First brew issue

I bought a black ipa extract kit from the LHBS recently. I brewed it up yesterday. As i was pouring in the LME i realized the extract was Pale and not extra dark like the directions required. What kind of beer did I just make? Its a rather brown color and not black. Im interested to see how it turns out though.

globe said:

I bought a black ipa extract kit from the LHBS recently. I brewed it up yesterday. As i was pouring in the LME i realized the extract was Pale and not extra dark like the directions required. What kind of beer did I just make? Its a rather brown color and not black. Im interested to see how it turns out though.

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You made a GOOD beer, maybe not what you wanted, but still good. At least you are not baby whining about your LHBS like a bunch of others here.

Yep you made a good beer.

You might casually point out there error next time you are there though.
Stuff happens, but you're still gonna get a good beer not a big deal.

How was the rest of the brewing experience for you?
It's too soon to say if you're hooked for life. Maybe after you have your first beer that you made.

Agreed - sounds like you probably just made a regular IPA. Were there any other grains or just the extract? Hard to know what is in any given dark extract but probably some roasted malt and crystal. The roasted malt would be the main thing turning an IPA into a black IPA, I bet it will be good. Best thing is you didn't panic on your first brew!

Thanks for the replies, the ingredients were as follows.

7 pounds dark malt extract (but was actually pale malt instead)
1 pound brown sugar
3 oz. Columbus pellet hops
2 oz. Centennial-Type pellet hops

(steeped grains)
1/4 lb Debittered Black malt
1/4 lb Caramel 60L malt

I also forgot to take a OG reading but not the end of the word. It seems to be bubbling away nicely though.

sounds like you made a nice ale to me... remember the recipe so if you like it you can repeat it.

Yup, agreed with above. If you have the stated OG of the recipe you can go with that since it is an all extract batch. Unless you really screw up the water volumes you can't really miss the OG of an extract recipe

dadshomebrewing said:

sounds like you made a nice ale to me... remember the recipe so if you like it you can repeat it.

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That's good advice. You want to keep a notebook with notes on all your brewing.
You'll be able to repeat good beer, and avoid making the same bad beer.
You also want to be able to accurately remember when you brewed it. After you have a few batches under your belt you'll be surprised how hard it is to just remember how long that beer has been in the bucket. Or maybe that's just me and age.
Good notes are a great learning tool. Now that I have beersmith I keep all my notes right with the recipe on the program.

One thing I was discussing with my LHBS owner -- and with a couple of newbie customers who were there asking questions -- is that it's actually hard to really screw up a batch of beer. Other than getting an infection or burning down your house, mistakes almost always (in my experience) lead to happy surprises in the end. Think of how you'll be able to discuss this mistake with your friends and how much of a pro you'll sound: "Yeah... I had originally intended to use a dark malt in this, but actually ended up using a paler malt. Take a sip and let me know what you think."

45_70sharps said:

That's good advice. You want to keep a notebook with notes on all your brewing.
You'll be able to repeat good beer, and avoid making the same bad beer.
You also want to be able to accurately remember when you brewed it. After you have a few batches under your belt you'll be surprised how hard it is to just remember how long that beer has been in the bucket. Or maybe that's just me and age. Good notes are a great learning tool. Now that I have beersmith I keep all my notes right with the recipe on the program.

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Get out a bottle from the cellar that's been conditioning for a month or so and open it.

Oh boy! This is really good. My favorite so far.

Wish I could remember what was in it. ?????

Been there. Done that. LOL

Good thing Thomas Edison took notes.

bosco