beer colour profile

1. Beer Colors
Basic Color Hue Lovibond Units
Yellow light 2.0 - 3.0
medium 3.0 - 4.5
deepstraw/gold 4.5 - 6.0
deep gold 6.0 - 7.5
Amber light 7.5 - 9.0
copper 9.0 - 11
red/brown 11 - 14
Brown light 14 - 17
medium 17 - 20
dark - light black 20 - 25
Black start of full black >25
Malt Type Color degL
U.S. two-row 1.4 - 1 8
U.S. six-row 1.5 - 1.9
Canadian two-row 1.3 - 1.7
Canadian six-row 1.4 - 1.9
German Pils (two-row) 1.6
German lager (two-row)1.7
CaraPils 1.3 - 1.8

2. Malt Type Color degL
Wheat malt 1.6 - 1.8
Pale ale 3
Vienna 3 - 5
Light Munich 8 - 11
Dark Munich 18 - 22
Caramel 10 - 120
Chocolate malt 325 - 375
Black 475 - 525
Black barley 500 - 550
I could go into great explanation on color effects but why bother when a guru has already done it for us. Below is an article by Dr George Fix that
says it all....
Article by Dr. George Fix
Color affects the appreciation and evaluation of beer in subtlebut definite ways. The "halo effect" refer to a situation where a positive(or negative)
responseto one attributeleads to an over evaluation (or under evaluation) of other attributes. The color of beer can be a p owerful but often
subconscious generator of the "halo effect."
An example is the low marks given to otherwise satisfactory beers in competitions where the entry's color is inappropriatefor the category. In
professional tasting, the"halo effect" is generally regarded as an unacceptable bias. However, in less formal settings it reflects the natural influence
that physicalappearance of a food or beverage has over sensory anticipation. For this, and other reasons, color control in brewing is important, and
the goal of this chapter is to review the basic issues. Before describing thetest we first review the units in which beer and wort color are measured,
and then review thefactors that affect color in malting and brewing.
COLOR UNITS
Beer and wort color traditionally have been measured visually, and early on the Lovibond (degL) scale was adopted as a standard. This consists of
a well-defined set of color samples that are used for comparison. A visual match with a beer or wort sample defines the degL of the sample. In
modern brewing, photometricmethods have replaced visual comparison, and the American Society of Brewing Chemists has developed the so-called
Standard Reference Method (SRM), which is widely used. Results are expressed as degrees SRM, and for thepurposes of this article these units can
be regarded as the same as degL. Some examples are presented in the chart below.
Standard Reference Method (SRM) for Beer Color Evaluation
(See table 1 above)
It is important to know that totally different units are used in England and Europe(i.e., degrees EBC). This is because of the different analytical
procedures that are used for measurement. The following formulas have been used to relate theseunits:
(degEBC) = 2.65 x (degL) - 1.2
(degL) = 0.377 x (degEBC) + 0.45
I have found that they give reasonable results for light-colored beers (e.g., those whosecolor does not exceed 4 degL); however, they are
inaccurate for deeper-colored beers. Discussions with Roger Briess of Briess Malting Company indicate that these formulas are not held in high
regard by professionals.
INFLUENCE OFMALT
After the grain is steeped with water, it is allowed to germinate, then is dried in the kiln. It is in the kiln where coloring pigments such as
melanoidins in malt are formed via the Maillard or browning reaction, a very common oxidation that occurs in many foods when they are cooked or
exposed to air. By controlling the kiln temperature, themaltster can control thecolor of the kernels and hence their coloring potentialin brewing.
Typicalvalues for various malt types areshown in Table 2.
A rule sometimes used by homebrewers is that the color contributed by a malt is equal to its concentration in pounds per gallon times its color
rating in degL. For pale beers this rule can give reasonable results. For example, 10 pounds of pale malt with color 1.6 degL in five gallons should
produce a beer whosecolor is near
1.6 x 10/5 = 3.2degL.
But for darker colored beers this rule can give erratic results. It also ignores thefactors other than malt that contribute to beer color. Cereal
adjuncts like rice make no contribution to beer color. Corn and unmalted barley have only a slight effect.

3. (See table 2 above)
INFLUENCE OFBREWING CONDITIONS
Differences in brewing conditions can lead to substantialcolor changes in thefinished beer, theseeffects being particularly important for beers at 5
degL or less.
Water As thealkalinity of thewater increases, so does theextraction rate of the coloring pigments in malt. Themash pH I has the same effect, and
increasing pH leads to worts with deeper color.
Mash Color increases with the amount of contact time with the grains. Thus, a prolonged mash will produce a deeper-colored beer than a short
mash.
Kettleboil The Maillard reaction also takes place as wort is boiled; therefore, wort color increases with boil time. A fact that is sometimes
overlooked is that wort simmering has the same effect. The point is that this will lead to an incomplete hot and cold break, which in turn leaves more
coloring elements in the finished wort.
Hops Some color is obtained from hops both in the kettle and in storage containers when postfermentation hoppingis used.
Fermentation The proteinous matter produced during the cold break is full of coloring materials and, hence, removal of these materials will reduce
color. It has been reported that color changes during fermentation vary with yeast strain.
Filtration This can dramatically reduce color. It should be noted that a clear beer will appear to be lighter color than turbid beer.
Oxidation
At all stages of brewing, air pickup will deepen beer color. This is as true of hot wort production as it is of bottled beer with head-space air.
BRIESS COLOR TEST
This is a simple test designed for homebrewers and microbrewers. Comparisons have shown that will give color readings with errors more than on
percent for beer whose color is 17 degL or less. Beer whosecolor exceeds 17 degL will be essentially black in appearance. It is not particularly
important to quantify color beyond this point. The standard for this test is Michelob Classic Dark. The reason is that it is widely available, and its
color is known (17 degL). On very rare occasions one will come across old bottles of this beer where haze has developed because of mishandling by
distributors. Theseshould not be used in this test. By thesame token, the sample to be tested should clear and free of haze. The test consists of
diluting the standard with water until a color match with the sample is obtained. Figure 2 gives the relationship between the amount of water added
and the degL of thesample.
This is an approximate Graph Plot. Points to plot your own accurate plot will be provided if interest is shown.

4. MATERIALS NEEDED
1. Distilled water--Colored tap water can increase the errors in this test from I percent to 10 or 20 percent.
2. Blender--Dissolved CO2 in the beer will affect its color. Both thestandard and the sample should be degassed. This can be done in a
blender. A lot of foam will be created, but once it recedes and thebeer falls clear it is ready for testing.
3. Light source--It is important for the visual comparison to take place in a well-lighted environment. Ideally, this consists of a lamp with a
100watt bulb against a white background. Be sure to use the reflected rather than direct light, and place thesamples the same distance from
the light source Also, take time in making the comparison because the difference in one or two degL is not that great.
4. Vessels--These are the most important components to this test. After extensive experimentation it became clear that two sets are needed.
For detailed testing, two glass jars of one-inch diameter and a capacity of at least 125 milliliters are best. For samples below 10 degL the
volume of these vessels is not large enough. Two white 12-ounce export (long neck returnable bottles will be needed. The Miller Brewin
Co. has been using thesebottles. So has Corona, but thelabel, which cannot be removed, is a distraction.
5. Syringe--This is needed to measure 10 cc = 10 ml of water.
PROCEDURE
1. Clean everything.
2. De-gas standard and then sample in blender.
3. Measurein 20 ml of standard beer in export bottleNo. 1.
4. Measurein 20 ml of sample beer in export bottleNo. 2.
5. If colors are different, measure in 10 ml of distilled water to bottleNo. 1 and 10 ml of sample beer to export bottleNo. 2.
6. Continue Step 5 until colors become close. At this point thecomparisons should be made in theone-inch diameter jars. Transfer 25 to 50
ml into these from the export bottles and return after comparison. Cut the water and sample beer increment from 10 ml to 5 ml.
7. When a color match is obtained, record the totalamount of water added. Figure 2 gives the associated degL.
EXAMPLE - BASS PALE ALE
At the start the20 ml of standard beer (Michelob Classic Dark) will be discernibly darker than the sample (Bass). After adding 30 ml of water to
the standard, the colors will become close, and at this point the one-inch jars are needed. A match is obtained after an additional 10 ml of water is
added. Thus a totalof 40 ml of water was needed, and from Figure 2, we see that Bass has a color of 10 degL. Since only 60 ml of liquid was used in
each bottle, the entire test could have done in the one-inch diameter jars.
Notethat the relationship between degL and dilution water is not linear. For example, adding 20 ml of water to 20 ml of Michelob Classic Dark
(17 degL) will not cut the color in half. In fact, instead of 17/2 = 8.5 degL thecolor will be higher, namely 13 degL (see Figure 2). This lack of
proportionality is why therelationship between degL and degrees EBC can be in error. It also explains why beer color and malt color are not
proportional.
At the lower color range, on the other hand, proportionality is approximately valid. Thus, diluting 20 ml of Molson Export Ale (4 degL) with 20 ml
of water will give a color very close to Budweiser (2degL). Moregenerally for beers whose color is 4 degL or less, the curve in Figure 2 is given by
degL = 4(140/VA + 20) where VA is thedilution water in ml.
(The author acknowledges the significant contributions made through conversations with Roger Briess. In fact, the simple color test described
above is essentially his idea. The author's contribution was to work out the data represented in Figure 2.)