I feel like I am brewing the same beer.

[NoIguanaForZ]

How long are you boiling for?

If you're oversparging and then boiling extra to compensate that'll tend to darken the wort and bring out a more malty-light-caramel flavor.

 

[Rayi]

Also take a look at different recipes from the same place. One on line place offers a special Heff for $35 and a regular heff for 8 dollars less. No difference on ingredients. Best reason I have to BIAB and get what I need local

 

[ram5ey]

Yeah I am wondering about oxidation with the darkening color and caramel like flavor.

 

[prrriiide]

You say you've treated your water with salts...have you tried charcoal filtering? Or using all RO or distilled water? Chlorine and chloramines found in most tap water will do nasty things to beer. I found that when I started filtering my water, the beer quality improved greatly, and that the flavors really started to pop.

 

[urg8rb8]

Use RO from your supermarket's big water dispensing machine... It's cheap! 30 cents a gallon here.

 

[Iseneye]

mOOps bet me to it. If your light grain bills are turning out amber then oxidation was my first thought. Can you post a picture of a beer and list the grain percentages?

Is it darker than the Bee Cave Brewery pale ale on the first post of the thread below? That is about the colour I would expect for a standard APA with a bit of crystal.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=31793

I wouldn't expect fermentation temperature or boil length (unless it is excessive) to turn a pale ale into an amber ale. High pH can also darken your beer but you said that you are controlling that.

 

[ncbrewer]

I have 4 big mouths and use probably 2 or 3 all the time. I would hope they all wouldn't be infected but I guess if something else post boil is infected then all of them would be. Is there a way to check for this and if so, can you clean them enough to fix the problem?

I don't know if there's any way to check for infection.

If your fermenters are glass, you can probably kill an infection with bleach. But if they're plastic, I don't know. It didn't work for me - had to replace it. From posts I've read, sometimes bleach works for plastic, and sometimes not. You have to go easy on the bleach concentration and contact time to prevent bleach penetrating the plastic and ruining future beers. I used 1 Tbsp per gallon for 15 minutes.

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

I don't think it's been mentioned yet, but if some of the kits that you've been making have been extract with the ipa's and the like if you're adding all of the liquid malt extract at the beginning of the boil you will end up with more of an amber color. instead try only adding 1/3 at the beginning with the rest near the 15 min left mark. it'll help keep your light IPA's looking that way.

 

[smadaus]

How long are you boiling for?

If you're oversparging and then boiling extra to compensate that'll tend to darken the wort and bring out a more malty-light-caramel flavor.

That could be part of the problem, I am still getting my process down and I feel I am still making mistakes. My boils are mostly 60 minutes but sometimes it turns out to be an extra 10 or so minutes.

 

[smadaus]

You say you've treated your water with salts...have you tried charcoal filtering? Or using all RO or distilled water? Chlorine and chloramines found in most tap water will do nasty things to beer. I found that when I started filtering my water, the beer quality improved greatly, and that the flavors really started to pop.

I do use an under the sink filter when I brew. It is a filtrite advanced water filter. I'm pretty sure it filters chlorine out but I am not sure about the other. I guess I could try RO from the grocery store and compare. I will definitely look into that.

 

[smadaus]

mOOps bet me to it. If your light grain bills are turning out amber then oxidation was my first thought. Can you post a picture of a beer and list the grain percentages?

Is it darker than the Bee Cave Brewery pale ale on the first post of the thread below? That is about the colour I would expect for a standard APA with a bit of crystal.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=31793

I wouldn't expect fermentation temperature or boil length (unless it is excessive) to turn a pale ale into an amber ale. High pH can also darken your beer but you said that you are controlling that.

I am trying to figure out how to attach a picture to my post and I think I did it but forgive me if it didn't attach lol. I can't see that it would be oxidation because I make an effort against it but I guess it could be. Is there another way to know if it is oxidized? As for the pH, again I could be doing it wrong. I mash in and stir and let it sit for a couple minutes, check the pH and then add salts and then take the pH again. I never get it super close but I would say within .4.

 

[smadaus]

Sorry forgot the grain bill.
-
9-lbs.-Rahr-2-Row
1-lb.-Caramel-4

This is the kama citra from northern brewer all grain.

 

[sikkingj]

Have you tried to brew a stout or porter?

As has been mentioned in earlier postings, the beers you are brewing are similar...

 

[smadaus]

Have you tried to brew a stout or porter?

As has been mentioned in earlier postings, the beers you are brewing are similar...

I brewed the caribou slobber from northern brewer and that turned out kinda good. I was skeptical but it wasn't bad.

 

[sikkingj]

I ask because the darker styles can hide some "imperfections" of a beer. In general they are a more forgiving style then light lagers or pale ales, etc. why this is important is because you may house a household taste, slight infection, or something of that nature...

 

[kh54s10]

I brewed the caribou slobber from northern brewer and that turned out kinda good. I was skeptical but it wasn't bad.

The Caribou Slobber is a brown ale. What made you skeptical about it?

That kit is one of NB's most popular ones.

Branch out. Before I brewed I drank mostly BMC beers.

That is Bud, Miller, Coors in case you haven't run across that acronym.

As soon as I started brewing I started trying different styles. My first was NB's Irish Red Ale, the second was NB's Patersbier which is a Belgian style. I have since brewed most styles and no longer even enjoy a BMC beer. They are too bland for me now. Though a good light lager.....

 

[smadaus]

The Caribou Slobber is a brown ale. What made you skeptical about it?

Yea Caribou Slobber is the darkest I have brewed. I am trying to expand into darker beers but I don't like that roasted coffee taste. I am pushing myself to drink more and surprisingly some are very good. I have found that I really like most brown ales I taste but stouts and porters are not quite there yet. I've had a couple that I like but I find myself clearing the shelves of their IPA's lol.