First batch seems rather dark

[j-crash]

ok...

brewed my first batch on my own

supposed to be gumballhead clone...ish

5 gallons
3lbs. wheat dme
1lb. extra light dme
steeping bag was 2lbs 2row, and one 1lb. wheat

1 ounce of Amarillo @ 60, 30, and 5

1968 London esb

i left it in primary for 1 week, then transferred to secondary (as of today its been 11 days since brew day) onto 1 ounce of whole leaf centennial (no whole leaf Amarillo available)

beer seemed EXTREMELY bitter (and not very tasty)when i transferred and checked gravity... 3 ounces of hops is a lot though. my other concern is that it is waaayyy darker than i thought it should be (reciepe says srm should be 3.6) looks similar to new castle brown. i think i may have added too much top off water after i chilled it so i thought it might be even lighter than expected ... weird

can anybody give me some insight i what might have happened??

also the ambient temp during fermentaion was between 65 and 69... and the top off water was straight bottled water, that i did not boil (could that have caused a problem?

 

[H-ost]

It's your first batch and you just need to step back.

The color in the carboy will be MUCH darker than the glass because there is more wort for the light to pass through and I think you will be surprised at the difference once it is bottled.

Did you hit your target OG? The hops will be in your face in the beginning but will subside over time. However, if you were a little low on your OG (the cuplrit might have been not extracting enough sugars from the steeping grains) then there is a possibility you over hopped.

 

[j-crash]

i was aiming around 1.042... ended up right around 1.043

and i guess it looks more like a slightly darker ipa thank newcastle... i was gonna keg it over the weekend, but i might just leave it in the carboy for another week or two, maybe the hops will chill out my then.

 

[Absolut_Ninja]

Are you at NIU? I lived in DeKalb for a few years. My parents live out that way now too.

Agreed, carboys are deceitful in many ways.

 

[j-crash]

No... I finished up down there about 5 years ago. I just put N. Illinois because I live right on the IL/WI border.

 

[wewantutopia]

Northern IL, hell yeah!

I just brewed an IPA that also looks really dark in the fermenter. Hopefully it is just an illusion. It sure smells good!

 

[Gaidin53]

I thought same thing about a Blood Orange Lemon Coriander Weiss in carboy. Looked way lighter in glass once it was bottled and poured. I'll try to post a picture in glass and one from the secondary carbon. I'm now trying to increase my boil sizes in batches I've done since.

 

[j-crash]

Turned out great!.. I was worried about nothing I guess. ;D