Beer turned black after gelatin?

[D0ug]

Supporter of what? Harassment? I mean i can handle it, hes just a person on the internet. Irrelevant to me.

A support of his avatar I think, and who isn't!

Harassment just comes with the territory.

 

[Yooper]

I mean, im a noob, but it was at the expected FG for 3 days, was in the primary for 14 days total before racking and addition of gelatin. Could there still be fermentation after that?

No, probably not. But wheat beers have tons of yeast in suspension, usually, and usually a non-flocculant yeast is used for yeast flavor in the beer.

Another issue is that extract beers, particularly with a partial boil where you boil 2 gallons of wort and top up with 3 gallons in the fermenter, can be darker than a beer made with a full boil or adding the bulk of the extract at the end of the boil.

Taking the yeast out of suspension, combined with a partial boil of an extract batch means the beer may be darker than desired. That's ok, as it won't affect taste.

Seriously, instead of going back and forth, why not use a turkey baster/wine thief/piece of tubing and just pull out 2 ounces and put it in a glass and hold it up to the light. It will NOT be that dark in a glass.

 

[brewingmeister]

Being a wheat it is probably done and it was just the non flocking yeast. I'm guessing the srm of this brew is 10 or below.

 

[dogbar]

This thread is hilarious. All it's missing is someone making the "Your beer is ruined, better send it to me" joke.

That is exactly what clear beer looks like in a carboy.

 

[brockettbrews]

If it was me I would go to europe and got to munich and drink alot and forget about it!! Look at guisness it is dark lol!!

 

[dpeanut7]

If it was me I would go to europe and got to munich and drink alot and forget about it!! Look at guisness it is dark lol!!

Cheers to that!! Thanks for the theories guys, and everyone else for the entertainment. Will check back in 2 weeks with a thiefed sample.

 

[Joos]

Yes, it is.

Have you ever brewed a beer before? Have you ever watched it ferment? I don't care if you pitched 25 vials in a black beer and it flocced, it would not look like that. Whats worse is to tell a new brewer ( if this thread isn't complete BS) that nothing is wrong with it. that is completely ridiculous!

 

[passedpawn]

Supporter of what? Harassment? I mean i can handle it, hes just a person on the internet. Irrelevant to me.

I support his avatar. Not sure what you are talking about.

 

[passedpawn]

Have you ever brewed a beer before? Have you ever watched it ferment? I don't care if you pitched 25 vials in a black beer and it flocced, it would not look like that. Whats worse is to tell a new brewer ( if this thread isn't complete BS) that nothing is wrong with it. that is completely ridiculous!

Yes, I've brewed a beer before. Yes I've watched it ferment. I stand by my statement, the light beer has a lot of suspended yeast, and the dark beer is clear. The flash from the camera is making the two look very different.

There is nothing wrong with his beer. You, Joos, seem to indicate there is. I'd like to hear your explanation.

 

[Yooper]

As I mentioned (more than once), a simple test would be to pull out a tiny sample and put it in a glass and hold it up to the light. That beer isn't black- it's lighting and the yeast has fallen out so it looks even darker. An extract beer, especially if the extract was boiled for a long time in a partial boil like in this Brewer's Best Kit, can be darker than you'd expect. In poor lighting with a flash, it can look incredibly dark. But I don't think that beer is as dark as it appears in those pictures and in a glass it would look much lighter.

Oxidized beer gets darker, too, but it seems like it'd be WAY too early for it to show signs of oxidation if it was just racked a couple of days ago so I don't think that's an issue.

 

[Reelale]

The beer is dark. It's obvious. Darker than a wit should be. And much darker than prior to gelatin (as described). It's not yeast, it's not lighting, it's darker. I've never seen gelatin change the color like that. It changes the opaqueness, making it clearer, but not that drastic. Maybe if we keep telling ourselves it will lighten up, it will.

 

[D0ug]

I don't think we will have a satisfactory idea of what is going on until we see a smaller sample as Yooper has (repeatedly) suggested.

Pix or it didn't happen!

 

[lafolielapper]

There is such a simple solution to this problem. OP...would you please draw a sample and put it in a hydrometer test tube and take another pic. Otherwise, quit this nonsense.

 

[dpeanut7]

I....don't....know....what...to....say. The sample is clear as DAY, and somewhat light? (which is somewhat unfortunate being that its a wheat, but whatever, as a brewer, I learned how to clear my beer, that's what I care about, becoming a better brewer.

I will still post a picture in a bottle when I get back, but at this point, I don't think it matters. I guess, does anyone know WHY it's like this then??? It wasn't the lighting, since I moved it out of the closet for my second post, and it was still dark. This brewing shizz is crazy.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

It's perfectly normal, jeez!

It appears darker because it is clearer and light doesn't just bounce right off it like when it's loaded up with creamy white yeast. It penetrates and disperses. That's why the thin tube sample looks lighter... light doesn't take as long to go through it. Physics FTW.

 

[D0ug]

How did it taste?

 

[dpeanut7]

It tasted very similar to the pre-gelatin sample. My palate honestly isn't that great yet. Sorry.

 

[brockettbrews]

what is the conclusion, should you add gelatin to a wheat beer???

 

[passedpawn]

what is the conclusion, should you add gelatin to a wheat beer???

Yeast has a very distinct taste. After you've been brewing for a while, you'll be able to decide whether you want that yeast taste in the beer you are creating. If you take a sample of the beer while the yeast is still in suspension you'll definitely be able to taste the yeast.

If you do (i.e., for a german hefeweisen or belgian wit), then

• you should use a poorly-flocculating yeast (Wyeast 3068) so that the yeast stays in suspension,
• you should NOT use gelatin,
• you should pour the bottled beer in a manner to get the yeast into suspension in the glass, in the case that it's settled

If you don't want that yeast flavor (i.e., an american wheat beer and most other beers), just add gelatin or cold crash and rack very carefully when bottling.

 

[JonM]

1) OP posts question
2) Yooper responds immediately with the right answer.
3) We spend three days babbling about other possibilities
4) Yooper was right.

Listen to Yooper.

 

[Yooper]

1) OP posts question
2) Yooper responds immediately with the right answer.
3) We spend three days babbling about other possibilities
4) Yooper was right.

Listen to Yooper.

Oh, no, I'm not an authority at all! I just have lots of experience with clearing and carboys- mostly with wine. I've had golden color wines look dark in a carboy once clear and worried about it- until I pulled out a sample and saw that it was pretty light after all.

What's really weird is if you actually witness the clearing process- it clears from the top down. so, the top of the wine/beer can look black while the middle is still very light. Sort of like a "black and tan" beer- that markedly different. It is sort of freaky until you see it happen a few times!

 

[Reelale]

Well, I'll be! Looking at the carboy picture was misleading. It looked almost "stoutish" in color in the carboy to me. The smaller sample certainly is much lighter.

 

[Yooper]

Have you ever brewed a beer before? Have you ever watched it ferment? I don't care if you pitched 25 vials in a black beer and it flocced, it would not look like that. Whats worse is to tell a new brewer ( if this thread isn't complete BS) that nothing is wrong with it. that is completely ridiculous!

Why? What's wrong it it? It looks darker in the carboy, that's for sure, but the beer looks fine and seems perfectly fine.

 

[bob1006]

I just made an American wheat here is what it looks like in the carboy. In a glass its a pale color. About 3.3 on the srm scale.

 

[logan3825]

If you don't want that yeast flavor (i.e., an american wheat beer and most other beers), just add gelatin or cold crash and rack very carefully when bottling.

or use a high flocculating yeast. I use US-05 for American wheats.

 

[Joos]

Why? What's wrong it it? It looks darker in the carboy, that's for sure, but the beer looks fine and seems perfectly fine.

Must be the lighting of that photo, but that carboy looks black. Clear beer is not black ( with the obvious exceptions).

 

[brewingmeister]

I....don't....know....what...to....say. The sample is clear as DAY, and somewhat light?

just as I predicted srm under 10....well under. looks like it's around a 6-7 from the pic.

my kind of wheat....without yeast...