Raise SRM

Beer Recipes
1

According to beersmith, the color of my Saison will be really light.  What can/should I use to bring it up a touch without adding flavor?  I was thinking 1.5oz of Midnight Wheat (debittered black malt) 550 SRM. 
This is what it looks like:

9 lbs 4.0 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) 78.8 %
1 lbs 3.2 oz Vienna Malt (Briess) (3.5 SRM) 10.2 %
1 lbs 3.2 oz Wheat Malt, Dark (9.0 SRM) 10.2 %

1.00 oz Falconer’s Flight [9.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min 20.5 IBUs
1.00 oz Horizon [12.00 %] - Boil 7.0 min 11.5 IBUs

2

My go to is Caraffa II added during the sparge. (I batch sparge.) Usually anywhere between .5 ounce to 2 ounces depending on how much color is needed.

3

If you are adjusting to stay within the software’s quoted SRM range for saison, don’t waste your time. Saison is nearly wide open style, and comes in all shades - Dupont, the gold standard,  is very pale obviously. If you do choose to darken, I definitely recommend Midnight Wheat. It has the least roast of any black malt.

4

I’ll have to check out Midnight Wheat when the small supply of Caraffa II I keep on hand for darkening is gone.

5

I’ve found that midnight wheat gives a brown hue, while roasted barley gives a red hue. I try to pick based on the color I want to achieve. I haven’t played much with other roast malts for color.

6

Frankly, I’d brew it as-is and not bother mucking around with color. If you don’t like how the beer turns out, then you can always adjust in the future. I can’t imagine at 10% Vienna and 10% Dark Wheat malt that it is going to turn out too light for a Saison.

7

Sinamar is the easiest solution.

8

If it’s available, My LHBS doesn’t carry it. I did some experimenting a while ago and like midnight wheat the best for color and least roast.

9

How is sinamer any easier than just using a bit of dark malt in the sparge? Seems about the same amount of effort to me.

10

I find it to be more precise.  You’re not guessing at how much malt to add.

11

Ok, that makes sense.

I’m fairly comfortable going with the predicted value of the malt addition based on SRM calculations, but then again I’m not super picky if I end up a tad off in either direction.

12

I’m brand new to all this – been AG brewing for just a few weeks. But I have a Saison that came out light according to brewer’s friend, and I adjusted it in the program with 1 oz of American Chocolate. I haven’t made it yet, but I’m going to this weekend, and I’ve never used chocolate, so I don’t know what it does for flavor. Will 1 oz make a difference in taste?

13

I don’t think you will get much more than color out of that little amount of chocolate malt. That said, ignore the color recommendations for saison. You’re not gaining anything by making sure the color is “right.”

14

+1

15

+2

16

Gladly, thanks.