Boiling time and the color of beer

[Salyangoz]

I want to brew a SMASH American IPA, but I got under the color values of the beer type as I don't use any Caramel/Crystel in my recipe. That got me thinking, is there an information about boil time and EBC? The boil off makes the beer more dense so it gives a color, but does heat also change the color in addition? If yes, how can we calculate this? Or is it impossible to achieve an IPA color with a SMASH recipe?

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/832548/smash-cluster-ipa

 

[Hawkbox]

I don't think it has much of an impact at all, it's not hot enough at normal boil temperatures.

 

[Head First]

Longer boils will darken it a little but very little.
A 120 minute boil will also give you some melanoidin flavors too along with darker beer(more golden).
Brew it as is, RDWHAHB.
Cluster is a great choice for smash beer whatever the malt is and there are so many ipa's out now I can't see where a judge would even ding it let alone worry about it for your own consumption.
Call it a White IPA!
Not sure about actual charts or formulas to predict color change from a longer boil. I don't recall seeing anything like that.

 

[Salyangoz]

Call it a White IPA!

I know, I know, yuou are absolutely right.
It's just an obesession to stay within beer type values.

 

[Nosybear]

I know, I know, yuou are absolutely right.
It's just an obesession to stay within beer type values.

Don't worry about it - none of us will ding you for 0.5 SRM. And yes, beer gets darker as it's boiled - the color compounds are concentrated by however you boil off and you create some melanoidins - but as mentioned above, not much.

 

[J A]

One of the best local beers in this area is a Pilsner/Mosaic SMASH IPA. Nobody gives a damn that it's a lovely light gold color.
Brew on!!

 

[Hawkbox]

That sounds tasty.

 

[Hogarthe]

Use a slightly darker base malt. Mild ale malt, Vienna malt, etc will give you a slightly darker beer.

 

[KC]

does heat also change the color in addition? If yes, how can we calculate this?

Heat, pH, time, and sugar content are all variables of Maillard reactions that darken wort. There's no simple calculation for it. In general, it's not much worth worrying about unless you are trying for an extremely light beer, or in the amber-red-brown range where a small change can be perceptible.

If you're worried about meeting style guidelines, frankly don't. Remember color is also affected by type of drinking glass it's poured in. The same beer will look different in a pint glass than it will in a tasting glass. There isn't a competition anywhere that uses style-appropriate barware for judging every category.

 

[Nosybear]

Heat, pH, time, and sugar content are all variables of Maillard reactions that darken wort. There's no simple calculation for it. In general, it's not much worth worrying about unless you are trying for an extremely light beer, or in the amber-red-brown range where a small change can be perceptible.

If you're worried about meeting style guidelines, frankly don't. Remember color is also affected by type of drinking glass it's poured in. The same beer will look different in a pint glass than it will in a tasting glass. There isn't a competition anywhere that uses style-appropriate barware for judging every category.

The most you'd lose for a beer being "too light" or "too dark" is one point, as long as there's nothing else wrong with the appearance. To be honest, you'd lose more for haze (assuming it's not appropriate) or poor head retention.