Beer too dark. Late addittion of lme

[stdywell]

I all. Am fairly new to brewing. Have about 9 or so batches under my belt, all extract.
Regardless of style, all of my batches seem to come out much darker than they should, when I compare them to images of the same style beers posted here or elsewhere online.
I stir constantly when brewing, and have in a recipe that calls for 6 lbs of LME, put in 3 at the recommended time, and three at 15 minutes left in the boil and it still seems dark. Taste seems fine, although I am no expert on different styles.
Would it make any difference, if I waited and put all LME in at 15 min or even at flameout ? Doesn't make sense to just do steeping grains and them boil hops for 60 minutes or does it. Thanks !!!

 

[MZRIS]

I had the same experience with my extract based brew kits. I would wait and introduce 2/3 of the extract at the end of the boil to help with this and get better hop utilization and it does help some. - I ultimately fixed this by first brewing darker beers, porters and stouts, then brewing all grain haha!

 

[joyceman]

Are you doing a partial boil?

Ive actually held off on all the LME to flameout, I still had a beer two shades darker than intended. I've moved to a full boil and Im helping that will help. Ive also heard the the age of the LME can impact the darkness of your final product. The fresher the better.

Generally I think this is just an issue with extract brewing and like MZRIS said, will eventually drive me to AG.

 

[stdywell]

Yes partial boils. Would full boil help ? I do partials mostly because I can cool the wort faster

 

[joyceman]

Ive read that a full boil will help on this site a number of times. My last two batches were full boils so no actual evidence as of now.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

Pictures can be deceiving.

Even so, with extract you're hostage to whatever grains were used to make the extract and lme naturally darkens with time. So you probably won't be able to make beers incredibly light in color using extract unless you're using lots of extra light extract and it's fresh (or dry). More importantly, unless you're entering them in competitions and they are too dark for the style, color is the least important aspect of the beer. Your taste buds do not taste color.

 

[rifraf]

Go with extra light extract and build all your color and flavor from grains.

 

[unionrdr]

Just exchange half of the LME for plain DME. DME won't darken as quickly as LME does in the boil. I use 3.75lb of LME,& 3lb of plain DME ion my recipes for an average ale. Along with an average of 2oz of hops. 1.5lb of the plain DME in a 2.5-3 gallon boil for hop additions. Then add the remaining DME & all the LME at flame out.
Cover & steep for 15 minutes to pasteurize,since the temps are still 180F+ & pasteurization happens about 162F. My colors are lighter & no extract twang as a result. But the extracts should be as fresh as possible. This also contributes to color & flavor.

 

[stdywell]

Will try the suggestions. Thank you all for your time and expertise.

Is there any real difference in dark/light LME or is it just color ? I imagine the answer for DME is the same ?

 

[rifraf]

Will try the suggestions. Thank you all for your time and expertise.

Is there any real difference in dark/light LME or is it just color ? I imagine the answer for DME is the same ?

Both forms of extract are essentially evaporated wort. Dark versions are going to have the sugars, flavors, colors, etc of the darker grains used in making that wort whereas light versions are only going to have the properties of the light grains. That's why it's possible to substitute out steeping grains when using dark extract.

I personally only use the lightest extract I can get which is made only (or majority) with a 2-row style base malt. I get all color and flavor from steeping grains. This gives me more control and makes it easier to convert all grain recipes because I know exactly what grains are in my beer in which ratios. Some people say that dark extracts can taste strange as well, but I can't speak to that directly.