The key to a lighter color in my beer is...?

[Dylan42]

After doing some research I have been looking at how to make a better extract beer. This weekend I will be brewing a Peach Wheat Ale as follows:

I high jacked this recipe from the Fruit Beer Recipes with minor differences.

50 min boil
2 oz. of Tettnanger @ 45min
1 oz. of Goldings @ 5min
7lbs. of breiss wheat LME
2lbs clover honey
1010 Wyeast Wheat yeast packet
Rack on top of Peach puree into secondary at week 2

SO my question is to achieve a lighter color I was wondering what you experienced extract brewers methods are for adding the LME to the boil? I have read that some don't add the LME till 15-20 min left in the boil and some add a little bit at a time. I am used to just taking my kettle off heat just before reaching boil and mixing it in and finishing the boil with my hop additions.

Is there something that you do to help make the beer color a little lighter?

Or should I just stick with my traditional methods? I put my recipe into brew toad and the SRM are estimated at 4.

Any help or suggestions are appreciated thank you.

 

[BrewPharm]

The addition of extracts late in boil or at flame out will help lighten the color. I personally have done the addition with half or more of my extract (dry and/or liquid) with 15 minutes of boil time remaining. I did this on some repeat batches and it lead to a visibly lighter finished product than addition at or before first boil.

 

[DPBISME]

That should work....

I used to do hour boils to get the IBUs correct.

You can also skip the "rolling boil" and just simmer, this will reduce the Maillard Reactions.

It is how the BRITS in the olden-days got thier IPAs so light colored...

If you steep grain use the lowest lovebond number you can find.

DPB

 

[Dylan42]

Yeah I dont plan on steeping any grain for this one, if I did you're right I'd probably use a little Crystal 20L.

What about the hops? Will I still retain the same bitterness just boiling them in water as I would in the LME?

I will be boiling the whole 5 Gal batch at once if that makes any difference.

 

[JLem]

Yeah I dont plan on steeping any grain for this one, if I did you're right I'd probably use a little Crystal 20L.

What about the hops? Will I still retain the same bitterness just boiling them in water as I would in the LME?

I will be boiling the whole 5 Gal batch at once if that makes any difference.

Doing a full boil will definitely help keep the color lighter - a less concentrated wort will result in less Maillard browning than a more concentrated wort. For a full boil, you could probably add all the extract up front - though it certainly wouldn't hurt to add half up front and half ad the end. You might get better hops utilization in the less concentrated wort, so you might need to adjust for that. I'm not sure about adding hops to just boiling water - I'd probably want at least some of the extract in there.

EDIT: will you be boiling 5 gallons?..or will you be boiling enough water for a 5 gallon batch?

 

[smizak]

Go all-grain.

Edit: whoops didn't notice it was the extract forum.
I used to add the bulk of my extract with only 10min left in the boil and it never really helped me get a lighter beer. You're kinda stuck with the color when using extract.

 

[boydster]

I find it is easier to keep DME from scorching than LME. The LME seems to sink to the bottom of the pot really fast.

Regardless, add extract while the pot is not on the flame, and save a good deal of your extract (50-80%) to add at flameout.

 

[unionrdr]

@smizak-Not true. I do partial boils of 3.5 gallons with 2lbs of plainDME for hop additions. Then add remaining DME & all LME at flame out. I've made light colored hybrid lagers,pale ales,etc with this method. Straw gold to yellow gold. The extract itself matters only insomuch as what kind it is. Extra light,light,amber,etc. Adding most of it at flame out does the trick.

 

[smizak]

@smizak-Not true. I do partial boils of 3.5 gallons with 2lbs of plainDME for hop additions. Then add remaining DME & all LME at flame out. I've made light colored hybrid lagers,pale ales,etc with this method. Straw gold to yellow gold. The extract itself matters only insomuch as what kind it is. Extra light,light,amber,etc. Adding most of it at flame out does the trick.

Just my experience man. I always used the Pilsen Light Briess DME, the lightest they make. Maybe some other manufacturers are lighter, but that stuff is almost white in the bag. I still use it for my yeast starters and the wort is gold-yellow at best, definitely not straw.

 

[m3n00b]

@smizak-Not true. I do partial boils of 3.5 gallons with 2lbs of plainDME for hop additions. Then add remaining DME & all LME at flame out. I've made light colored hybrid lagers,pale ales,etc with this method. Straw gold to yellow gold. The extract itself matters only insomuch as what kind it is. Extra light,light,amber,etc. Adding most of it at flame out does the trick.

So you don't bring it back to a boil after adding the rest of the extract? Thought you had to boil at least for a few minutes to get it mixed well.

 

[boydster]

So you don't bring it back to a boil after adding the rest of the extract? Thought you had to boil at least for a few minutes to get it mixed well.

No need to bring it back to boil. Just mix thoroughly. I think it is easier to mix DME when it isn't boiling anyway.

 

[jbaysurfer]

I don't know how you guys can do everything I do from 15minutes in (whirfloc, yeast nutrient, IC setup, run pump to sanitize it and lines for whirlpooling, late hop additions, etc) and still do liquid extract additions during that time. When I was extract brewing it took me 15-20 minutes just to get the extract stirred properly! Honestly, with hop bags and an IC, I wouldn't have room to properly stir the LME and probably would end up scorching it and getting an uneven wort. Hat's off to you for navigating all that!

But to make that beer lighter, replace some of the wheat extract with a pilsner extract, and/or late extract additions to prevent Maillard reactions.

I saw the headline and considered a one sentence answer: "Lighter colored malt." But that Maillard reaction is real and strong. My first brew ever was an "Extra Pale Ale" that came out looking somewhere between a brown ale and a porter in color. :-D

 

[m3n00b]

No need to bring it back to boil. Just mix thoroughly. I think it is easier to mix DME when it isn't boiling anyway.

The only time I use DME is in starters.

 

[boydster]

The only time I use DME is in starters.

I find the DME is easier to work with just because it doesn't immediately settle to the bottom of the kettle, but that is just a personal thing. Whether it is LME or DME, it's best to add it when there is no heat being applied. The LME settles to the bottom of the kettle when you first pour it, so adding it at flameout prevents it from sitting on the bottom of the kettle while there is an open flame to scorch it. And still no need to bring it back to a boil, it gets pasteurized when you add it in because your wort will still be well over 160F.

 

[Shred]

Yeah I dont plan on steeping any grain for this one, if I did you're right I'd probably use a little Crystal 20L.

What about the hops? Will I still retain the same bitterness just boiling them in water as I would in the LME?

I will be boiling the whole 5 Gal batch at once if that makes any difference.

You will get better hops utilization in a lower gravity wort... another reason to add the majority of your extract late.

 

[Dylan42]

I find it is easier to keep DME from scorching than LME. The LME seems to sink to the bottom of the pot really fast.

Regardless, add extract while the pot is not on the flame, and save a good deal of your extract (50-80%) to add at flameout.

Go all-grain.

Edit: whoops didn't notice it was the extract forum.
I used to add the bulk of my extract with only 10min left in the boil and it never really helped me get a lighter beer. You're kinda stuck with the color when using extract.

EDIT: will you be boiling 5 gallons?..or will you be boiling enough water for a 5 gallon batch?

I would go all-grain but i want to get more proficient at extract brewing before I make the leap to all grain.

And yes I will be boiling all 5 gallons at once, and I always mix in the LME off the flame I just usually do it up front and not at flame out.

Seeing as though I already have bought all my ingredients I will probably try doing half up front and the other half at flame out.

But for future reference does using Pilsner LME give much of a different flavor, when mixed with the wheat LME?

And thanks for all the input, there is a wealth of knowledge in this forum.

 

[JLem]

And yes I will be boiling all 5 gallons at once, and I always mix in the LME off the flame I just usually do it up front and not at flame out.

If you are boiling 5 gallons, you will end up with less than 5 gallons...will you be topping back up to 5 gallons, or are you making a 4 gallon batch?

I ask only because it is the difference between doing a full boil and doing a partial boil, which impacts the wort concentration, which impacts the amount of Maillard browning, which impacts the darkening of your beer...

 

[unionrdr]

So you don't bring it back to a boil after adding the rest of the extract? Thought you had to boil at least for a few minutes to get it mixed well.

You mix it well by stiring it at flame out till no more LME can be scraped off the bottom of the kettle. And since the wort is still boiling hot,finish stiring it,cover & steep a couple minutes to pasteurize,which happens about 160F. Since it's still well above that temp,stir it well & Bob's your uncle.

 

[inflictor-of-grimness]

I just bottled an extract IPA that turned out a really light color (which is what i was aiming for.) All the beers i had done before were darker than i wanted.
I added a small % of corn sugar, saved a lot of the extract for flameout, used very light steeping grains, and stirred vigorously to prevent scorching.

You can make a light colored extract beer, you just need to take extra steps and be vigilant.

 

[Dylan42]

If you are boiling 5 gallons, you will end up with less than 5 gallons...will you be topping back up to 5 gallons, or are you making a 4 gallon batch?

I ask only because it is the difference between doing a full boil and doing a partial boil, which impacts the wort concentration, which impacts the amount of Maillard browning, which impacts the darkening of your beer...

My bad. Its a five gallon batch, my recipe is estimated at about 20% evap so Ill probably start closer to 6 gallons of water to boil.