Adding color to fermented beer

[Benny Blanco]

So, I made a Dubbel and it came out great, but way too light (somewhere around 8 or 9 SRM). I wouldn't mind making it darker.

I was just wondering if there is a way to add color to beer after fermentation. There must be some sort of food coloring or extract that can be added to achieve this. Am I wrong?

 

[a10t2]

Sinamar: http://www.americanbrewmaster.com/product_info.php?products_id=1413

 

[Benny Blanco]

Ah...Sinamar. I remembered I heard about it, but couldn't remember the name. Thanks.

I'll probably add too much and make it look like a stout. After all, it is only a 3 gal batch. Any experience using this stuff? Any particular process when it comes to making it sterile?

 

[a10t2]

I'd pull a liter or so, add it dropwise until you get the color you want, then extrapolate how much you need in the full batch. Subtract 25% and add that, then go from there.

edit: It may not be sterile, but I certainly wouldn't worry about it. It's fermented so that there aren't any residual sugars to be bacteria food.

 

[Benny Blanco]

a liter is a bit much for me to remove for only 2.5gal of finished beer and I would be too nervous about adding it straight to the beer hoping it wont get infected

 

[a10t2]

Well, add the liter back once you're finished. Or pull whatever amount you're comfortable discarding.

Look at it this way: if you couldn't move beer around without contaminating it, you'd have had problems already, right? Just clean and sanitize anything that touches the beer and you'll be fine.

 

[Benny Blanco]

Yeah....I won't take my chances. Even if my practices are clean, the less you move your beer around the better. The reason I don't get infections is because I minimize the transfer and exposure of my beer. Not to mention oxidation. I'm not the type to add back my hydro samples either. No bueno

And I would definitely want to find a way to boil the sinamar extract to sanitize it before I add it.