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If you are trying to get color as close to style with extract, split your extract addition in half and only use extra light DME. Put in half at the beginning of the boil (according to the recipe) and then add the remainder at the last 10 minutes of the boil. Extract recipes will often be darker than the SRM indicated by the recipe, but you can hedge your bets by adjusting your extract addition.

The good news is, whatever the color, it will taste like beer.

Mind you, as an avowed fan of beer you can't see through, I'm not really feeling your pain, but if you really don't like the color, serve it in a ceramic stein or pewter mug and you won't have to look at the color. Fixes chill haze, too.

There are a few methods that you can use to minimize darkening of the wort when brewing with extracts. You can boil all 5 gallons at once, you can also utilize the late extract addition method. After boiling I have read that excessive movement of the wort while still hot can lead to darkening as well.

For the msot part darkening of the work is simply cosmetic though.

Thanks for the feedback everybody. I won't worry about it, since it will still be beer in the end.

Thanks for setting me straight.

I'm shocked that no one told you that it will get lighter as it ferments.
There is a lot of gunk floating around in there right now, once it's done and settled it will be a lot lighter. Relax man and enjoy it no matter what color it ends up.

You can't judge the color until it is in the glass. Or final hydro sample.

I racked my Munich Helles yesterday. In the carboy it looked very very dark amber. In the hydro tube it is about the color of a Bud.

If all else fails, just name it a Dirty Blonde Ale.

Revvy said:

Your beer will be fine, you can't judge anything until it is in a glass all sparkling and jewel-like....

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What a way to put it, and people wonder why I drink before noon