So I thought I would post some pictures of my recent brew, since it demonstrates one of the more interesting aspects of beer color… the color red. The SRM scale really shows a move from light gold to dark brown, with red somewhat, but not really, falling in the middle of the scale. A brew could have the same SRM rating, but have a noticeably different hue to it, from brown to copper to ruby, depending on the ingredients and process. It is interesting to me the role that red plays, especially when trying to accomplish a certain feel to the beer. It could be a staple, such as in an irish red or perhaps a belgian pale, or it could be part of some vision for a Xmas brew or Valentine’s brew.
This pale ale I brewed (aka Hobart Ale, or Halfway IPA) had one of the more interesting color characteristics that I have seen in a brew. Looking at it under different lighting conditions yielded different colors, where a reddish hue would appear in some cases but not in others.
Ok the darkest one was taken with a flash and the others weren’t, and I am taking pictures at different angles… but still its pretty cool that it is the same beer. (Slight difference in volume is due to an occasional sip in between photos). The next question would be what causes the emergence of red in a beer, but for now I must return to work.
