wort is dark

Is that a question? ;-)

My brews always turned out darker than I expected until I got a bigger pot. Previously, I brewed as much as I could in a smaller pot -- about 2 gallons max -- then added the wort to cold water in the fermenter to cool it down. Since I started brewing the entire 5 gallons at once, and using a wort chiller, the colors of my lighter colored beers have been more true to form.

HTH

When boiling smaller amounts, it's easier to carmelize the wort which makes it darker. As Bill O'Meally mentioned, increase your boil amount and your color will lighten or use a lighter extract.

Wild

golden color?

Could you be a bit more specific about how you made your brew? The recipe might also help to tell what went wrong. Was this a beer kit of some sort or something else?

Hi

As the owner of my local brewpub frequently tells customers, "You drink with your mouth, not your eyes."

Close your eyes and take a drink. What does it taste like? If it tastes like you expected, why worry about the colour.

Regards

KGB

wild hit the nail on the head, I think..

Thanks G_Cowboy. There's one other way to lighten up your brew that I forgot to mention. A procedure called "Extract Late Method". The 'extract late' method is similar to normal extract brewing except that the extract is only present for the last 15 minutes or so of the boil. The theory is that hop utilization is improved by virtue of having a lower gravity (1.000) wort than is possible with the extract. In addition, by not cooking the already cooked extract, lighter colors are possible. I'm sure there are posts here that can be found by a quick search and others on the web.

Good luck, Wild

Interesting ... I've never seen this method documented or given that name. My reading suggests that boiling hops in water will not release/convert the bitter components very well and that hops needs some of the wort components to fully isomerize and produce the bitterness desired. (I think it is said that the PH of water is too high and you need the lower PH of wort (acidity) for good bitterness extraction). If anyone has tried this method, please post your results.

On the other hand, I have definitely read that hop utilization is better with lighter gravity worts... just not ZERO gravity wort (water)... Perhaps something in-between might be the best: most of the boil with only "some" of the extract, then add the bulk of it at the end??? Remember to account for the "better extraction" by using a little less hops or it could be too bitter for your taste.

Derric

If you are doing a grain/extract recipe, you can do your grain steep and then start your boil. Follow your hop schedule and then add the extract later in the boil. This is the way that I have been doing my last 5 batches or so and it does seem to give me a light color to the finished wort. Cheers,