Why are my beers so dark?

Very new to brewing, and just finished my 3rd brew day (I'll be bottling my first batch next week). I noticed tonight when I finished the boil and got the wort into the carboy that all of my beers are turning out pretty dark.

First was an IPA that I added 4 oz. more hops to than the recipe called for throughout the boil, it is now in secondary dry hopping. Dark.

Then I brewed a Pumpkin Ale, it is on day 4 in primary. Dark.

Tonight I brewed the AHS Harvest Raspberry Ale, and once i got it into the primary and alongside the other two beers it seemed strangely.... dark.

All three are just about the same color, if I had to compare to a common style of beer I would say all three are about the color of an off the shelf bock.

Am I doing something wrong or do they lighten up a bit as they sit in the fermenters longer?

Extracts are always darker in color due to the process by which they are made.

Also beer in bulk containers is always darker than the glass you drink from.

Don't worry about it.

The beer will not me nearly as dark in a glass as it is in a carboy. You are looking through a lot of volume, making it look very dark. I assume you are doing extracts. Extracts due to the process of making the extract tend to be a little darker than an all grain version of the same recipe.

The only other thing that might make it darker is if you let extract fall to the bottom of the kettle with the heat on and scorching the extract.

To avoid this remove the pot from the heat then add the extract, stir well and return to the heat.

If you're using any malt extract, adding too much too early on in the boil can lead to overly dark colors.

Many brewers advocate a late addition of extract close to or at flameout to ensure the extract is adequately sanitized but not subjected to any excessive maillard reactions or caramelization during the boil.

Obviously some malt extract is needed at the onset of the boil to allow hop oils to be adequately utilized.

Also if using extract, use light colored extract and rely on steeping grains to impart the required color.

Oxygenation can also impart a darkened hue to beer to the best of my knowledge.

If doing all grain or partial mash it could be simply a matter of reducing the darker specialty grains. A little goes along way when it comes to color.

Again with extract scorching during its addition can result in darkening.

Finally. The beer in a carboy will always look darker than in the serving glass simply as a result of the bulk of beer and the ongoing fermentation which induces an opaque quality owing to the myriad of bubbles scattering light.

Some or all of these factors may be in play

You can lighten the color of your beers by doing a late extract addition. Add half of your extract at the beginning of the boil, DME first then LME if using both, and the remainder with fifteen to ten minutes left in the boil.

Bittering hop utilization may increase by 5% to 10% because of the lower gravity wort at the start of the boil. I have tasted a noticeable difference though.

During the boil you can add hot wort to the remaining LME to make it easier to pour near the end of the boil.

edit: Gavin C types faster.

Things that will help...

Later extract addition. 1/4 at the beginning, the rest toward the end.

Removing the pot from the heat and thoroughly dissolving the syrup.

Smaller boils. ie 12 - 20 qt. boils for 5-6 gallons.

In the end, if it tastes good to you, who cares what color or contrast it is... Look at Shiner Bock. Dark as f**k, tastes like Coors Light.

Cheers, man.

haha, thanks for the info folks. All of me brews have been extract to this point, two of which has specialty grains. I will try the late extract addition on the next one, it's a Stone IPA clone which I plan to dry hop with a few oz of Amarillo Hops so the extra bitterness won't affect how I feel about the beer.

I recently was in the same boat as you and tried the late additions and was very happy with the results. Just a heads up though, use a brewing software to keep the IBU's at the target you want because the first time I did a late addition it was about a 25 IBU difference in my recipe due to the hop utilization changing. You will be a lot more satisfied with the color and taste though (less caramelized taste).

That is an all grain pilsner i just brewed, and you know how light Pilsners are in the glass. As mentioned above, when a beer is in bulk it looks WAY darker than when it is in the glass.

arnobg said:

I recently was in the same boat as you and tried the late additions and was very happy with the results. Just a heads up though, use a brewing software to keep the IBU's at the target you want because the first time I did a late addition it was about a 25 IBU difference in my recipe due to the hop utilization changing. You will be a lot more satisfied with the color and taste though (less caramelized taste).

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what is a good brewing software to use?

I assume you ended up more bitter by 25 IBU's?

garguy said:

what is a good brewing software to use?

I assume you ended up more bitter by 25 IBU's?

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Brewersfriend and Beersmith are the most popular around here. Both of them are very good and have free "trial" modes. I recommend trying both to see what you like best, you may decide you like both and can't figure out which one is best and keep both like I do.

Yes, late additions will cause the IBU's to increase due to the lower gravity of boil wort s hop amounts can be changed accordingly.

I, & many others here use Beersmith. They're up to 2.2 by the latest version I have. Best $28 I ever spent. When I still occasionally do Cooper's cans, I use a 3lb bag of plain light or extra light DME in the 3 1/2 gallon boil for hop additions. DME doesn't darken as readily as LME due to maillard reactions (browning, like meat or toast). But if you're using all-LME, then late additions will work wonders for color & flavor.

Setesh said:

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That is an all grain pilsner i just brewed, and you know how light Pilsners are in the glass. As mentioned above, when a beer is in bulk it looks WAY darker than when it is in the glass.

Click to expand...

I had an extract Hefeweizen that I thought looked like dunkleweizen until it was in the glass, thankfully!

Hoppy2bmerry said:

I had an extract Hefeweizen that I thought looked like dunkleweizen until it was in the glass, thankfully!

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My extract Hefeweizen still turned out to look as dark as a Dunkelweizen . That was before I learned about late extract editions though.