Beer color during fermentation

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by Curmudgeon, Feb 17, 2017.

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  1. Curmudgeon

    Curmudgeon Savant (1,110) May 29, 2014 Massachusetts
    BA4LYFE Society

    This post was written while I thought about an English Pale Ale and about 4 NEIPAs that I've brewed. All-grain batches.

    I ferment in glass carboys and use a blow off tube which runs into a bucket of star san solution. On brew day, and for the first week after, the beer is obviously murky as it's at the beginning stages of fermentation. I noticed that at the end of week 2 these beers showed great vibrant color. Currently I'm performing a test by brewing two NEIPAs - one with Weihenstephan yeast and one with London 1318. After 2 weeks, the 1318 batch had an incredible murky bright yellow glow. The Weihenstephan batch was much less yellow but still had a nice bright yellowish gold "Hefe" color to it. I just finished week 3 and those colors, though still there, are not as vibrant.
    Fermentation was probably done at week 2 but I didn't have time to transfer into my kegs for dry hopping (will be doing that tonight).

    My question is: For lighter/brighter beers, is it common to see color fade after the 2 week mark? If I fermented in a keg with a Spunding valve or under pressure, might these vibrant colors stick around longer?

    Some of my favorite beers these days give off such bright glowing colors. For the batches that I've done, I get excited at the end of week 2 as they seem to give off that nice glow only to fade during the 3rd week. Ultimately, they still come out nice but not as "bright" as:

    Lost Nation's "Mosaic"
    Jack's Abby (Springdale) "Good'n'you"
    Singlecut's "Billy 18-Watt"

    Color for me at this point in my brewing is just the cherry on top but curious what you guys think. Thanks for any thoughts!
     
  2. inchrisin

    inchrisin Pooh-Bah (2,013) Sep 25, 2008 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah

    Oxidation can play a role in color change, but this is to the dark side. Flocculation and yeast choice probably account for the rest after you've made your wort.
     
    Curmudgeon likes this.
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