So I figured I'd jump ahead of the game for this coming Winter and brew my Russian Imperial stout. Made it last year and decided to tweak it a bit. Problem is the color was predicted to be 35ish in Beersmith, and it came out more like 20. Looks like a dark amber. Wondering if anyone has had an issue like this? Kind of disheartening to be honest. I'm sure it'll taste fine, but the color is going to bug the heck out of me. I made sure to measure everything accordingly. I even went back and double checked with the ingredients I had left to make sure I used the right amounts. It's a revamp of last years batch. I had mashed for 90 minutes last time and only 60 this time. Could that be the issue?
Is there anything I can do to darken this beer? Cold steep some black patent or roasted barley or chocolate? Boil it and then dump it in? 5.5 gallon batch, by the way. I wouldn't even begin to know how much to add after the fact.
8.13 gal Distilled
9.19 g Baking Soda (Mash)
3.24 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash)
3.18 g Calcium Chloride (Mash)
1.64 g Chalk (Mash)
1.15 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash)
20 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)
1 lbs Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM)
1 lbs White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM)
8.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)
8.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM)
4.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM)
4.0 oz Caramel Malt - 60L (Briess) (60.0 SRM)
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)
28.00 g Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 15 28.8 IBUs
14.00 g Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 16 8.5 IBUs
7.00 g Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 17 5.5 IBUs
14.00 g Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 18 5.5 IBUs
29.00 g Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 19 4.7 IBUs
5.90 g Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 20 1.2 IBUs
2.0 pkg Scottish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1728) [124.21 ml] 3L starter
Est Original Gravity: 1.112 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.036 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 10.4 %
Bitterness: 54.4 IBUs
Est Color: 35.5 SRM
Measured Original Gravity: 1.110 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.030 SG
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 10.9 %
60 min mash @156
Is there anything I can do to darken this beer? Cold steep some black patent or roasted barley or chocolate? Boil it and then dump it in? 5.5 gallon batch, by the way. I wouldn't even begin to know how much to add after the fact.
8.13 gal Distilled
9.19 g Baking Soda (Mash)
3.24 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash)
3.18 g Calcium Chloride (Mash)
1.64 g Chalk (Mash)
1.15 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash)
20 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)
1 lbs Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM)
1 lbs White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM)
8.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)
8.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM)
4.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM)
4.0 oz Caramel Malt - 60L (Briess) (60.0 SRM)
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)
28.00 g Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 15 28.8 IBUs
14.00 g Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 16 8.5 IBUs
7.00 g Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 17 5.5 IBUs
14.00 g Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 18 5.5 IBUs
29.00 g Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 19 4.7 IBUs
5.90 g Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 20 1.2 IBUs
2.0 pkg Scottish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1728) [124.21 ml] 3L starter
Est Original Gravity: 1.112 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.036 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 10.4 %
Bitterness: 54.4 IBUs
Est Color: 35.5 SRM
Measured Original Gravity: 1.110 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.030 SG
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 10.9 %
60 min mash @156