15 April 2021

Color calculations and measurements (Part 1): Evolution of measurements

Measuring beer color | This is the first in a three-part series of articles about the nature of beer color, as well as the difficulty of accurately quantifying color both at the recipe design stage and in the finished beer. Part 1 explores the nature of color in general and the historical evolution of beer color measurements. Part 2 examines the differences and similarities of the most common equations used by today’s brewers around the world for calculating beer color – not after the fact in the laboratory – but in advance during recipe formulation. Finally, part 3 analyzes three test beers brewed specifically for this study. It compares the color predictions for these brews made by the different beer color formulae outlined in part 2 to the actual color measurements of the same brews made in the laboratory. This comparison allows practical brewers to select which equation might be the most advantageous for them to use at the recipe design stage.

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