Weird discoloration of Belgian Witbier

[BoilermakerBrewery]

I'm on my third batch of beer. This batch seemed normal but I put it in my secondary yesterday and today I noticed the color seems to be changing and working its way from the top down. Is this normal?

 

[BoilermakerBrewery]

Bump..it seems like it's a lot darker than it should be. This was an extract brew and it was added at the beginning of the boil...I was expecting a belgian white to be more along the color of hoegaarden

 

[sweetcell]

boiling extract for the full 60 minutes will result in a darker beer, that's why many brewers add the extract (or most of it) at the end of the boil.

i've never seen or heard of this color separation, but it might be the yeast slowly settling in the carboy. the bottom half of that carboy looks very yeast-colored. i wouldn't be surprised if your beer ended up much closer to the color of the stuff on top.

 

[thisoneguy]

Looks like you have yeast settling out to the bottom... that's why it's "changing color" from the top down. Totally normal. It will also probably be getting less cloudy as this happens.

Your beer will look A LOT darker in a bulk container (like a carboy) than it does in a glass. The color you see in your hydrometer sample tube will be more representative of the real color. Yours might not be as light as hoegaarden, but it will be lighter than it is in the carboy.

Also, you may want to put something over that carboy; exposing beer to light in a clear or green container can skunk the beer.

Edit: apparently I'm too slow.

 

[AdamPag]

yup perfectly normal, thats the yeast falling out

 

[gcdowd]

Mmm...makes me want a black and tan!

 

[BoilermakerBrewery]

Mmm...makes me want a black and tan!

yup exactly what I thought of when I saw it at first.

yup perfectly normal, thats the yeast falling out

Thats good to know. It'll be weird drinking a fruity wheat beer that looks so dark.

Also, you may want to put something over that carboy; exposing beer to light in a clear or green container can skunk the beer.

It's in my unfinished basement where the light may come on for like 1 minute if someone has to find something in there...should I be that worried about it?

 

[Euphist]

It'll probably be fine, but I put old t-shirts on mine...simple solution, and I figure better safe than sorry.

 

[gcdowd]

It always looks darker in the carboy, it won't be that dark in a glass

 

[sweetcell]

It's in my unfinished basement where the light may come on for like 1 minute if someone has to find something in there...should I be that worried about it?

it's my understanding that direct sunlight and very bright fluorescent lighting are bad. a single incandescent light bulb won't do any damage, nor will indirect sunlight (i.e. as long as a sunbeam isn't hitting the carboy directly, you're fine). anyone heard/know differently?

as for the dark color, you could always claim it's a dunkelweizen!