Triple belgian looks like a red ale

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run4thebrew

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Hi all, love the site and thanks for all the great info so far. About 4 weeks ago my friend and I brewed our second batch of beer. It was a triple Belgian IPA that initially was a beautiful light golden color. We brewed a full volume 10 gallon batch and split it into 2 carboys. It stayed that color for the first 10-12 days. Then one of them turned reddish in color. 3 days later the other followed suit and now they both resemble an Irish red/amber with a nice copper color. Any thoughts on why this has occurred?
 
It was darker all along but with the yeast and sediment all in suspension it appears lighter. Once the yeast start to drop out and the beer starts to clear up it will always appear darker. A beer that looks amber in a 5 gallon carboy will look blonde in a glass.
 
run4thebrew said:
Hi all, love the site and thanks for all the great info so far. About 4 weeks ago my friend and I brewed our second batch of beer. It was a triple Belgian IPA that initially was a beautiful light golden color. We brewed a full volume 10 gallon batch and split it into 2 carboys. It stayed that color for the first 10-12 days. Then one of them turned reddish in color. 3 days later the other followed suit and now they both resemble an Irish red/amber with a nice copper color. Any thoughts on why this has occurred?
Click to expand...

What was your recipe?
 
It was called houblinmonster from northern home brewer.

It is definitely darker than it should be. When we racked it to secondary they both had gone all the way down to SG of 1.008, and it tasted GREAT! So only slightly concerned about the color, but it is not going to look like the beer in the picture. Haha.
 
run4thebrew said:
It was called houblinmonster from northern home brewer.

It is definitely darker than it should be. When we racked it to secondary they both had gone all the way down to SG of 1.008, and it tasted GREAT! So only slightly concerned about the color, but it is not going to look like the beer in the picture. Haha.
Click to expand...

According to their recipe sheet , there's only pilsner malt extract in there, so it definitely should be pale yellow. Did you add all the extract at the beginning of the boil? Or did you add some late? Adding it all early can result in a darker beer, assuming you weren't doing a full boil volume.

Not sure what else would cause darkening...especially after racking to secondary. What did you use to clean/sanitize the secondary?
 
Thanks for your help. We did a full volume, 10 gallon boil that was a double batch. We did hold off on adding one of the malt extracts until the very end of the boil and did not add the sugar until the end of the boil as well. We used star san to sanitize all of the equipment as well. It is very strange. I will be over to look at the carboys tomorrow and will post a picture after I take one. My friend sent me a text and told me it is completely crystal clear and red. He said it looked like "red vodka". Ha
 
If you post a pic I'd do one in the hydrometer not the carboy, as was mentioned beers can look dark in the carboy and blonde in the glass.
 
chickypad said:
If you post a pic I'd do one in the hydrometer not the carboy, as was mentioned beers can look dark in the carboy and blonde in the glass.
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image-3008433888.jpg



image-3163061366.jpg

You are right, although it looks pretty red/dark in the carboy, in the thin cylinder, it has a nice color. Of course, we did not waste that small sampling and the flavor is fantastic. The hops come through more than a standard triple Belgian, and the finish has a very mild alcohol flavor on the back of the tongue. Mouthfeel like silk, almost oily, kinda like Triple Karmaliet! Can't wait to get in in a barrel and carbonate/chill it.
 
This thread is worth bookmarking just for those photos - it is an amazing example of how different things can look in the carboy.
 
run4thebrew said:
You are right, although it looks pretty red/dark in the carboy, in the thin cylinder, it has a nice color. Of course, we did not waste that small sampling and the flavor is fantastic. The hops come through more than a standard triple Belgian, and the finish has a very mild alcohol flavor on the back of the tongue. Mouthfeel like silk, almost oily, kinda like Triple Karmaliet! Can't wait to get in in a barrel and carbonate/chill it.
Click to expand...

Sweet. I've done the all grain version of that kit and it's one of my favorite batches still.
:mug:
 

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