i made a thread a while ago about observations on head colour based on certain malts, but it didn’t take off. so now more generally, what are some of your most attractive beers youve ever made.
while good, but not amazing a beer i made that was 90% vienna, 3% each amber malt, carafa special III and crystal 120 ended up about 25 SRM, very clear and ruby red with an off-beige head. it looks nice. ive been using a lot of black (patent) malt for colour in various beers and it just doesn’t give that red tint, it ends up more of a brown tint in the darkness.
have an imp stout now that is super opaque black with a brown head that looks good, i cant even see into it a millimetre in the light, and its not because its hazy.
marris otter and munich malts obviously provide some nice colours. red x? i heard it tastes bad. strange head/foam colouration tricks?
i refreshed myself on the purple rice in beer, when i made some purple rice for food recently. however, there are some pics out there on another forum, and it ends up more like a brilliant red than purple (i recall something about oxidation or ? changing the colour?).
anyone have any favourite malts that give a certain tint they like?
The prettiest beer I made was a lager using 100% Red X malt at 1.050 OG. It was a brilliant red shade. It also made me realize that I’m not a huge fan of the flavor of Red X, especially at a large percentage of the grist. I dumped more than half the batch.
As much as I like the appearance of a good looking beer, I never brew for appearance any more.
I think the ambers are my ‘prettiest’ beers. Something I like about them more than the straw or golden color beers. Although, I have a Scottish Ale that (if the hydrometer sample is any indication) will be a gorgeous beer.
I sometimes use 80% pale malt and 20% Munich in American IPA recipes. It comes out a lovely orange color.
I also like the looks of my English pale ales/bitters when I use a base malt with 1% black malt.
does it taste like stronger munich? i thought that was kind of the concept. considering the many bad reviews of its flavour, i doubt i’ll ever try it.
i think both of these ratios are popular. i have a 80/20 2row and munich dark beer on right now, should be able to take a pic of the colour soon
ok, so 1% black malt is a perfect segue - i perceive that black malt darkens with brown, while RB darkens with a reddish tint? any thoughts?
also about black malt. this year i did a stout that was only GP, flaked barley and black malt, and the head wasnt the light white i wanted, but slightly darker than expected. i do still wonder how to get a totally black beer with a really white head. maybe the GP?
Yes, it tastes similar to Munich, but more intense. Not quite Aromatic/Melanoiden malt intense, but moving in that direction. It reminds me of a few beers where I overdid it on the Aromatic malt. The flavor isn’t bad, but it is too much for me when used at 100% of the grist. The rub is that you’re supposed to use at at 100% of the grist at 1.050 OG to get the optimum red color. At lower amounts mixed with other malts you get more orange or brown, which kind of defeats the purpose of using this malt to me.
big time, and i definitely put priority of taste and actual quality over appearance any day. the most red beer i can imagine without starting to use non-malt/sugar colourants would be something like 98% munich 1 and 2% roasted barley, maybe with crystal 40 added at 5%,
yes, also this. is this an optical illusion or has anyone definitely made their beer actually green with the amount of hops/paleness of grist?
