Beer Color

[rpalmer1392]

Okay, So All my beer that I have brewed(all extract) have turned out the same color. They don't taste bad just just I could obtain the correct color. I am wondering if there is something in the water that I am using or if there is an additive that I should be using.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[hopsalot]

where are you getting your extract? Is it liquid or dry?

 

[turvis]

How many have you done and what kind?

 

[Jayhem]

Are you brewing kits or your own recipe?

Color is determined by the SRM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Reference_Method). Each malt or extract has a published SRM which can be inserted in various online brewing calculators along with water volumes to estimate color. The higher the SRM number the darker the beer.

 

[rpalmer1392]

I have done mostly kits but have switched to doing extracts with the goal of moving to all grain

 

[Jayhem]

I have done mostly kits but have switched to doing extracts with the goal of moving to all grain

If your beer is coming out darker than you like it might be that you need to add your extract near the end of the boil (search for "late extract additions"). Apparently extracts can burn if added at the start of the boil and your brew pot has hot spots on the bottom.

I did notice that when I went all grain my beers are cleaner looking and my lighter colored recipes come out perfect.

 

[rpalmer1392]

That definately sounds like what I have been doing, plus I have a really bad pot. I am looking to purchase the boilermaker. Any thoughts on what size? If my goals is all grain.

 

[Jayhem]

That definately sounds like what I have been doing, plus I have a really bad pot. I am looking to purchase the boilermaker. Any thoughts on what size? If my goals is all grain.

I researched that a lot and if you want to brew AG 5 gal batches you really need at least a 10 gallon brew pot and if there is any chance you want to ever brew double batches (10 gal) then you need a 20 gallon pot. Always better to go too large than too small. The only issue is that most kitchen stoves will have trouble boiling full AG boils. Even a 5 gal batch has to start at 6-6.5 gallons to boil down to a 5 gal batch! I went ahead and bought a 20 gal stainless brew pot and 185,000 BTU outdoor propane burner for my AG. Well worth it I think.

 

[TopherM]

There are only like 6 common extract types - Amber, Pale, Light, Dark, Munich, and Wheat.

Amber, Light, and Pale are all pretty close to the same color. Munich and Wheat are only a few shades off. Dark is the only one that is a stark contrast to the rest.

So, unless you are brewing extract stouts or porters, you would expect pretty much all extract to be fairly close to one another EXCEPT for whatever specialty grains the recipe includes.

If you are brewing similar styles, the law of averages would dictate that they would come in all pretty close to the same color using extract recipes.

That's all I can think of. The majority of the color comes from the extract and specialty grains. The water shouldn't affect color at all (unless you are using Mexican water!).

 

[william_shakes_beer]

Even AG recipies use speicalty grains to add color. The majority of the fementables come from the base malt, which is just a handfull of light colored malts. If you want darker, poke your last brewed recipie into a recipie program and try adjusting and/or adding some specialty grains. Most people select grains for flavor but, hey, it's your beer.

 

[HokieBrewer]

I researched that a lot and if you want to brew AG 5 gal batches you really need at least a 10 gallon brew pot and if there is any chance you want to ever brew double batches (10 gal) then you need a 20 gallon pot. Always better to go too large than too small. The only issue is that most kitchen stoves will have trouble boiling full AG boils.

You dont need a 20 gal pot for 10 gal batches. My 15 gal pot works great.