Why Is My Kolsch A Light Amber Color?

[SteelCurtainBrewMan!]

Hey Homebrewers, followed an all-grain Kolsch recipe calling out 10 lbs of Pilsner malt, 4 lbs. 2.7 oz of Wheat malt, and 8.9 oz of Municher malt in grain bill. Followed recipe to the spot, with mash @ 48 degrees for 75 min, then fly sparge @ 168 degrees. The SG was slightly high @ 1.065, but was very happy with that.

I have it now in my secondary fermenter and it's getting very clear. However, it is light amber in color, not the crystal clear yellow color I was targeting. What did I do to make it have this color vs. the correct color of clear yellow?

 

[BOB357]

Beer naturally looks much darker in a larger vessel. Relax and wait until you get it into a glass.

 

[SteelCurtainBrewMan!]

Thanks for responding Grandmaster. I will do just that.

 

[sbrewingcompany]

Your Kölsch can also have turned a light amber color due to the inclusion of Munich malt and wheat malt in the grain bill, along with the unusually low mash temperature of forty-eight degrees Celsius. Adjusting the recipe by way of reducing or casting off the Munich malt and mashing at a higher temperature might also help obtain the desired light straw color in future batches.

 

[GigaFemto]

Your Kölsch can also have turned a light amber color due to the inclusion of Munich malt and wheat malt in the grain bill, along with the unusually low mash temperature of forty-eight degrees Celsius. Adjusting the recipe by way of reducing or casting off the Munich malt and mashing at a higher temperature might also help obtain the desired light straw color in future batches.

I think the mash temperature was probably 148 F, and the poster accidentally left off the 1. The sparge temperature was given in F. The amount of Munich malt seems too little to cause much change in color unless it is a very dark Munich malt.

--GF