Beer Forum

I made my first Kolsch last night. Given the final color of the Kolsch I've had before, I was expecting something light in color. The wort was quite dark. Is this normal?

Process:
MoreBeer Extract kit
3 gallon boil.
2 gallons of added water
White Labs Kolsch yeast used to make a 900ml starter

The air lock started bubbling about 30 minutes after pitching the yeast (temp was 80 degrees)

Will I see the color lighten up after lagering? Could it be that because I'm extract brewing, the color of the extract will result in darker wort compared to all-grain?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Don't know which extract you used, but if you added all of it at the beginning of the boil, caramelization will will result in a darker beer, especially if you are doing a partial boil. Try saving at least half the extract till the end of boil (around 15 min). The beer will not lighten with age, but it may look darker in the carboy than it will be when you poor it in a glass.