My IPA isnt too pale at all :(

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zeb

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This is my second batch, my first being an Amber Ale. The IPA that is fermenting right now has been doing so for 5 days now, and its starting to slow down. The color though is very dark, just the same as my Amber Ale which is a reddish brown clear color.

I steeped 1lbs of 2 row American, 1/2 lbs crystal malt 10L and 1/2 lbs munch malt 10L for one hour at 150 degrees.

then added 8 lbs of PME and boiled for 90 min adding a 1/4 ounce of hops every 6 mins totaling 4 ounces.

Did I boil too long which resulted in my dark appearance? Or is this color common with this amount of extract?
 
Prolonged boils will lend darker colors. Remember, though, the beer will appear darker in the carboy than in the serving glass.
 
Next time, if you want a pale color, add most of the LME at the end of the boil. Boiling extract, especially for a long time, will darken it quite a bit.

I prefer extra-light DME for all beer styles. It doesn't darken much, especially if you add it at the end of the boil, and makes the lightest colored beer from extract that I've ever seen.
 
Next time, if you want a pale color, add most of the LME at the end of the boil. Boiling extract, especially for a long time, will darken it quite a bit.

I prefer extra-light DME for all beer styles. It doesn't darken much, especially if you add it at the end of the boil, and makes the lightest colored beer from extract that I've ever seen.

so should I stick with my hop sequence? What would be a good time to add the PME?
 
I add around half of the extract at the beginning and then the rest 5mins until the end of the boil.

Make sure you add some extract to the boil before you put hops in. Hop oils isomerize better with some sugar present.

-Nick
 
Hop oils isomerize better with some sugar present.

-Nick

Really? Are you sure? I'm not sure that's true- I've never seen that as fact before but I don't read all the literature that's available.

Adding the bulk of the extract near flame out will keep the extract from getting "carmelization" type flavors (maillard reactions) and help keep the color light.
 
But also, remember that pale ales got their name not because they look like lager, but because they were paler than stouts and porters and beers like that. They generally are not that straw color that is commonly associated with lagers.
 
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