Hi. First, I have to admit to being a noob (at what point does one cease to be a noob?). My question is about my wort color. I have 5 gallons fermenting at about 50 degrees in my basement. I'm trying to take advantage of my garage staying just above freezing all winter long by making an American lager. Anyway, I was expecting my wort to be around 2 L. Instead it seams to resemble a brown ale. Should i be concerned? I used 6 lb Pilsen LME , 2 lb rice syrup. Some things I think may have caused this are the fact that I did a partial boil, possible old extract, or maybe I added the rice syrup too early in the boil. Any thought? Thanks.
wort color
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It's going to look darker when sitting in your fermenter. Look at it when it's in the tube you use to take a hydrometer reading.
If it is still darker than you wanted when you see it in the tube, the extract could have caramelized a bit during the boil.
If it is still darker than you wanted when you see it in the tube, the extract could have caramelized a bit during the boil.
Maybe next time I'll either do a full boil and/or add 1/2 my extract and adjuncts toward the end of my boil. Should still work fine for bittering right?
All in all I'm hoping for reassurance that I'm not wasting my time with this batch. I'm banking on the idea that it's not going to have a significant impact on the flavor as long as I do everything else right???
All in all I'm hoping for reassurance that I'm not wasting my time with this batch. I'm banking on the idea that it's not going to have a significant impact on the flavor as long as I do everything else right???
sandyeggoxj
Well-Known Member
I think once you're technique is copied by the whole world you can comfortably say that you are not a noob.
Did you add all the extract at the beginning of the boil? That can make a darker end product.
You could also pull some and look at it in a glass or hydrometer tube and see what it looks like. It might surprise you.
Wolfbayte
Third Most Interesting Man in his Cul-de-Sac
Yes, that's a good way to do extracts. You may even get more hop utilization as a result.
Never, we are all noobs at something. You become a pro at one thing, you step up your game doing something else for the first time, making you a noob again. Have 200 ales under your belt and this is your first lager? Noob. First dry hop? Noob. 200 extracts, but the first all grain? Noob. A thousand Wits, but on your first Saison? Noob.
It's good to be a noob, as it keeps us from staying in a rut. Stay adventurous. Keep asking questions. The day you stop learning something, is the day you stop living and start dying.
You are not wasting your time. Rarely is a homebrew, even a fail ale, a waste of time. And what you are describing here is far from a fail ale [lager] (or carb cleaner, brat boiler, or whatever you call bad batches). You might have some carmelization, but that's no biggie. Most off flavors, if any, will condition out in time.
This will be a good, if not great, beer and is a great experience.
That, and +1 to the color always appears darker in large quantity. The ocean seems blue, but when I scoop out a cup of it, it appears hella clear.
RDWHAHB.
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