Color too dark

[hurleybrew]

All my beers seem to come out one color- caramel brown. I just brewed a wheat beer today with 7lbs of LME and had the same thing happen. Today I even tried the late addition. 50% in the beginning and 50% at 15minutes. WTF??

On top of that my SG was 1078??? The recipe said it would be around 1054. Would volume (ie 3 gallons of concentrated wort affect this?). I do partial boils of about 3-4 gallons.

 

[Kaz]

Are you topping of with fresh water after the boil to get about 5-5.25 gallons? If not, then that would lead to a darker and stronger beer. I think that its the nature of extract brews to be on the darker side as a result of the extraction process. If you are topping off to 5 gallons and the O.G. is higher than expected, are you thoroughly mixing the wort after adding the top off water?

 

[hurleybrew]

I do top off with 1-2 gallons of water to bring it up to 5 gallons. I took my OG before I added the extra 2 gallons. I assume this is why I got such a high number? I do thoroughly mix the wort and aerate it before pitching. It still looks like a murky caramel brown color.

 

[RM-MN]

Try your next brew with DME instead of LME. I'll bet it will come out lighter. Make sure you use the lightest DME you can get too.

 

[JBmadtown]

Look at this search.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/gtsear...mebrewtalk.com/f37/color-too-dark-215105/#913

The late addition method does help to lighten the color.

 

[RugenBrau]

you got a high reading because you didn't top off. The first time I brewed I topped off but didn't give it a stir and I got a low reading becuse it was not mixed enough. When using 6 lbs of LME I put in about 1 lb at the start and the rest @ flame out. That lightened mine up. Using DME will do the same.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

Is the extract in a metal can?

DME is made from LME so it won't be much lighter. What brand of extract are you using? Breiss Pilsen extract has a lovibond of 2 (compared to a lovibond of 1.8 for 2-row). Briess has the lightest extract by far. Muntons is probably the darkest. I would try a mini-mash using Briess extract.

Forrest

 

[RugenBrau]

What effect does the metal have?

 

[hurleybrew]

Here is what I did:

Steeped 1/2lb wheat, 1/2carahell @ 160F for 35 minutes
3.5lbs Wheat LME from LHBS at 60minutes
3.5lbs Wheat LME @ 20minutes

Is it OK to add the majority at flame-out? I thought you had to give the LME 15 minutes for sterilization?

 

[honeybadger]

LME should be sanitized in the can so you should be able to add at flameout with no issue. I've done this a few times with good results.

I recently switched from LME to DME... you don't have to mess around with late additions which means you have to adjust utilization etc.

I think I read somewhere here that the best thing to do is start with the absolute lightest LME or DME you can find and let your grains change the colour.

Good luck.

 

[jonmohno]

I think if you want a lighter color like i did you would have to get extra light or pilsen. i dont really think adding dme last 15 min really lightend the color up that much.Light dme is really a light amber breiss does have the lightest,i havent used it yet,I think they have a golden light? not shure but i couldnt find it so i was stuck with muntons.

 

[kegtoe]

I do top off with 1-2 gallons of water to bring it up to 5 gallons. I took my OG before I added the extra 2 gallons. I assume this is why I got such a high number? I do thoroughly mix the wort and aerate it before pitching. It still looks like a murky caramel brown color.

You have to take your reading after you top off. Otherwise your not getting a "true" OG

Try your next brew with DME instead of LME. I'll bet it will come out lighter. Make sure you use the lightest DME you can get too.

+1

Is the extract in a metal can?

DME is made from LME so it won't be much lighter. What brand of extract are you using? Breiss Pilsen extract has a lovibond of 2 (compared to a lovibond of 1.8 for 2-row). Briess has the lightest extract by far. Muntons is probably the darkest. I would try a mini-mash using Briess extract.

Forrest

With all do respect DME is not always made from LME. Briess concentrates wort by boiling and manuactures LME. They spray a fine mist of wort in a heated vaccum tunnel that dries the wort to a very dry consistancy to make DME.

Here is what I did:

Steeped 1/2lb wheat, 1/2carahell @ 160F for 35 minutes
3.5lbs Wheat LME from LHBS at 60minutes
3.5lbs Wheat LME @ 20minutes

Is it OK to add the majority at flame-out? I thought you had to give the LME 15 minutes for sterilization?

160 might be a hair hot.

 

[kegtoe]

not to criticize other's comments just wnated to post what i've researched and learned. DME is often able to get lighter colors than LME due to less carmilization becuase of lack of boiling. I went to DME to try to get my colors closer to what i was looking for. Late addition was also a big help plus it helped me eliminate "extract twang"

Also LME darkens with age.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

So the LME was in a can. Which brand?

Breiss Pilsen LME = 2 lovibond - Incredibly light
Breiss Golden LME = 3 lovibond - Very Light

Muntons Extra pale LME = 4 lovibond - Almost amber extract
Muntons Pale LME = 5 lovibond - As dark as Amber extract

Breiss = fresh
Muntons = old by the time it gets to the US

Breiss uses plastic tubs without causing added flavor.
Muntons uses metal cans = extract quickly begins to taste like soy sauce which makes all beers taste the same.

If it was 3.5 pounds it was probably Muntons.

Forrest

 

[Doyee5]

I mostly brewed darker beers, but through my beer club was tasked to brew a blonde ale, and it was golden to almost amber which was out of style. Ensuring the beer is cooled quickly upon ending your boil can minimize the additional caramelization that can occur with LME (and DME). But even a Pilsner DME has now made my second beer unarguably golden and not the true straw color you're looking for for some styles.

Keep in mind that for the really light lager styles you can sometimes use adjuncts (like corn syrup) which may be colorless up to 40%. But to start I'd shoot for maximizing the amount of DME which I'm gonna experiment with using about 80% DME using the calculator below (or just 1 lb DME = 1.25 lb LME):

https://www.brewersfriend.com/lme-dme-conversion-calculator/

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

But to start I'd shoot for maximizing the amount of DME which I'm gonna experiment with using about 80% DME

This exBEERiment was published about the same time that you posted:
http://brulosophy.com/2019/05/27/li...-vs-dry-malt-extract-dme-exbeeriment-results/

 

[Soulshine2]

All my beers seem to come out one color- caramel brown. I just brewed a wheat beer today with 7lbs of LME and had the same thing happen. Today I even tried the late addition. 50% in the beginning and 50% at 15minutes. WTF??

On top of that my SG was 1078??? The recipe said it would be around 1054. Would volume (ie 3 gallons of concentrated wort affect this?). I do partial boils of about 3-4 gallons.

switch to All Grain, get different colors and better flavors.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

FWIW, OP was last seen on Aug 30, 2012.