Still a rookie in Home brewing. This is my 3rd extract brew. The smoke bomb porter was dark in the 2.5 gal boiling but after it was topped off to the 5 gal the color looks no different then the cream ale and Weizenbier that I previously did. It has a copper tone to it. Did I do something wrong ? Will it darken during the brew process ? I brewed it yesterday and its has started to ferment and the gas coming out of the lock has a hoppy smell to it. Any thoughts ?
When you brewed it did you smell any smokiness? Did you make note of any of the supplies in the kit? Sometimes mistakes happen and its possible they sent you the wrong kit. It happened to me once and NB customer service is top notch. They will very likely send you the correct kit free of charge.
Loopie, everything looked good when I did the inventory and it had a good smoky aroma while I was brewing it. The only thing of concern is the color of it after I added the water to the 5 gal mark. It is not very dark.
Sorry to let you know, but brews tend to lighten up as they progress, not darken. Mostly because the trub and yeast will settle out.
But if it tastes good, just close your eyes… :cheers:
I’ve never heard of an extract brew being too light.
My first brew was the lefse blond. I kept getting asked, “Is that an Octoberfest?”
May have left a darker malt out on the steeping grains. And as Jim said it will lighten up with alcohol and yeast dropping out.
When I brewed this kit it was VERY dark in the fermenter. It sounds like the specialty grains that you got may have been wrong. Those grains are where the smoky flavor, and the dark color comes from. FWIW…That beer is REALLY REALLY good.
Namaste
In the directions it says to crush and steep the grain. I did not crush the grain. Could this be the problem? I was going off the Carbou slober video were you just steep the grain.
Did you buy the kit locally? I buy my NB stuff online and the steeping grains are crushed.
I racked mine the other day and it looked right for a porter. Will probably add the peppers in a few days prior to kegging.
Did you buy the kit locally? I buy my NB stuff online and the steeping grains are crushed.
I racked mine the other day and it looked right for a porter. Will probably add the peppers in a few days prior to kegging.[/quote]
I bought it online. The grains came in a name brand package, cant remember what the name said on it.
If you got it from our host, the grains will come pre-crushed, so that should not be an issue. (thanks NB).
