How to Give Beer an Orange Color or Hue

[djonas]

I am brewing a peach beer soon and I wanted to give it a nice orange color or hue so that it would reflect the fruit but I'm not sure how to using only grain. I read that the CaraMunich line imparts an orange color but the local homebrew shop manager told me to try CaraVienne malt instead. If anybody could shed some light on this matter, I would be really grateful.

 

[BigEd]

A large percentage of Munich II will get you to orange/amber but that would be an all-grain brew.

 

[Yooper]

A large percentage of Munich II will get you to orange/amber but that would be an all-grain brew.

Or a simple partial mash. Munich can convert itself, so "steeping" a pound of Munich II in 2 quarts of water at 150-155 degrees for an hour would work, and it imparts a slightly orange color. It's subtle, but it's definitely there!

 

[djonas]

A large percentage of Munich II will get you to orange/amber but that would be an all-grain brew.

Any suggestions on the percent?

Or a simple partial mash. Munich can convert itself, so "steeping" a pound of Munich II in 2 quarts of water at 150-155 degrees for an hour would work, and it imparts a slightly orange color. It's subtle, but it's definitely there!

Yeah, I read that it is able to self convert and since the weather is supposed to be awful tomorrow, I'm going to be brewing an old extract batch, which I had planned on partially mashing with some other grains!

Okay, so CaraMunich II is the verdict? Thanks a bunch!

 

[Boleslaus]

Are they referring to Munich (20L) or CaraMunich?

 

[BigEd]

Any suggestions on the percent?



Yeah, I read that it is able to self convert and since the weather is supposed to be awful tomorrow, I'm going to be brewing an old extract batch, which I had planned on partially mashing with some other grains!

Okay, so CaraMunich II is the verdict? Thanks a bunch!

I would say 80% German Munich II. Again, this is for an all-grain brew. I don't think you can get the same effect with a partial mash of a few pounds. The expected color is orange/amber. I hope you weren't looking for "Kool Aid" orange.

Munich malt is a base malt. CaraMunich and CaraVienna are crystal malts.

 

[djonas]

Munich malt is a base malt. CaraMunich and CaraVienna are crystal malts.

My bad, thanks for clarifying that. I'm not looking for anything extreme. I was just hoping to give it a nice orange glow or outline; something that readies the mind for the flavor!

 

[robtotten]

If it's all grain, I would go with Vienna as the base malt. I think it would go better than Munich with peach flavors. Maybe throw in 20% wheat.

Do you have a recipe you're starting from or is this from scratch?

 

[djonas]

It's scratch but I'm brewing it in the evening so there isn't much time to dispute the recipe! But my recipe is okay, I was just curious about the color.

 

[beeber]

This may be hard to believe, but CaraRed will give you a superb orange color if used by itself. When I make red ales I usually use a combination of colored malts, but for one batch I used 1 pound of CaraRed and got a wonderful orange hue.