Just bottled a dark, bitter Pale Ale

I just finished bottling and sampled a bottle of warm, flat Pale Ale. The beer is darker then I expected, more like an amber. It also has a bitter aftertaste. I guessing both are from steeping the grains too long? I ended up with 45 12 oz bottles.

Bitterness is probably from hops or yeast...is it clear or could there still be yeast in suspension? Yeast lends a bitter taste sometimes. Or maybe it just needs to age a bit so the hop bitterness softens.

You probably won't get bitterness from steeping grain too long unless you boil grains for a LONG time. If you hold them in hot (not boiling) water for an hour or less, you'll be fine.

The amber color is just the way of extract. It's near impossible to make a really pale beer like a Corona unless you do it all-grain. LME is especially prone to darker beers. DME is better, but you still can't make a really light colored beer. Usually an amber color is about as light as it gets with extract, especially if you add crystal malts.

Give it some time in the bottle. It should do nothing but improve! Cheers

I used DME.

It is not very clear although I wouldn't call it cloudy. I thought about the yeast in suspension after I made that last post. I'm going to let it sit for 10 days, maybe I'll open 1 in 4 or 5 to see how much it has changed. Thanks for the input.

Dollars to donuts this brew improves greatly over time. Let it sit on a shelf for two weeks and try it then.

Ok, it's been in the bottle for 10 days and here is a pic. It tastes OK, still a little too bitter for my taste but hopefully that will keep improving with some time.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/81913909@N00/107389435/

yeah that is kind of dark...whats in the recipe? you must of used some chocolate, or black patent, or dark crystal, i dont see d.m.e. alone would be that dark...how long did you boil? a long boil will darken a beer too...the bitterness will mellow out a bit, the malt flavor should come through more eventually...

5 1/2 lb light dry malt
3/4 lb Munich malt 10L
1/2 lb Crystal 60L
1 oz Columbus hops (60 min boil)
1 1/4 oz Cascade hops (end of boil)
6 tsp. Gypsum
2 tsp. Burton water salts
Wyeast 1272
3/4 cup priming sugar

I seem to have misplaced my recipe, I will post the boil time when I find it.

From the looks of the recipe, the picture looks about right. Between the extract, the cyrstal 60 and the munich, it will be that dark. Try using the lighest extract you can find and use a lower crystal like 30-40. That will bring the color closer.

Try doing a "late-brew" (thank you HB). It's where you only put a couple pounds of the extract in at the beginning, and the rest before your final hops. It prevents it from carmelizing as badly. I did this with my Zombiefoot, and it's a perfect bronze/gold color.

I'd say it was the Crystal 60L. Is the bitterness also astringent (boil some ordinary black tea for 10 minutes as a sample)? That would point to steeping too long or at too high a temperature. Maybe next time use Crystal 20L.

Holy crap..... 2 days later the beer is alot less bitter and much more mellow. What a difference a couple days make. I just finished my 4th bottle while watching HBO boxing and I think it's really good beer. I really can't think of what I can compare it to except maybe Saranac Pale Ale but a bit more heavy. This is great since I love Saranac beers, I went to college in the same town as their brewery so maybe it's a pychological thing that I am relating my beer to there beer. Anyway, it's still a good beer no matter what I compare it to.

What are using to boil and what size is your boiling batch? If you are using a stove to boil and boiling 3 gallons or less with all your malt you are definitely going to get carmelization and wort darkening. You can either get a propane burner to boil 5+ gallons or do as Rewster says and do a late boil aka Texas Two Step. Also are you using a secondary fermentation? Letting it age in a secondary will help flavors mellow and mix before you bottle.

Homebrew Tested, Mother Approved.

Did you go by Compleat Gourmet? I hope I did not discourage you from checking it out completely. It is not my first choice to buy stuff supplies but if you need a few things it comes in handy. Think of grocery shopping at 7-11.

Homebrew Saves Your Soul.

I boiled 3 gal and then added it to the 2 gal I had waiting in the primary. I steeped the grains for the first 30 min while bringing it up to a boil ( I removed the grains before it boiled). I did use a secondary for 2 weeks. I am using a 5 1/2 gal brewpot. I know the turkey fryer would be best but at this point, I'm making due with what I have on hand.

I haven't made it to Compleat Gourmet yet, I haven't been down to Carrytown recently.