beer turned dark

so i brewed a saison exactly ten days ago. The color of the beer was a golden color a little darker than a saison should be but i was okay with it. Now i looked at the carboy last night and this morning at it is a dark dark brown?? what could this be?? i was going to rack to a secondary today and take a gravity reading. now im thinking i might wait and see what you guys have to say. i did take the blow off tube and change to a regular airlock and thats all that has happened to this beer for ten days.

its french saison wyeast 3711 it started at 70 degrees and ive ramped it up to 80 and thats where its currently sitting

pilsner malt 9 lbs
munich .75lbs
wheat malt .75 lbs
belgian aromatic .75lbs
clover honey 3/4lbs (ten min)?
table sugar 3/4lbs (ten min)?
fresh orange zest or coracou orange peels still havent decided
coariander .5 OZ (ten min)?

EKG 1 OZ 60 min
tettnang 1oz 60 min
ekg .5 oz 1min
tettnang .5 oz 1min
and wyeast 3711 french saison

Beer always appears darker in a carboy, it has to do with light refraction. You're one of thousands of brewers who panic and start a thread like this. But it's just optics. Relax.

well why would the "apperance" of the beer change im not to freaked out more curious than anything it was a light blonde now its a very deep red ? and do ya think its okay to completely ferment it in the primary till bottling? whats the variables?

ibleedbrew said:

well why would the "apperance" of the beer change im not to freaked out more curious than anything it was a light blonde now its a very deep red ? and do ya think its okay to completely ferment it in the primary till bottling? whats the variables?

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When much of the yeast is finished and flocculates out, the beer appears darker since the white yeast isn't in suspension.

Yes. wait. give it time. What Revvy and Yooper said.

I've experienced the same momentary panic and decided to relax and get back to whatever else I need to do.

It all worked out just fine.

yeah makes the most sense i just tasted it its great. The only question i have now is can i leave it for about a three to four weeks then bottle or would it be wise to transfer it? i dont care either way oh and it went from a 1060 down to a 1005 if your interested

and thanks for the help i appreciate it

just give it 3-4 weeks in the primary, then bottle. Most are getting away from secondary's these days, with a few exceptions.

The increased length of time on the yeast cake allows the yeast to clean up the mess they made during fermentation.

ibleedbrew said:

yeah makes the most sense i just tasted it its great. The only question i have now is can i leave it for about a three to four weeks then bottle or would it be wise to transfer it? i dont care either way oh and it went from a 1060 down to a 1005 if your interested

and thanks for the help i appreciate it

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It's a saison. I'd say "leave it". I've been leaving most of my brews on the yeast for a month before bottling and none of them have suffered. I've had good results in finished product/clarity by giving my brews a week in 50-55 degree temps before bottling. Drops a lot more yeast out of suspension.

Don't be afraid of the autolysis boogeyman :fro:

The more time you give the little yeasties to clean up after themselves and drop out of suspension the better off you'll be at bottling time.

HOT DOG!! good deal didnt feel like messing with it anytime soon anyway. thanks for the help should i keep her around 80 deg. or let it come back down to room temp and leave it?? ill obviously drop the temp before bottling but that wont be for at least three weeks so untill then??