Pale Ale came out very dark

[latProd]

Hi guys,
I just brewed a version of a pale ale recipe I found on here, and it came a lot darker than I had thought it would.
I used
6 pounds pale malt (castle malting)
2 pounds vienna
2 pounds munich
0.5 pounds caramel 30


I expected an amber color for sure, like 12-15 srm maybe, but not this. It straight up looks like a brown ale.
Does Vienna and Munich impart that much color? I normally don't use them much.
Just for clarification, it came out like this straight from the boil, it's not oxidation.
You can see even the krausen is pretty brownish.

 

[Toxxyc]

Vienna can impart some colour, yes, depending on the brand, but I'd be willing to bet it's the Caramel 30.

What exact malts did you use? Brand, everything?

EDIT: Oh yes, I have to add in the fermenter colour can be deceiving. Remember you're looking into a large mass of this liquid, and the colour isn't a true representation of what it'll look like post fermentation, after clearing and carbonated in a glass.

 

[BrewZer]

Vienna can impart some colour, yes, depending on the brand, but I'd be willing to bet it's the Caramel 30.

What exact malts did you use? Brand, everything?

EDIT: Oh yes, I have to add in the fermenter colour can be deceiving. Remember you're looking into a large mass of this liquid, and the colour isn't a true representation of what it'll look like post fermentation, after clearing and carbonated in a glass.

Agreed. Use the hydrometer tube as a more reliable guide to the actual color.

 

[bracconiere]

2 pounds munich

there are different munich malts. some are 10L others 20L.

i can't tell from the pic what size batch this was?

 

[latProd]

Vienna can impart some colour, yes, depending on the brand, but I'd be willing to bet it's the Caramel 30.

What exact malts did you use? Brand, everything?

EDIT: Oh yes, I have to add in the fermenter colour can be deceiving. Remember you're looking into a large mass of this liquid, and the colour isn't a true representation of what it'll look like post fermentation, after clearing and carbonated in a glass.

Yeah, u are right. I was considering that as well but just it looks so massively brown
Detailed malts:

Pale malt, castlemalting, 7-10 ebc, color 9
Viking caramel malt 30 6-10 EBC, color 8
Munich malt - Bestmalz - 11-20 EBC, color 15
Vienna malt Castlemalting, 4-7 EBC, color 6.

 

[latProd]

there are different munich malts. some are 10L others 20L.

i can't tell from the pic what size batch this was?

batch size is 5 gl

 

[Toxxyc]

That's a lot of malt in a small batch. Would explain the colour. What was your OG?

 

[latProd]

That's a lot of malt in a small batch. Would explain the colour. What was your OG?

It was a normal sized batch. 5.8 gallons pre boil (22 L) OG was 1.058. So I guess writing 5 gallons earlier was just a dumb conversion mistake by me

EDIT: POST boil ofcourse, not pre boil. My head is not screwed on right today

 

[Toxxyc]

1.058 is still a decent size. That'll also contribute to the colour.

 

[latProd]

1.058 is still a decent size. That'll also contribute to the colour.

Yeah you might be right, i just felt like a 5 kg grain bill isn't that much. certainly less than what I normally go for. Thanks for the help and input!

 

[3 Dawg Night]

How vigorous is your boil? That can darken it up a bit as well.

 

[odie]

no surprise from that much Vienna and munich I think

 

[Deadalus]

Yeah, u are right. I was considering that as well but just it looks so massively brown
Detailed malts:

Pale malt, castlemalting, 7-10 ebc, color 9
Viking caramel malt 30 6-10 EBC, color 8
Munich malt - Bestmalz - 11-20 EBC, color 15
Vienna malt Castlemalting, 4-7 EBC, color 6.

I usually use Lovibond values so I looked these up to see what that value was. Then I saw that you had the Viking caramel malt 30 which I thought might be Lovibond. It's not, it's EBC but the data sheet says EBC is 30+- 5 . Which is about 12 Lovibond and low end of color though. Maybe check your other values.

Munich malts can be darker even if they just say munich malt as opposed to dark munich. I went looking for some lighter munich malt when I made my Helles, I think what I had was 20 Lovibond (~50 EBC).

 

[Deadalus]

I do get color somewhat similar to that with my marzen and octoberfests, particularly my last octoberfest where I had a lighter munich and vienna malt, no base malt. I also throw in a touch of chocolate malt and some toasted malt, a notch higher on the caramel color that's added. It was more like that in the glass.

 

[latProd]

no surprise from that much Vienna and munich I think

Ok well I guess you learn something new every brew!

 

[latProd]

I usually use Lovibond values so I looked these up to see what that value was. Then I saw that you had the Viking caramel malt 30 which I thought might be Lovibond. It's not, it's EBC but the data sheet says EBC is 30+- 5 . Which is about 12 Lovibond and low end of color though. Maybe check your other values.

Munich malts can be darker even if they just say munich malt as opposed to dark munich. I went looking for some lighter munich malt when I made my Helles, I think what I had was 20 Lovibond (~50 EBC).

I'm stuck with whatever I can get. Poland is not a country of great diversity, that goes for homebrewing ingredients as well unfortunately. Thanks for the info!

 

[latProd]

I do get color somewhat similar to that with my marzen and octoberfests, particularly my last octoberfest where I had a lighter munich and vienna malt, no base malt. I also throw in a touch of chocolate malt and some toasted malt, a notch higher on the caramel color that's added. It was more like that in the glass. View attachment 722721

That looks pretty tasty. I was worried about how much the muddy brownish look would affect flavor, but if it ends up being similar to yours after a few weeks in the keg, I'm sure it will be fine.

 

[Toxxyc]

Golden rule with beer - taste is most important. Don't worry about looks (for the most part). I've brewed a few beers that ended up looking weird (like a blonde that looks like a pale ale instead), but they all end up tasty. So eh? I've been brewing for a while now and only now I'm starting to work on what my beers look like.

 

[latProd]

Golden rule with beer - taste is most important. Don't worry about looks (for the most part). I've brewed a few beers that ended up looking weird (like a blonde that looks like a pale ale instead), but they all end up tasty. So eh? I've been brewing for a while now and only now I'm starting to work on what my beers look like.

100% Agree. I was just worried about it tasting closer to a brown ale than a malty pale ale, if u get my meaning. I usually don't worry about colour either unless it's a NEIPA, and it's brown

 

[Toxxyc]

Heh I have to admit, a brown beer for me, and yes I know it's a colour in many styles, looks...odd to me. If the brown is just a tiny bit off, it's just not appetizing

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I am curious how this will look in the glass. I suspect it will look much better than in the fermenter. On the other hand, this is based off a Pale Ale base malt, with 3 additional malts adding more color. I don't expect it to look like a Brown or Amber beer, but probably a dark Golden color.

 

[tyrub42]

You probably already realize this but just in case: castle pale ale malt (and most other euro pale ale malts) are a lot darker than pils or american 2-row (I think...never actually used american 2 row). It's more like Marris Otter in color. Also you used a lot of Vienna and Munich plus se light cara malt, so I'd expect this pale to end up being very malty and biscuity... actually sounds pretty good tbh, although it'll be much 'maltier' than a typical american pale. That said, the color will be great, and as long as it finishes on target it'll probably be delicious. Worst case scenario, you made an amber

 

[d146895x]

The wort does look quite dark in the fermenter; I punched your ingredients into the Brewfather App and (assuming a 21litre in the fermenter) it comes out as a mid golden EBC 13.6. See attached image for screenshot of Brewfather.
Unless it had an excessive long and hard boil or your home brew supplier slipped in a different malt(s) it is difficult to see why it is as dark as it appears. As others have said, I’m sure it’s going to taste great anyway.

 

[latProd]

You probably already realize this but just in case: castle pale ale malt (and most other euro pale ale malts) are a lot darker than pils or american 2-row (I think...never actually used american 2 row). It's more like Marris Otter in color. Also you used a lot of Vienna and Munich plus se light cara malt, so I'd expect this pale to end up being very malty and biscuity... actually sounds pretty good tbh, although it'll be much 'maltier' than a typical american pale. That said, the color will be great, and as long as it finishes on target it'll probably be delicious. Worst case scenario, you made an amber

Yes indeed, I don't have access to 2-row here either. I always use pilsner in my IPAs and NEIPAs, because i prefer the flavor (and color) but I wanted to try a more malty pale ale, just like you described. It's just that it looks like raw sewage in the fermenter so I was starting to second guess how this would come out I'm gonna pull a sample after cold crash to see where we're at.

 

[latProd]

The wort does look quite dark in the fermenter; I punched your ingredients into the Brewfather App and (assuming a 21litre in the fermenter) it comes out as a mid golden EBC 13.6. See attached image for screenshot of Brewfather.
Unless it had an excessive long and hard boil or your home brew supplier slipped in a different malt(s) it is difficult to see why it is as dark as it appears. As others have said, I’m sure it’s going to taste great anyway.

Let's hope! Standard GF 60 minute boil, and as im sure you know, the GF boils are not what I would describe as especially vigorous, just a chilled out rolling boil. We'lll see how it comes out, I just did not expect to see mud in my fermenter

Edit: just checked your link, and the recipe i based this on also has it coming in around 13-14.

 

[tyrub42]

Yes indeed, I don't have access to 2-row here either. I always use pilsner in my IPAs and NEIPAs, because i prefer the flavor (and color) but I wanted to try a more malty pale ale, just like you described. It's just that it looks like raw sewage in the fermenter so I was starting to second guess how this would come out I'm gonna pull a sample after cold crash to see where we're at.

Oh haha I get it. But don't worry it'll look great when it clears up!

 

[tyrub42]

Actually it's funny you mention that, because I think now that everyone's all about the haze, people get excited about the murky fermenter samples and then get disappointed when the beer drops relatively clear

 

[latProd]

small update on this, feeling kinda dumb. this came out a beautiful deep orange color, tastes lovely with hints of biscuit and a solid malt base. I used LAIII and the fact that it ended up at 1.018 gives its a very slight residual sweetness that goes really well with the malty flavors. very happy with this, even after just 2 weeks since brewday. thanks for the reassurances guys