REALLY concerned

[EddieTheBrewerLADET]

3 days into fermentation of my 90 Min IPA Clone...this is the color of my beer in the fermenter. WHAT is going on?!

 

[unionrdr]

That's trub & yeast clouding it up during initial fermentation. It swirls up & down during that time & settles out after initial ferment is done.

 

[gratefulfloyd]

Whats grains did you use?

 

[EddieTheBrewerLADET]

That's trub & yeast clouding it up during initial fermentation. It swirls up & down during that time & settles out after initial ferment is done.

I hear ya but doesn't that color look AWFULLY pale light for a 90 Min??

 

[TheCADJockey]

What are you doing sampling on day 3? Leave it be man!

My american pale ales often go into the fermenter looking like coffee with a splash of milk, then look like orange juice after a couple days. Let it go. It will be fine. Throw a t-shirt over it and forget about it.

 

[EddieTheBrewerLADET]

Whats grains did you use?

9.15 lbs of pale malt extract
1 lb of DME
1.5lb mix of biscuit, brown and the third Im not recalling currently.

 

[Arrheinous]

Solids floating in the beer can make it look lighter by reflecting light.

Chill that sample and let all of the cloudiness precipitate and see what color it is. If that doesn't fix it then maybe you used Extra Light malt extracts?

 

[ChefRex]

What are you doing sampling on day 3? Leave it be man!

My american pale ales often go into the fermenter looking like coffee with a splash of milk, then look like orange juice after a couple days. Let it go. It will be fine. Throw a t-shirt over it and forget about it.

Can't you see the background? It's bottling day!

 

[unionrdr]

I hear ya but doesn't that color look AWFULLY pale light for a 90 Min??

It'll darken up as the trub & yeast start settling after initial fermentation is done.

 

[EddieTheBrewerLADET]

Is there a chance that the top 1/4 or so of the fermenter is just diluted with yeast and the majority of the color is sitting below?

 

[EddieTheBrewerLADET]

I hear everything you're all saying but doesn't this seem even TOO light, even considering those aspects?? Its literally the lightest yellow on the planet with some clouds...

 

[Psylocide]

9.15 lbs of pale malt extract
1 lb of DME
1.5lb mix of biscuit, brown and the third Im not recalling currently.

Pretty light malt bill... probably about right.

 

[Arrheinous]

How does it taste?

 

[EddieTheBrewerLADET]

How does it taste?

It tastes like it looks....light, and not like a 90 min IPA.. I followed this recipe very thoroughly, and with all that extract Im having a hard time understanding how it got this color...

Also, its got a slight carbonation to it. HOW? Haha


is it possible all the goodies, flavor and color are just tucked below??

 

[gratefulfloyd]

Pretty light malt bill... probably about right.

Exactly what I was thinking that is a lot of LME w/o anything to really darken it, maybe I'm incorrect though

 

[tmendick]

CALM DOWN.....don't look at it for at least 2 weeks, then put a sample in the fridge for 2+ days and see what it looks/tastes like.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

It appears you forgot to add water to your extract. Otherwise the liquid would fall easily from the glass.

 

[Zepth]

Is there a chance that the top 1/4 or so of the fermenter is just diluted with yeast and the majority of the color is sitting below?

If fermentation has begun there should be a whirlwind of activity in the fermenter. Enough so that it would be mixed in. I have used top up water in the past and failed to stir it in well so there was quite the layer break. Aside from useless hydrometer readings it all worked out just fine.

It tastes like it looks....light, and not like a 90 min IPA.. I followed this recipe very thoroughly, and with all that extract Im having a hard time understanding how it got this color...

Also, its got a slight carbonation to it. HOW? Haha

As it's fermenting one of the main outputs from the yeast is CO2. Not only will beer hold some CO2 being exposed to atmosphere (not capped), there is the continuous production of it. Taste is going to be a terrible measure of anything at this point as it has large amounts of unfermented sugars.

 

[Homercidal]

Where did you get the recipe for the 90-minute IPA?

Your grain bill is kind of light (minus the missing ingredient) and looks about right for that sample. Particles in suspension will lighten a beer's color, but since 90minute is pretty amber (IIRC) this is way too light to be right.

I'm guessing the recipe was suspect or one of the ingredients was mistaken for something else or swapped by accident with something else.

 

[EddieTheBrewerLADET]

Where did you get the recipe for the 90-minute IPA?

Your grain bill is kind of light (minus the missing ingredient) and looks about right for that sample. Particles in suspension will lighten a beer's color, but since 90minute is pretty amber (IIRC) this is way too light to be right.

I'm guessing the recipe was suspect or one of the ingredients was mistaken for something else or swapped by accident with something else.

I agree that this seems far too light, however it also doesn't make any sense. Heres some more details:

I steeped the grains at 150 for 45 mins. It was a definite deep amber color, right in line. Did a 3 gallon partial boil. Added 9.15lb Pale LME and 1lb DME. The color in the kettle when I poured into the fermenter to top up was definitely dark IPA range.

Im fermenting in a bucket at the correct temp with one vial of 007 and one pack of Nottingham.

I found this pic online...could THIS be happening to me??

 

[EddieTheBrewerLADET]

??

 

[TheCADJockey]

Look at yours. Does it look like that?

 

[LandoLincoln]

Your yeasts are trying to build you a beer cathedral and you're critiquing their work a third of the way in. For shame! Let them do their job and don't you dare say anything about their methodology until you see and taste the finished product.

 

[EddieTheBrewerLADET]

Look at yours. Does it look like that?

I wouldn't know...I used a bucket as stated above.

 

[shortyz]

if you boiled 9 lbs of pme for 90 min and got that color you are a magician.. what the ****.

 

[Gameface]

This is the kind of situation RDWHAHB was made for.

 

[stlbasementbrewer]

I want you to drink 3 homebrews a day and call me in two weeks if symptoms persist. Side effects may include a drop in anxiety over young beers and extreme relaxation in the face of possibly failed brews. You gotta just relax and wait. I bet even if the color is light, that it will be a drinkable beer. Give it time.

 

[kombat]

I'm going to throw out another possible explanation: StarSan.

Is it possible you forgot to dump the StarSan out of your fermenter before you racked the beer into it?

Are you using an airlock or a blowoff tube? If you're using a blowoff tube, what's in the bucket? Is it StarSan? How stable have the temperatures been? Has the beer been subjected to any warming/cooling cycles that could possibly cause the air in the bucket to expand/contract repeatedly, sucking StarSan back into the beer? How did the sample taste? Did it taste like beer, or did it taste like soap?

 

[Teromous]

Take that glass full of sample and place it in a refrigerator that has a very low temperature setting. Give it 24-48 hours to drop out all of the solids and it will give you a closer indication of what your finished beer will look like.

 

[Kevin79]

It's been 3 days! 3 days I say! Give some times for the yeasties to clear up. I'm betting that sample you took from the top was 70% krausen and suspended yeast.

 

[BadWolfBrewing]

I'm going to throw this out there. If you are doing extract, there's a reasonable chance you are fairly new to the hobby. So the key point to keep in mind is that sometimes a beer doesn't turn out the way you've planned. It happens to everybody. Especially with clone beers, because there is a very specific way you want that beer to turn out. That being said, it doesn't mean it won't be a good beer.

At this point in the fermentation, I'm not sure the appearance and taste are very reflective of the final product. Let it ride for another two weeks, and take another look then.

Dont worry about a little CO2 in solution, thats just part of the fermentation. Most goes out the airlock, some gets absorbed. After fermentation has stopped and it rests, that absorbed CO2 will probably vacate as well.

 

[Homercidal]

It's been 3 days! 3 days I say! Give some times for the yeasties to clear up. I'm betting that sample you took from the top was 70% krausen and suspended yeast.

Ah! I didn't realize it was 3 days into primary!

Yes, there is a TON of yeast still floating and moving around. Brew another batch and let this one sit for a week or two and then come back and check it.

 

[BadWolfBrewing]

And if it stays light, put blue food coloring in it. Not sure why, it just feels like the right thing to do

 

[treacheroustexan]

And if it stays light, put blue food coloring in it. Not sure why, it just feels like the right thing to do

I'm going to have to agree with this. It'll make it feel more like your 90 min.

 

[blackbeer]

lookin' ain't cookin'

RDWHAHB

 

[max384]

It tastes like it looks....light, and not like a 90 min IPA.. I followed this recipe very thoroughly, and with all that extract Im having a hard time understanding how it got this color...

Also, its got a slight carbonation to it. HOW? Haha


is it possible all the goodies, flavor and color are just tucked below??

Firstly, ANY beer is going to taste bad after only three days. Don't worry about your final beer based on this tasting... And don't ever taste a beer after only three days again. Relax and let the yeast do their job.

What was the color of the wort when you put it into the fermentation bucket? In my experience, the color of the wort post-boil will be roughly the color of the final beer.

With vigorous fermentation, it's common to have a slight bit of fermentation. An incredible amount of CO2 is produced, and some of it is absorbed into solution. You find heavy carbonation without pressure though.

 

[Arrheinous]

That's probably what's going on.

Those WLP English yeasts always do screwy things when I use them but they work out in the end. Just let it ride until the beer is ready.

 

[ChiefIlliniwek]

Yeah, don't look at it or touch it for at least two weeks. I don't even think about cracking my fermenter open for three weeks, usually longer than that. Every time you open your fermenter you're introducing the possibility of infection. I learned after my first brew last year to just let the yeast do their work, and as long as you followed the recipe and have decent sanitation practices, you'll end up with beer.