Easy, actual SRM measure?

[O-Ale-Yeah]

I have my estimated prediction of SRM based on the grist I chose, but in 2 weeks when my brew is finished, how can I measure my actuale SRM?

I've heard that with expensive, high-tech lab equipment you can do it with complicated processes.

I printed an SRM chart and looked at a small amount of beer using a white piece of paper as a backdrop but found I could only guess an SRM range give or take 3 levels.

How can I get a better measure without a chemistry degree?

 

[okiedog]

If you look for them online, some places have supposedly accurate SRM charts, strips, etc. Keep in mind that SRM is not color specific, but a measurement of light transmission through a liquid such as (but not limited to) juice or beer. Comparing beer color to a chart may get you close enough for your purposes, but would be limited to the accuracy of the chart or guide, and your own ability of visual comparison. There are several places to purchase such a reference, but I like the transparent SRM reference guide available here: http://www.beercolor.com/products.htm

 

[O-Ale-Yeah]

Okiedog thanks so much, I looked all over for something like a glass SRM chart. I looked all over ebay, all over Amazon, google shopping and general net google searches and found nothing. This will definitely be better than my downloaded, printed on all purpose copy paper, SRM chart.

 

[grampamark]

http://www.beercolor.com/products.htm

The 90s called. They want their website back.

 

[okiedog]

Okiedog thanks so much, I looked all over for something like a glass SRM chart. I looked all over ebay, all over Amazon, google shopping and general net google searches and found nothing. This will definitely be better than my downloaded, printed on all purpose copy paper, SRM chart.

Glad you like it. Well, Hope you like it when you get it. Transparent is much better when trying to match beer color IMHO,

 

[okiedog]

The 90s called. They want their website back.

'90''s? Are you so modern!

 

[O-Ale-Yeah]

I got the chart in the mail. I'm not sure why I was thinking it was going to be glass. It's scuffed up plastic. It's better than a picture but as far as useful goes I give it a C+ or B-. Also, I ordered 2 but they sent 1 and a sticker. I emailed them but they don't reply.

Oh well, it's better than the pictures I was using.

 

[kh54s10]

Just curious. But why do you care what the SRM is?

 

[okiedog]

If it is scuffed up and looks used and/or abused, I would send it back and ask for my money back. Most of those are plastic so they are easy to handle, wrap around a beer glass etc. But it should be (and look) good for an accurate SRM comparison.

 

[O-Ale-Yeah]

Update: The seller must have saw my email because he sent me 2 swatch SRM charts for free. Nice guy.

 

[O-Ale-Yeah]

Just curious. But why do you care what the SRM is?

I think it's going to help me adjust my grist types to shoot for the SRM I like most. In the last several years, I've figured out that an SRM of 10 to 15 has is a contributing factor to tastes I like.

 

[kh54s10]

I think it's going to help me adjust my grist types to shoot for the SRM I like most. In the last several years, I've figured out that an SRM of 10 to 15 has is a contributing factor to tastes I like.

I think you are confusing SRM with ingredients. You can get the exact same SRM from two recipes that would be TOTALLY different. For instance you might get x SRM with 2 row and a tiny bit black patent, and the same SRM with 2 row and something like C-60 where you would need more C-60 and less 2 row. These two would not be anywhere near the same.

 

[O-Ale-Yeah]

… you might get x SRM with 2 row and a tiny bit black patent …

That sounds like color for color's sake. That's not something I'd do. My current recipe is getting it's color from biscuit malt and dark munich.

 

[Qhrumphf]

The point is that a Brown Ale vs a Dunkel, or an Amber Ale or Märzen, could have a similar SRM but wildly different characters.

You can take a beer with a given base malt, and a crystal malt. If you use a higher percentage of a paler crystal (say 40L) or a smaller percentage of a darker crystal (120L), you would reach the exact same SRM but the beer would be very different, one with a stronger but general caramel sweetness, one with a milder but more dark fruit character.

It's the old "i don't like/only like dark beers" trope.

Which is fundamentally meaningless.

Look to the ingredients and process of the beer. Not the color. The color won't tell you whatever character you like.

 

[O-Ale-Yeah]

The point is that a Brown Ale vs a Dunkel, or an Amber Ale or Märzen, could have a similar SRM but wildly different characters.

You can take a beer with a given base malt, and a crystal malt. If you use a higher percentage of a paler crystal (say 40L) or a smaller percentage of a darker crystal (120L), you would reach the exact same SRM but the beer would be very different, one with a stronger but general caramel sweetness, one with a milder but more dark fruit character.

It's the old "i don't like/only like dark beers" trope.

Which is fundamentally meaningless.

Look to the ingredients and process of the beer. Not the color. The color won't tell you whatever character you like.

Oh, yeah, totally. It's just 1 of many factors I consider.

 

[kh54s10]

That sounds like color for color's sake. That's not something I'd do. My current recipe is getting it's color from biscuit malt and dark munich.

I still think color has little to do with things.. Say for instance you get new batches of base malt, bisquit and dark munich. You brew to the same color, if that is even possible, I would bet that the taste will be a bit different. No malt is going to be exactly the same one batch to another.

 

[okiedog]

Update: The seller must have saw my email because he sent me 2 swatch SRM charts for free. Nice guy.

I hope those work for you.

 

[okiedog]

Another thing to consider is color. SRM is not color dependent. You could have 2 different beers with the same SRM, and different colors. Most base malts tend to impart a straw, yellow or golden hue to beer. For (most) character malts the color may either be orange, amber, red or brown. Depending on the percentage or amount used in the grist.

 

[kh54s10]

Another thing to consider is color. SRM is not color dependent. You could have 2 different beers with the same SRM, and different colors. Most base malts tend to impart a straw, yellow or golden hue to beer. For (most) character malts the color may either be orange, amber, red or brown. Depending on the percentage or amount used in the grist.

This statement is somewhat misleading. SRM is the measurement of the color of a beer...

Standard Reference Method - BrewWiki

brewwiki.com/index.php/Standard_Reference_Method
Aug 23, 2009 - The Standard Reference Method, abbreviated as SRM is the color system used by brewers to specify finished beer and malt color. In the case of malt it is actually the SRM color of a laboratory wort made from the malt which is printed on the package.

 

[okiedog]

SRM, or Standard Reference Method is a measurement of the amount of attenuation of 430 nm light through 1 cm of beer. SRM may indicate an approximate color, shade or intensity, but a specific color spectrum or wavelength cannot be defined by this method alone. Depending on the shade, red and brown could possibly have the same SRM. Probably all you want to know about SRM can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Reference_Method
or here: https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/xizZHSE4me/

 

[okiedog]

The point is that a Brown Ale vs a Dunkel, or an Amber Ale or Märzen, could have a similar SRM but wildly different characters.

You can take a beer with a given base malt, and a crystal malt. If you use a higher percentage of a paler crystal (say 40L) or a smaller percentage of a darker crystal (120L), you would reach the exact same SRM but the beer would be very different, one with a stronger but general caramel sweetness, one with a milder but more dark fruit character.

It's the old "i don't like/only like dark beers" trope.

Which is fundamentally meaningless.

Look to the ingredients and process of the beer. Not the color. The color won't tell you whatever character you like.

Sorry Qhrumphf, I hadn't read your post until after I posted my reply, basically saying the same as you about color.

 

[okiedog]

For the first couple of years after I started home brewing, my beers were always lighter than indicated in the recipes they were brewed to. I tried to compare them to SRM charts, but they sometimes didn't match any color. This troubled me somewhat, because I wondered how much my beers differed from the beers or styles that I was trying to emulate. Then I learned more about SRM and how to use it as a reference. I also learned to add small amounts of dark malt like some commercial brewers for color adjustment, where I thought it mattered. A late decoction mash can also be used to add depth to the color of the wort. Now I brew the beers I want without worrying much about color. Most BJCP styles are defined with a relatively wide SRM range, and in the commercial world there are nearly always exceptions to this.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Defining wort colors: red malts vs. black malts [1] may be an interesting read from the colors / SRM (vs flavors and aromas) perspective. Numerous side-by-side photo comparisons of beer colors.

[1] http://blog.brewingwithbriess.com/defining-wort-colors-red-malts-vs-black-malts/