Hefeweizen... Did I ruin it?

[NoviceFromNewMexico]

I decided to brew a hefeweizen last night for the ladies and it's summer time. When I had finished brewing the I racked the wort into the carboy and gave it a good shaking then took a gravity reading.

It came out to a solid 1.052. The problem is that the color seems way too dark in the carboy. I guess I was expecting a light color, the color is somewhere between a 29-33 and I was expecting the color to be around maybe 2-12 range. I used Bavarian malts that were 65% wheat and 35% barley. 3.3 lbs of lme and 2 lbs of dme and 1.3 lb of clover honey.

I steeped with mainly honey wheat.

Please help me.

Thank you!

 

[oneandahalfshepherds]

Yup, better dump it out. Or send it to me and i will dump it out.

Jk, no its not ruined it will be excellent and all beers look darker in the carboy than the glass. Its just fine.

 

[NoviceFromNewMexico]

I guess my other question would be, how would I make the color lighter?

 

[Bennywisest]

You will be fine. They always look a bit darker in the carboy. The honey may have added to the color, but wait until ferms done. Either way it will taste fine.

 

[DocScott]

What kind of malts extract did you use and when did you add them during your boil?

For lighter color, you want to use "extra light" or "light" malt extract and add it toward the end of the boil. This allows for limited darkening of the wort during the boil (which is caused by maliard reactions).

I would suggest these lighter extracts for all of your brews as they let you better control the color. Since you are already using steeping grains, you can add complexity and color via steeping or even a partial mash. Hope this helps.