Blonde ale turned black in secondary

So I'm still new to homebrewing (this is my third batch) and I've been doing extract kits for simplicity. I started a Brewer's Best Imperial Blonde Ale kit before I went on vacation for Thanksgiving. I brewed it and let it in the primary for 6 days. It was time to leave before it was ready to bottle so I racked it to the secondary to finish out while I was gone. I came back after about 3 weeks to find my beer had gone from a gold-ish color to almost black while it was in the secondary. I sanitized everything, capped the secondary with an airlock, the fermenter was in a dark, temperature stable area the whole time and I can't figure out what happened.

I'm going to take a hydrometer reading and taste test, guidance from my local homebrew supplier). He said it sounds like it may have been oxidized somehow, but was unsure. He said he'd never seen beer oxidize like that, just wine. Does anybody have any ideas what the issue might be and how I could prevent it in the future?

Thanks, Sean

 

Wow... No idea!

 

Are you sure it just doesn't LOOK black because of the optics in a secondary, where because of the shape of a vessel our beer looks much darker than it really is? Have you actually pulled a sample and looked at IT?

Obligatory science explanation done in small print:

Crap-all if I understand it all, but it looks cool!

 

Ya I think Revvy is right. I notice my brew gets darker as the yeast drops out of suspension.

 

probably algae

 

New style category!

Cascadian Blonde Ale?

 

I haven't had a chance to pull a sample yet, will be doing that tonight. I thought about the size and shape causing it to appear darker than it is, we'll see tonight. Also, the sediment is much darker than what I've seen in my first two batches, as well as when this one was in the primary. We'll see what tonight brings, if it tastes alright, I'll bottle it. If it sucks, I'll pour it out and investigate the issue further...it just freaked me out to see it like that, not at all what I was expecting to see.

 

I was thining the same thing. Probably looks darker than it really is. Pulling a sample will tell the real story.

 

New name: midnight blonde?

 

Schwartzblonde.

 

First time i brewed a blonde i was SHOCKED at how dark it was....as soon as it was siphoned. What a learning game that was!!

Thx revvy!! Always love your scientific approached answers! This one tops it, now i can go showoff...

 

this is getting dangerously close to the "black" IPA subject. I'm gonna go eat my own face before this gets out of hand.

 

Here's a couple pictures of what it looks like. My thief is sanitizing as I type this, so we'll see how that goes. Will update on color and taste.

 

It is rather dark for blond but also has wired white spots and huge head space, can infection turn blond in to brunet? anyway how does it taste?

 

I saw those spots too and was a bit concerned, especially since another gentleman from my local supply store mentioned the possibility of an infection, but he was quite unsure about that guess. On close inspection though, those spots look more like clusters of bubbles than something growing...I'm far from an expert at spotting infections though.

Anyway, got my sample. SG measured 1.014 (paper from the kit says FG should be 1.015-1.018). It's definitely NOT black, looks copper-ish (recipe says it should be "deep gold"). It doesn't smell funky, slightly sweet with prominent hop aroma. Taste was sweet with a little hoppiness to start, but faded into a kind of tangy, bitter finish that lingered for a while. All in all it didn't taste terrible and I think it will improve substantially after I bottle it and let it sit for a couple weeks. Also, this recipe had some wheat DME in it, I'm not especially familiar with wheat in beer, but would that possibly contribute to that tangy flavor?

 

Damn emoticons...that cool, sunglasses wearing guy was supposed to be 1.018.

 

Extract beers are darker than their all grain counterparts.

 

Just cracked my first bottle of this very same beer. Though mine was darker in the fermenter as well. Here's s pic of it after 9 days sitting at 70 deg and 3 more in the fridge. All my samples tasted sour, so I was not expecting much from the bottle. But lo and behold its just fine.



Cheers

 

This is what my BB Imperial Blonde Ale looked like in my fermenter. Hope this helps.

 

Right on. I think it's gonna be alright, I think I'm probably over thinking it. Thanks everybody.

 

Just remember to practice what Revvy preaches.. Patience patience patience... I let mine ferment for 3 weeks, plan on letting it sit in bottles 3 more. I didn't use a secondary, just let it sit in the primary. I also fret over every thing... Had not to as I'm only on my second batch. Good luck!

 

I had Brewers best kits from my local store and they all turned out dark. I think cos the ingredients were sitting on the shelf for a while. Now I buy from Austin Home Brew and 5 kits into their service, and I have not had one beer turned bad,

 

In the future, when your beer is six days old, leave it be.
The beer is still actively fermenting and there is no good reason to move it, but there is increased chance of infection plus you still want all that yeast in the beer at this stage.

 

My last two batches I didn't bother with a secondary. The paper that came with the kit recommended racking to a secondary when the fermentation slowed, but before it stopped. The only reason I decided to do a secondary on this on was because I was going to be gone for about 3 weeks and was concerned the extra time spent on the sediment might impart some undesirable off-flavors. I had read somewhere that leaving it in the sediment too long could cause problems.

 

There isn't consensus on the value of a secondary, but certainly anyone would tell you that the extra few weeks in the primary won't hurt anything.
There's a learning curve to this for sure, but this website is one tool that can shorten the curve.

Lucky for everyone, you can actually make quite a few mistakes and still get pretty good beer.
That helps keep people from being discouraged.

 

Yeah, that's one thing I've been seeing a lot lately. In hindsight, I would have just left it in the primary, but oh well, lessons learned. It didn't taste terrible, so I went ahead and bottled it. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks.

 

Appearance is only 3 points out of 50.

 

The best I can say right now if your description is "didn't taste terrible", is to let it have some time.
Two months can make the difference between unpleasant beer and great beer.

 

Well, here we are, two weeks in the bottle. It's still quite dark (although not black). The flavor has evened out a bit, it doesn't really change drastically mid-quaff. It's still pretty dry and bitter, but that part has mellowed a bit. It does have somewhat of a chemically taste in the finish that my wife describe as "ew, plastic." I wouldn't say it tastes like plastic, but it was a chemically taste. I figure I'll let it sit for another couple weeks and try another.

 

I brewed a blonde ale kit from morebeer, and it came out much like yours. When did you add your extract ? If you added at the 60 minute mark that may contribute to the color. The beer will be drinkable, it just won't be to style in your mind. If you have BMC friends have them try a few bottles, they will think it's great. That's what mine did.

 

I had the exact same thing happen. Brewer's Best Imperial Blonde Ale happens to be the very first batch of beer I've ever attempted, my first homebrew, and I'm perplexed as to why my blonde turned out black. I didn't expect much from my first batch ever, but I figured I screwed something really up to get the entire wrong color. I'm so glad you posted this. My beer should turn out the same as yours, not perfect but not terrible either. I followed all the directions. I was worried that maybe I leached tannins during the steeping process, maybe I oxidized/had a bad seal during the primary (I didn't have much bubbling with the diving-bell airlock I was using on batch 1), or that I messed up something during the move from primary to secondary after waiting just one full week. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one with this problem on this product and that maybe the ingredients had something to do with it.

 

If the picture posts, this is what my beer looks like.

 

That is most likely the classic chlorophenol from chlorinated tap water. Get some Campden tabs to treat all your brewing water.

 

In the pro industry their is no "secondary" per say. It is called a "bright tank" for letting sediment settle out and is often chilled.

I really wish Home brewers would adapt this terminology as this "secondary fermentation" has been misleading for years.