Beer color questions

[carlsonderek]

Just wondering if anyone has experimented with reducing boil times as a method to avoid color development. What pros and cons have you found with different boil times?

I have also read that using harder water can promote more color development than desired. I'm not at the stage of truly grasping water chemistry yet so I fear I'm experiencing this, as a few of my recent brews are a bit darker than expected after the 60 minute boil with untreated tap water (from finger lakes region upstate ny--great water but still...). No flavor problems from the water, but not sure if what I've read is to blame for darker than expected color. I do all grain btw.

Thank you for any help!


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[eluterio]

Couldn't this be a recipe issue? Or a hard boil issue?

 

[flars]

Boil times are more for hop utilization than color development. I suppose you could boil before adding hops if your water darkens the wort and you want a deeper color.

 

[carlsonderek]

I'm trying to avoid too much color. My question is what are the positive or negative effects of boiling for LESS time?


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[flars]

I'm trying to avoid too much color. My question is what are the positive or negative effects of boiling for LESS time?


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Lower hop oil isomerization with less boil time.

 

[zmanzorro]

There is more of a DMS risk, the less you boil it.

From www.beersmith.com/blog/2012/04/10/dimethyl-sulfides-dms-in-home-brewed-beer/:

"The half-life for DMS is 40 minutes, so half of the DMS will be boiled off in a 40 minute vigorous boil. So if we do the math, a 60 minute boil gets rid of 64.7% of the DMS and a 90 minute boil rids us of 79% of the DMS. That is why most experienced brewers recommend a 90 minute or longer vigorous boil."

 

[carlsonderek]

This is really good info. However, I have to believe that a vigorous boil for 90 minutes would really darken any particular beer due to Maillard reactions at and over 212°, which would be undesired. No?


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[Falcon3]

This is really good info. However, I have to believe that a vigorous boil for 90 minutes would really darken any particular beer due to Maillard reactions at and over 212°, which would be undesired. No?


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I'll bite....

If you have a reasonable kettle that will disperse the heat, and keep the burner/element set for a moderate rolling boil, not an explosive boil, you can keep maillard reactions to a minimum. For example, Pilsners are routinely made with extremely light malts (1.8L and lower) and almost always boiled for 90+minutes (due to light flavor to rid DMS) and will still end up at less than 4SRM.

Now, if you have a thin steel pot and crank up your 160,000 BTU burner, you'll probably darken the wort.

 

[gstrawn]

Do you use extract? When I did extract I had problems with beers being significantly darker than anticipated.


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[carlsonderek]

I'll bite....



If you have a reasonable kettle that will disperse the heat, and keep the burner/element set for a moderate rolling boil, not an explosive boil, you can keep maillard reactions to a minimum. For example, Pilsners are routinely made with extremely light malts (1.8L and lower) and almost always boiled for 90+minutes (due to light flavor to rid DMS) and will still end up at less than 4SRM.



Now, if you have a thin steel pot and crank up your 160,000 BTU burner, you'll probably darken the wort.

Thanks Falcon3

This makes a lot of sense. I admit I have a subpar boil kettle, pretty much like you described. Between that, water quality, etc, there is a lot of info for me to experiment with. Thanks everyone!


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[carlsonderek]

Do you use extract? When I did extract I had problems with beers being significantly darker than anticipated.


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I used a small amount to bump up my OG since I missed it by a little bit. So yes I did but not much. Only about a pound.


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[Falcon3]

Sorry, I missed the second part of your question. A high PH of wort can also lead to wort darkening. Having PH in the proper range (5.2-5.4 or so) contributes to Maillard reactions during your boil. Here's a page from Braukaiser where he did a study on PH and color. Scroll down to the Maillard Reaction heading. http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=How_pH_affects_brewing#Maillard_reactions

Another one, a little more technical on Maillard reactions:
http://brewery.org/library/Maillard_CS0497.html

For your kettle/burner problem, buying a small quare of sheet metal at Lowes or something and placing it on top of your burner beneath your kettle will help diffuse the heat and may lead to less scorching on the bottom of your kettle. Basically you're just looking for a metal heat diffuser. I'm sure people on this forum have lots of inventive ways to do this.

 

[carlsonderek]

Cool thanks!


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