Color (To the Extent You Care)

Needless to say, a Czech pilsner shouldn't be black like an Irish stout any more than an Irish stout should be pale gold like a Czech pilsner. The point is that the color of your beer matters, but it may not be the most important thing you're worrying about when you're brewing. It is important to note that you will have less control over the color of your beer when brewing with extracts. Furthermore, even within a given style of beer, the color may range significantly. For example, a pale ale may be anywhere from a light honey color to a deep copper color. The combination of ingredients should result in a color that's appropriate for the style of beer you are brewing. However, if you are concerned what color your beer will have or you are shooting for a particular color, it's very easy to determine.

In the United States, the color of beer and brewing ingredients are measured by either the Lovibond scale or the Standard Reference Method ("SRM") scale. The Lovibond scale goes from 1 to 550 and is expressed in "degrees Lovibond" or "º L", while the SRM scale goes from 1 to 600 and is simply expressed as a number. On both scales, the higher the number, the darker the color. Because the Lovibond and SRM scales are roughly equal, they can generally be used interchangeably. In Europe, brewers measure color in accordance with standards set down by the European Brewing Convention ("EBC"). There is no formula to convert from Lovibond or SRM to EBC or vice versa, but EBC is roughly twice as much as SRM.

Check out the beer style chart above. If you know what a Czech pilsner looks like, then you have an idea what 3-5 SRM looks like. Likewise, if you are familiar with Irish stouts, then you know what it is for a beer to have a SRM color of 40 or more. Use the charts above to identify the color of your brewing ingredients, then simply average them based on representation in the receipe to identify the likely color of your beer. For example, to keep it simple, if you are using 3 pounds of light DME with 3.5 º L and 3 pounds of amber DME with 10 º L, the color of your beer will be approximately 6.75 º L.

If you are targeting a certain color, you will need to adjust your ingredients to reach that color. However, keep in mind that altering the ingredients may change the original gravity. Therefore, be careful when adjusting your ingredients.