Diacetyl and DMS

[Peaty Jones]

Lesson learned. Sent my beer to professionals to get some feedback. I’m not familiar with off flavors yet but i knew theres something off in my pilsner even though i thought it tasted awesome for it to be my third brew ever. The professionals replied that theres hinta of diacetyl and DMS. My recipe consist of pilsner and dextrin malt.

My next steps for the next batch are:

-Lower fermentation temperature (9C) and proper diacetyl pause. Last time i started the fermentation at 14C because i thought the pressure fermentation will handle it. The fermentation was way too fast and i dont know if my diacetyl pause did anything by the time i switched to higher temp (18C)

-Vigorous boil. This time Ill use much more power and let it boil for 90min. Last time i made it just to boil and only for 60min.

ANY OTHER ADVICES?

 

[Beekeeper]

Increased the amount of yeast pitch?

 

[Peaty Jones]

Increased the amount of yeast pitch?

I was thinking of keeping it the same (1.5 million cells / ml / degree plato). My starter is on the erlenmeyer as we speak. Last time i used W34/70. This time i’m going to try out lallemand diamond.

 

[Chetbrews]

I like to brew lagers and 2 things that helped me get more consistent beers was switching to 90 minute boils and temperature control for fermentation. I also do pressurized fermentations and 20 degrees c (68 degrees f) using 34/70 or diamond lager yeast works well for me.

Another tip I got from a pro brewer was to use a 90/10 mix of pilsner/Munich malts for my lagers.

 

[Beekeeper]

Increased the amount of yeast pitch?

This was just a wild swing, given no background or history to go on, solely the subject line.

 

[dmtaylor]

Don't trust professionals.

 

[Kickass]

Professionals love to point out diacetyl and DMS. It’s low hanging fruit when you don’t know how to evaluate a beer.

 

[DuncB]

ALDC can help.

 

[wepeeler]

You don't need a crazy vigorous boil for any beer. That will most likely lead to other non-desirable flavors especially in a Pilsner ie caramelization. 60 min is plenty for today's modified malts. Start by pitching more yeast and controlling fermentation temp.

 

[Peaty Jones]

Don't trust professionals.

Agree 99% of the time. I just didnt mention that they wear BJCP judges in a homebrewing competition so there may be some truth. I just didnt want to point out the fact that i was humiliated by them

 

[Peaty Jones]

ALDC can help.

Forgive me my ignorance but what is ALDC?

 

[Peaty Jones]

You don't need a crazy vigorous boil for any beer. That will most likely lead to other non-desirable flavors especially in a Pilsner ie caramelization. 60 min is plenty for today's modified malts. Start by pitching more yeast and controlling fermentation temp.

I think i still give it a go. I Just read multiple topics that mentioned pilsner malt is the cause for a lot of DMS and to get rid of it you must have a long and vigorous boil. I try to compensate it by adding more water in the start. It could lead to other complication later as you mentioned but lets see.

 

[dmtaylor]

Agree 99% of the time. I just didnt mention that they wear BJCP judges in a homebrewing competition so there may be some truth. I just didnt want to point out the fact that i was humiliated by them

I am a BJCP Certified judge. And I find that on average, a judge is wrong about these off-flavors more than half the time. They try too hard to detect imperfections where there might be none.

 

[DuncB]

Forgive me my ignorance but what is ALDC?

It's an enzyme.

Bypass the formation of diacetyl by using ALDC. A simple addition to the fermenter makes it possible to consistently control a troublesome area of brewing, and prevent one of the most common flavour complaints. Diacetyl is expensive to measure and control, so by bypassing its formation altogether has become very popular with brewers, especially those brewing lagers and dry-hopped pale ales.
ALDC (Alpha Acetolactate Decarboxylase) is an enzyme that reduces maturation times, increase efficiencies and increases production capacity.
ALDC is produced from a submerged culture of Bacillus subtilis.
ALDC causes the direct decarboxylation of alpha acetolactate to acetoin, thus avoids the production of Diacetyl.

Benefits​

• Reduces Diacetyl production
• Significantly reduces maturation times
• More efficient vessel utilisation
• Improves beer quality

TMM ALDC is added a at a rate of 0.01g to 0.05g per litre of wort, it is added at the same time as pitching yeast.

This equates to 0.2g-1g per 20ltr of wort

Info From the malt miller .

 

[Peaty Jones]

I am a BJCP Certified judge. And I find that on average, a judge is wrong about these off-flavors more than half the time. They try too hard to detect imperfections where there might be none.

Ok. Its nice to hear it from a judge. Maybe there could have been something else that they didn't like in the taste and the rest is just kind of a confirmation bias. They also mentioned that it was not according to style (5D), and it was too malty. I admit that i didn't hop it the best way. Thats on my list also. I only used saaz as flavor (40g 20min, and magnum as bitterness (10g 45min). On the next version im going to add: Bitterness (Magnum 10g 45min, flavor (saaz 15g+hallertau 15g, 20min) and aroma (hallertau 30g, 5min).

 

[Peaty Jones]

It's an enzyme.

Bypass the formation of diacetyl by using ALDC. A simple addition to the fermenter makes it possible to consistently control a troublesome area of brewing, and prevent one of the most common flavour complaints. Diacetyl is expensive to measure and control, so by bypassing its formation altogether has become very popular with brewers, especially those brewing lagers and dry-hopped pale ales.
ALDC (Alpha Acetolactate Decarboxylase) is an enzyme that reduces maturation times, increase efficiencies and increases production capacity.
ALDC is produced from a submerged culture of Bacillus subtilis.
ALDC causes the direct decarboxylation of alpha acetolactate to acetoin, thus avoids the production of Diacetyl.

Benefits​

• Reduces Diacetyl production
• Significantly reduces maturation times
• More efficient vessel utilisation
• Improves beer quality

TMM ALDC is added a at a rate of 0.01g to 0.05g per litre of wort, it is added at the same time as pitching yeast.

This equates to 0.2g-1g per 20ltr of wort

Info From the malt miller .

This sounds interesting. Have to take some research on it. I think i dont have time to order it anymore for this batch but maybe to next. Also I'm not sure if its available right now. Quick googleing showed that one LHBS is out of stock.

 

[Miraculix]

I've brewed a lot with modern pilsner malt and I've made beers with 30 min boils and never tasted any DMS.

However, I've had diacethyl in a professional lager once (cloudwater I believe). This was like drinking butter.

Honestly, I don't think DMS is a problem and diacetyl will be metabolized if you just give the beer a few days at room temperature at the end of fermentation.

So all in all, don't give too much on these comments. The DMS shouldn't be a problem and if there is diacetyl ( Which I doubt) there's an easy fix. In regard to these two points, there's zero benefit from decreasing fermentation temperature further.

 

[AlexKay]

Don't trust a single BJCP judge or set of judges. Typically your beer will be judged by two or three judges, who will (1) taste the beer, (2) fill out the scoresheets, (3) discuss the beer, and then (4) possibly change their scores and/or their scoresheets. If you are regularly getting feedback, from multiple competitions or for multiple beers, that you have DMS and/or diacetyl problems, then you probably do. If you taste corn and/or butter in your own beer and don't like it, then that's worth dealing with. Otherwise I would not let it keep you up at night.

FWIW, I am Certified and certifiably diacetyl-blind.

I rarely boil for longer than 60 minutes, and would never expect a problem with a 60-minute or even shorter boil. That said, there's no good reason not to boil vigorously when you're boiling. And cool quickly, too. Letting the beer sit at 95 C for a long time is a great way to make DMS.

34/70 is a wonderful, easy-to-use, and very well-behaved strain. I don't know that a diacetyl rest is even necessary with it (though, as mentioned, I am anosmic.)

 

[JohnDBrewer]

-Make sure your boil is uncovered
-good yeast health and quantity (large starter)

 

[Miraculix]

Don't trust a single BJCP judge or set of judges. Typically your beer will be judged by two or three judges, who will (1) taste the beer, (2) fill out the scoresheets, (3) discuss the beer, and then (4) possibly change their scores and/or their scoresheets. If you are regularly getting feedback, from multiple competitions or for multiple beers, that you have DMS and/or diacetyl problems, then you probably do. If you taste corn and/or butter in your own beer and don't like it, then that's worth dealing with. Otherwise I would not let it keep you up at night.

FWIW, I am Certified and certifiably diacetyl-blind.

I rarely boil for longer than 60 minutes, and would never expect a problem with a 60-minute or even shorter boil. That said, there's no good reason not to boil vigorously when you're boiling. And cool quickly, too. Letting the beer sit at 95 C for a long time is a great way to make DMS.

34/70 is a wonderful, easy-to-use, and very well-behaved strain. I don't know that a diacetyl rest is even necessary with it (though, as mentioned, I am anosmic.)

Quick side note:
When I was having that cloudwater butterbomb lager in a pub in London, only one of my friends out of four was able to taste it. The others only tasted normal beer. Us two tasted liquid butter.

Turned out that most of the friends there had a sip of Fritz cola straight before the taste test.... So I taste tested the taste test and had a sip of Fritz cola as well... The butter flavour was GONE! Before, liquid butter, afterwards, normal beer.

That was impressive. After a few minutes, the effect wore off and I was able to perceive the butter flavour again.

Long story short, diacethyl problem? Have a Fritz Cola!

 

[Bassman2003]

As you learn, you will also need to un-learn some of the homebrew dogma. That is fine as we all come up the same way but it is my goal to tell newer brewers the right way from the start.

1) Tell us you exact yeast procedure for this batch - how much and how old etc... Yeast management is the most important part of brewing imho.

2) The best way to eliminate diacetyl is a plenty of fresh, healthy yeast. If you have a lot of healthy yeast you do not even need to raise the temps for a rest. How much yeast is plenty? Probably more than most homebrewers use. Outnumbered or old yeast might get to the end of the ferment and be too worn out to eat up all of the nasty byproducts. Sort of like being too tired to clean up your workspace after a lot of work. Add pressure into the mix and they are taxed even more.

3) DMS is best fought at the SMM precursor stage along with quick chilling procedures. What does this mean? Well, treat the cause, not the symptom. If you keep your mash pH around pH 5.5-5.8 (pH 5.6 being optimal) you will avoid a portion of SMM hanging around which in turn will decrease the amount of DMS that can even be created. Now you do not need to deal with the long overly strong boils to get rid of what is not there in large quantities. You would then drop the pH towards the end of the boil (knockout pH) to pH 5.1- 5.3 for better Whirlfloc performance and yeast happiness. Where did I get this? Famous brewing texts from authors like Kunze and...

Milk the funk has a great writeup on DMS and the SMM angle - https://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Dimethyl_Sulfide

4) Diacetyl can also live in your beer lines. I had this happen a few years ago after 20 years of kegging. I had not cleaned them for a spell and changed a QD on the serving side which did not get properly sanitized. Once cleaned, the buttered popcorn went away. The batch was fine... So clean your beer lines regularly. I have a setup which includes 1 liter water bottles and the Kegland red Tee with a Kegland little hand pump sold at Morebeer. Makes it quick and easy to pop on to the lines and run some beer line cleaner through, switch bottles and rinse out. https://www.morebeer.com/products/ball-lock-line-cleaning-kit-mini-party-pump.html

So two homebrew myths/dogmas have been addressed - Pitch more yeast and do not shoot for pH 5.2 in your mash. (All pH numbers are related to samples cooled to 75F before measuring).

 

[Ramjet]

There are some videos on you tube about doing a forced diacetyl test. Simple to do with a small sample

 

[Peaty Jones]

As you learn, you will also need to un-learn some of the homebrew dogma. That is fine as we all come up the same way but it is my goal to tell newer brewers the right way from the start.

1) Tell us you exact yeast procedure for this batch - how much and how old etc... Yeast management is the most important part of brewing imho.

2) The best way to eliminate diacetyl is a plenty of fresh, healthy yeast. If you have a lot of healthy yeast you do not even need to raise the temps for a rest. How much yeast is plenty? Probably more than most homebrewers use. Outnumbered or old yeast might get to the end of the ferment and be too worn out to eat up all of the nasty byproducts. Sort of like being too tired to clean up your workspace after a lot of work. Add pressure into the mix and they are taxed even more.

3) DMS is best fought at the SMM precursor stage along with quick chilling procedures. What does this mean? Well, treat the cause, not the symptom. If you keep your mash pH around pH 5.5-5.8 (pH 5.6 being optimal) you will avoid a portion of SMM hanging around which in turn will decrease the amount of DMS that can even be created. Now you do not need to deal with the long overly strong boils to get rid of what is not there in large quantities. You would then drop the pH towards the end of the boil (knockout pH) to pH 5.1- 5.3 for better Whirlfloc performance and yeast happiness. Where did I get this? Famous brewing texts from authors like Kunze and...

Milk the funk has a great writeup on DMS and the SMM angle - https://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Dimethyl_Sulfide

4) Diacetyl can also live in your beer lines. I had this happen a few years ago after 20 years of kegging. I had not cleaned them for a spell and changed a QD on the serving side which did not get properly sanitized. Once cleaned, the buttered popcorn went away. The batch was fine... So clean your beer lines regularly. I have a setup which includes 1 liter water bottles and the Kegland red Tee with a Kegland little hand pump sold at Morebeer. Makes it quick and easy to pop on to the lines and run some beer line cleaner through, switch bottles and rinse out. https://www.morebeer.com/products/ball-lock-line-cleaning-kit-mini-party-pump.html

So two homebrew myths/dogmas have been addressed - Pitch more yeast and do not shoot for pH 5.2 in your mash. (All pH numbers are related to samples cooled to 75F before measuring).

1) i used saflager W34/70 which i purchased from LHBS. I created a starter from it in a 5l erlenmeyer flask. I dont remember the exact amounts and volumes but i used the calculator for amount of DME and the presise OG (1.036 which it hit spot on). It was set for 1.5 million cells / ml / degree plato. I boiled the starter wort for 15min and sanitized the scissors and the Yeast packet with starsan. After dumping the yeast it sat on wort whipper for 24h and after that i moved it to my fermentation fridge to cold crash. At mash day i bring it to room temperature while i mashed. I cooled the mash with ”water worm” and measured the temperature that it was around 15C so i decanted the original starter wort and replaced it with some fresh wort. Meanwhile i sloshed the cooled mash between two (sanitized) buckets to aerate. Now that i think of it i remember that i didnt separate the protein trub from the wort! Is that bad? After a while i dumbed the wort to the ferm vessel and dumbed the yeast on it. I set the pressure from blowtie to around 15psi when it started to ferment.

The temperature should be quite controlled. I have a rapt pill in the brew which i have connected to the rapt thermostat. The thermostat has the refridgerator hooked up on it. In summer time there was no need for heating where i live. Altough now there is and i have hooked up 45w and 90w heaters on it.

After fermentation i close transferred the beer from sanitized (star san) and primed (CO2) lines to a sanitized and CO2 primed corny keg which i transferred to my inkbird controlled keezer. Sat there for 16wks in 0.5 - 1.5C. I took samples and i think it was on its prime between weeks 10 to 13 and after that the taste of hops dulled out for some reason.

 

[Bassman2003]

Thanks. The number of cells in a single dry yeast packet is up for debate. I would go for two packets, direct pitch or even better with the starter routine. With regards to the starter, I always leave my starters going until they finish out. The goal is to grow as many cells as possible. If you shut it down after 24 hours you might miss out on growth. Try letting it go until you see the upper part of the liquid clearing a bit. Then you can put it in the fridge and keep it cold for up to week for solid use. Do not warm it up early on brew day. Instead, take it out of the fridge when chilling your batch, decant the starter wort and replace it with some chilled wort. It can sit there while you do the settling time after chilling (this is the best way to separate the trub from the transfer wort). Then after 20-30 minutes of settling in the boil kettle with a lid on(or better yet, a floating cap), transfer, oxygenate and pitch the starter.

 

[stamandster]

• Something to note also I don't think was mentioned is that some yeast have a harder time cleaning up Diacetyl than others (for instance lager vs ale yeasts). In some styles of beer a hint of diacetyl is allowed.
• As mentioned, if you want to scrub some diacetyl, you can ramp your lager yeast fermentation temperatures to 65-68f toward the end of fermentation.
• Yeast will not cleanup DMS. Depending on your pilsner malt, you may need to go to 90 minutes because of a higher concentration of SMM (DMS precursor). Interestingly enough, SMM is converted to DMS after 176f/80c.
• Boil more vigorously. At least 8% evaporation rate with no lid (for those without a steam condenser).
• Chill your wort as quickly as possible!
• Also, good read - https://scottjanish.com/how-to-prevent-dms-in-beer/

 

[Peaty Jones]

Just finished my new batch. I think thats the last time i brew in sub zero temperatures. Every step of it was a fight. Its -3C here. Had to carry all the water inside my house to the garage because water hose was frozen. I foolishly calibrated my pH meter in +7C and after that i couldnt get reasonable values of it. I thought i aerate the wort with a paint mixer but it was electrically zinced, not stainless and i threw it in star san with all small accesories… Turns out that it dissolved the zinc… so had to do all the PBW cleaning and sanitation all over again. Also had to Clean and sanitize multiple buckets at the garage and in every step i had to heat the water with my kettle. It took me 11 hours to get all done and finish the after cleaning.

Its just the beginning of winter and brewing was a g**d*mn mayhem. Next brew Ill do will be in spring.

 

[brewbama]

Something I picked up from How to Brew yrs ago is diacetyl rest: give the yeast enough time to clean up by allowing a D rest equal to the time it took to go from SG to FG. IOW, if it will take 5 days to flatline, raise the temp a few degrees shy of flatline and give it 5 days to mature the green beer before lagering. 3 days flatline = 3 days D rest. 4 =4. I D rest with both Ale and Lagers, small or full batch, this same way.

I boil 30 min uncovered and haven’t ever had a DMS comment on a scoresheet. (Knock on wood). Regardless of grain bill.

 

[Peaty Jones]

Something I picked up from How to Brew yrs ago is diacetyl rest: give the yeast enough time to clean up by allowing a D rest equal to the time it took to go from SG to FG. IOW, if it will take 5 days to flatline, raise the temp a few degrees shy of flatline and give it 5 days to mature the green beer before lagering. 3 days flatline = 3 days D rest. 4 =4. I D rest with both Ale and Lagers, small or full batch, this same way.

I boil 30 min uncovered and haven’t ever had a DMS comment on a scoresheet. (Knock on wood). Regardless of grain bill.

I think i give it a try in this New batch. Last time i D-rested for 3 days and it was about 5 days to flat line if i remember correct.

I boiled for 90min today, lets see how it goes.

 

[Peaty Jones]

While brewing i tried to compensate the cold malt by over heating the water to 70C. After adding the malts the temp only dropped to 68 so i was at alpha temperatures. I quickly started to stir the wort to make it cool quick but it took me like 10min before the temp was in 63C. I then continued the beta for 30min and after that i heated it to 70C and continued in alpha temps for 20min.

What do you guys think, will this have an major impact on the brew? I kind of brewed in reverse..

My pian was to mash @63C for 35min and @70C for 25min.

The target was 1.053 and after 90min boil the OG was 1.050 so it isnt that far away but will the fermentable/unfermentable balance be somehow crooked?

So far i have seen a small decline in SG so its somewhere between Lag and log phase.

 

[Bassman2003]

It might a little but you may not notice it that much since you went down to beta fairly quickly.

 

[Biergarden]

Sixty minute boil is plenty long, especially if you want to keep your color straw. Ninety minutes might caramelize your beer and maybe you don't want that. Can you ferment until pressure at all? On my end I ferment these Pils at 10 PSI with very good results. That technique off sets the fermentation temperature control and will give you the sulphury aroma you should expect in that style.
Also, as an aside. Consider 10 acid malt to your grain bill. The sour will not be noticeable in your beer but will give it a nice pop in taste. It really is a game changer.
Lastly, make sure you ferment to completion and then another week to ten days for the yeast to clean up the mess they've made.

 

[G_robertus]

Don't worry too much about the mash temperature, it is not the most important factor for your end product (as long as you are reasonably within range). Depending on what brand of malt you use it might even be beneficial to start warm. See the issues with European malt quality. Now that we're on the topic of brand, DMS seems unlikely to me. I've never had DMS from any maltster except Dingemans Maris Otter (and corn) and like others have said, most modern malts do not have this issue. Boiling a bit longer won't hurt too much either, but you likely don't have to.

The good thing about diacetyl is that it goes away if there is yeast present. I'm overly sensitive, but it always goes away given enough time and proper temperatures. Even the worst of the worst strains will clean it up eventually.

Just a side note and I hope this doesn't apply to you: if these flavours came from an infection, conditioning won't help. You'll need to clean rigourously and try again if that's the case. Usually there will be other signs if you have an infection.

 

[Bramling Cross]

I am a BJCP Certified judge. And I find that on average, a judge is wrong about these off-flavors more than half the time. They try too hard to detect imperfections where there might be none.

I am not a BJCP certified judge, nor will I ever be one because the concept of trying to shoehorn brewing (a heavily scientific art) into an efficient process (judging a stupid amount of entries as quickly as possible) whereby a winner (there are no "winners" in art, a thing either becomes art by emotionally affecting another human being, or it fails to affect a human being, thus rendering it a mere thing) can be deduced. Frankly, I find the whole process is laughable--but not without merit and I deeply respect those that have made the effort. It's a valid way to advance your art.

My biases are on full display in the above paragraph. I'm also a musician, so I have highly considered and masochistically cruel thoughts about what constitutes whether the things I create are actual art. Regarding music and brewing, I'm a sadistic taskmaster. You don't want to be like me. I sometimes find myself thinking it'd be so much easier if I just entered a competition and received some validation. But that would fall short of the art I have inside me. That ain't good enough.

I wouldn't put much stock in the findings of labs, nor the findings of BJCP judges. First and foremost, your beer needs to taste good to you. If that isn't the case, consult the above sources, and look hard at your rig. Move incrementally and chart the changes you've made before monkeying around with other aspects of your process. Move slowly and methodically. Eventually, you'll pour a pint and wonder how on earth you managed to make something as amazing as this.

The bulk of modern home brewing literature is mechanistic, it's all do this or buy this and you'll make the best ever. That's BS. There are no silver bullets in home brewing. It's all about slow, incremental progress.

It's humbling and there is no instant gratification. When it arrives, though, it feels really, really good. It's worth the hell you put yourself through.

 

[Peaty Jones]

Sixty minute boil is plenty long, especially if you want to keep your color straw. Ninety minutes might caramelize your beer and maybe you don't want that. Can you ferment until pressure at all? On my end I ferment these Pils at 10 PSI with very good results. That technique off sets the fermentation temperature control and will give you the sulphury aroma you should expect in that style.
Also, as an aside. Consider 10 acid malt to your grain bill. The sour will not be noticeable in your beer but will give it a nice pop in taste. It really is a game changer.
Lastly, make sure you ferment to completion and then another week to ten days for the yeast to clean up the mess they've made.

But isnt Caramelization happening in higher temperatures. Im not an expert but i have it a quick search and i found articles that caramelization starts from fructose at 110C, 160°C (320°F) for glucose, and 180°C (356°F) for maltose.

According to this knowledge wouldnt it need a pressure cooker.

(https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/2L0OfzScD2/)

I compensated the long boil with higher volume of water in start so would it compensate the colour also? It isnt a big deal on my part also if it goes a bit darker. I aimed to golden colour of around 4srm and if it goes to like 5srm i wouldnt be bothered. The pilsner straw colour on my opinion makes it look like a (i dont remember the correct English word but bit watered and dull

 

[doug293cz]

But isnt Caramelization happening in higher temperatures. Im not an expert but i have it a quick search and i found articles that caramelization starts from fructose at 110C, 160°C (320°F) for glucose, and 180°C (356°F) for maltose.

According to this knowledge wouldnt it need a pressure cooker.

(https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/2L0OfzScD2/)

I compensated the long boil with higher volume of water in start so would it compensate the colour also? It isnt a big deal on my part also if it goes a bit darker. I aimed to golden colour of around 4srm and if it goes to like 5srm i wouldnt be bothered. The pilsner straw colour on my opinion makes it look like a (i dont remember the correct English word but bit watered and dull

The boiling temperature darkening is likely due to Maillard reactions, rather than caramelization.

Brew on

 

[Bassman2003]

But isnt Caramelization happening in higher temperatures. Im not an expert but i have it a quick search and i found articles that caramelization starts from fructose at 110C, 160°C (320°F) for glucose, and 180°C (356°F) for maltose.

According to this knowledge wouldnt it need a pressure cooker.

(https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/2L0OfzScD2/)

I compensated the long boil with higher volume of water in start so would it compensate the colour also? It isnt a big deal on my part also if it goes a bit darker. I aimed to golden colour of around 4srm and if it goes to like 5srm i wouldnt be bothered. The pilsner straw colour on my opinion makes it look like a (i dont remember the correct English word but bit watered and dull

It is a large topic but in general, darker = damaged.