Extract brew turning out darker than it should be

[DamiankS72]

I have a few batches under my belt and have generally been pleased with the result.

Today I was cooking up a batch of Bavarian Hefeweizen, got the kit from Ritebrew.com.
It is a very simple beer:

5lbs Briess CBW Bavarian Wheat DME 60 min boil (looks same color as Pilsen DME)
1 oz. US Tettnanger hops 20 min boil
Mangrove Jack M20 yeast

Like I said, this was batch #14 for me. Most beers I've made seemed to be the right color. I thought this was supposed to be a lighter colored one, says SRM 8.
I ended up with what looks more like a Dunkelweizen.
I honestly don't really care about the color, as long as it tastes good, but is this going to affect the flavor?

A lot of the beers I have made lately have had steeping grains, so I would bring the 3 gal. water to 155F, steep for the required time, add my extract and start timing when it started boiling.

Today I just started adding my extract when it got to about 160F, left it on the heat and poured in the DME while constantly stirring.
Is that where I went wrong?

I do this because I used to bring the water to a boil, take it off the heat, add my extracts and then bring back to a boil. This generally resulted in a boil over while adding the extract or shortly thereafter.

Will it really matter in the long run, did I "burn" the wort?

I am asking because I would like to understand a little more what is going on in that pot.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[ThunderpantsBrewing]

You probably caramelized your extract more than a Hefeweizen calls for, and it may have an effect on the flavor, but shouldn't taste too bad. Here's a good article about adding extract later so that it doesn't caramelize as much:

http://beersmith.com/blog/2008/02/20/better-beer-with-late-malt-extract-additions/

 

[flars]

I have a few batches under my belt and have generally been pleased with the result.

Today I was cooking up a batch of Bavarian Hefeweizen, got the kit from Ritebrew.com.
It is a very simple beer:

5lbs Briess CBW Bavarian Wheat DME 60 min boil (looks same color as Pilsen DME)
1 oz. US Tettnanger hops 20 min boil
Mangrove Jack M20 yeast

Like I said, this was batch #14 for me. Most beers I've made seemed to be the right color. I thought this was supposed to be a lighter colored one, says SRM 8.
I ended up with what looks more like a Dunkelweizen.
I honestly don't really care about the color, as long as it tastes good, but is this going to affect the flavor?

A lot of the beers I have made lately have had steeping grains, so I would bring the 3 gal. water to 155F, steep for the required time, add my extract and start timing when it started boiling.

Today I just started adding my extract when it got to about 160F, left it on the heat and poured in the DME while constantly stirring.
Is that where I went wrong?
you cooked the wort longer increasing the effect of the Maillard Reaction.

I do this because I used to bring the water to a boil, take it off the heat, add my extracts and then bring back to a boil. This generally resulted in a boil over while adding the extract or shortly thereafter.
You do need to stay at he kettle after adding malt until the break material settles. You may also be applying to much heat. A boil doesn't need to look like a volcano erupting. Just enough heat to keep part of the surface rolling.

Will it really matter in the long run, did I "burn" the wort?
You didn't burn the wort. If it was burned you would see the scorched malt stucki to the bottom of the kettle.

I am asking because I would like to understand a little more what is going on in that pot.

Thanks in advance for any help.

these links have added information:
http://beersmith.com/blog/2008/02/20/better-beer-with-late-malt-extract-additions/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/late-extract-addition-505857/

I don't adjust the hop additions for late extract addition. Greater utilization of the hops is either to small to notice, or I prefer the extra hop utilization, but I don't notice anything off for the recipe.

 

[ThunderpantsBrewing]

these links have added information:
http://beersmith.com/blog/2008/02/20/better-beer-with-late-malt-extract-additions/

Copy cat!

 

[flars]

Copy cat!

I'm not that old, I heard of Google also.

 

[DamiankS72]

Thank you all for the great info.
Glad to know it shouldn't really affect the flavor.

 

[unionrdr]

Check out german beer institute at this link for descriptions & pictures of various beers, including hefe's, etc...http://www.germanbeerinstitute.com/index.html From what I've seen, not all wheat ales are created equal, ie light. Some do have more color. The Bavarian hefe, a simple one I brewed to experiment with watermelon nectar turned out a bit like the color of a pale ale. without the 3C of watermelon juice, it would've been a bit lighter, of course. But definitely not white. I used two 3lb bags of plain Bavarian wheat DME with an ounce of hops as the base beer. The yeast given didn't give that herbal/floral sort of flavor like Paulaner's hefe does. Anyway, maillard reactions can caramelize extracts, LME moreso than DME. I also used only one 3lb bag of the DME in a 3 1/2 gallon boil. Added the other bag @ flame out to keep the color as light as possible & the flavor cleaner.