Cream Ale Dark Because of Partial Boil?

[Brewklyn]

I made a cream ale yesterday using Norther Brewer's extract kit http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewi...s/extract-ale-kits/cream-ale-extract-kit.html. Everything went great, it's in the carboy now and a healthy krausen already formed. The only issue is that it is a very dark brown instead of the light gold it is supposed to be. I know partial boils will tend to make the wort darker from caramelization but this seems pretty extreme.

My main questions is does the caramalization affect the taste or will this taste like it is supposed to but just be darker? Any insights are greatly appreciated.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

I am very new but I know that my beer looks WAY darker in the carboy than in the bottle or the glass.

 

[Brewklyn]

I am very new but I know that my beer looks WAY darker in the carboy than in the bottle or the glass.

Right, but this was case when i took a hydrometer reading in the tube as well.

 

[Revvy]

Extract beer usually tend to be a bit darker that their all grain counterparts, even doing late extract addition, but steve is right, it is MORE the refraction of light going through that relatively thick glass walls of the carboy.

When you see it in a beer glass a month from now, you'll be quite surprised at how different it will look.

 

[Brewklyn]

Cool, good to know.

 

[Marko73]

I had the same issue with my Cream Ale which was my first brew as well. It was a Brewer's Best extract kit.

When I looked in the primary it looked like a stout! But after a good amount of conditions, it was a very nice amber color in the glass.

Hope it goes well!

 

[eppo]

i have the AHS Cream ale in the fermenter now. hydrometer sample looks darker than you would expect. but there are hops pieces, and grains floating in there, a lot will settle out as time goes on.

 

[homebrewer_99]

If you used Liquid Malt Extract your brew was doomed from the start.

LME is ALWAYS darker than you expect. Sorry.

 

[BillTheSlink]

Hate to be a party poopper, but I've done the same kit months ago. Not only was it was darker, but it is a very poor excuse for a cream ale. I don't believe it even uses any adjuncts, which is pretty much par for the course with a cream ale and necessary to be in style. I've still got some. The only way they're drinkable is to take them from the fridge and put them in the freezer for at least 10-15 min and just as ice is forming around the lip and neck pouring in a glass. Cold temps hide poor tastes sometimes, which is why Bud is served blistering cold and even in frosted mugs. I've talked to several on here that did that kit and were disappointed. That is not to say at all that Northern brewers kits are bad in totality. My first beer was their hefeweizen and it was so good. The Irish Red is the bomb to. Plan on that for St. Patric's day.

 

[Brewklyn]

Well nothing i can do at this point. I'll just see how this one turns out

 

[Revvy]

Hate to be a party poopper, but I've done the same kit months ago. Not only was it was darker, but it is a very poor excuse for a cream ale. I don't believe it even uses any adjuncts, which is pretty much par for the course with a cream ale and necessary to be in style. I've still got some. The only way they're drinkable is to take them from the fridge and put them in the freezer for at least 10-15 min and just as ice is forming around the lip and neck pouring in a glass. Cold temps hide poor tastes sometimes, which is why Bud is served blistering cold and even in frosted mugs. I've talked to several on here that did that kit and were disappointed. That is not to say at all that Northern brewers kits are bad in totality. My first beer was their hefeweizen and it was so good. The Irish Red is the bomb to. Plan on that for St. Patric's day.

Well nothing i can do at this point. I'll just see how this one turns out

Just remember, taste is subjective. One person's garbage is another person's tuna salad....and both could be right. Ultimately whether bill hated or loved that particular recipe is irrelevant. You are going to be the ultimate judge.

 

[pdbreen]

I've got a keg of the extract based NB Cream Ale flowing right now and it definitely came out darker for than I expected. I've got another batch that I'm leaving in the secondary a bit longer.

And, I tend to agree with Bill - what's flowing right now isn't that great in my opinion. I'm thinking of dry hopping the batch that's still in the secondary to give it some character.

 

[Poolplayer]

I'm sampling my NB Cream Ale now with it's official drinking date of 11/11. It's a little more amber in color, the head was weak and dissipated in under a minute. There are some sweet notes in the finish telling me I should probably give this a sit for a few more weeks before attempting to sample another bottle. I did a 2 1/2 gal partial boil to start. The bottling date was 10/28. Hopefully this settles a lot of worries about cream ales, it's definitely about the wait

 

[BillTheSlink]

I'm sampling my NB Cream Ale now with it's official drinking date of 11/11. It's a little more amber in color, the head was weak and dissipated in under a minute. There are some sweet notes in the finish telling me I should probably give this a sit for a few more weeks before attempting to sample another bottle. I did a 2 1/2 gal partial boil to start. The bottling date was 10/28. Hopefully this settles a lot of worries about cream ales, it's definitely about the wait

Well, what Revvy said is true; my crap might be your gold, but waiting didn't change the taste at all for me, if anything it started getting worse after a point. I did these back in the Spring. I highly recommend Austin Homebrew Supply's Little Kings Cream Ale kit. I can't tell the difference from the commercial version. I did the all grain, and it was my first all grain. It was so good I've gotten bitten by the contest bug and sent some to Philly to be judged Sat.. Cream Ale is my favorite style so far in domestics that I've sampled, so maybe I am picky, but I don't even see how the NB can be called cream ale.