SRM Beer Color - Two Beer Dudes

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× Two Beer Dudes: Two regular dudes who happen to be huge fans of American craft beer.

Standard Reference Method (SRM)

We, as humans, are very visual. We use this sense to give us quick feedback on many aspects of life. Brewers only have one chance to set the first impression of a beer as it pours into our glass. Based on the style of the beer, the color is the first gauge for what we expect in a beer. Other factors like retention, lacing, and color of the foam play a big part also.

SRM is a scale for measuring the color intensity of a beer (it's more technical than this, but we will leave it there). SRM was adopted by the Ameican Society of Brewing Chemists in 1951. There is another, older scale named degrees Lovibond (devised by Joseph Williams Lovibond) that the SRM scale has replaced.

The color chart and colors below are an approximation of the actual colors in the SRM scale. Two Beer Dudes tries to use these color descriptions or SRM number when rating beer. We hope that you will do the same so that everyone is on a level playing field while describing our beer experience. Enjoy!

Beer Colors and SRM Value
Color Swatch	SRM	Color
2	Pale Straw
3	Straw
4	Pale Gold
6	Deep Gold
9	Pale Amber
12	Medium Amber
15	Deep Amber
18	Amber-Brown
20	Brown
24	Ruby Brown
30	Deep Brown
40	Black

Beer Style SRM Color Ranges
Style	SRM Range
Pilsner	2 - 7
Witbier, Berliner Weisse	2 - 4
Belgian Strong Ale	4 - 7
Maibock	4 - 10
Vienna Lager	7 - 14
Oktoberfest	4 - 12
American Pale Ale	6 - 14
Pale Ale	5 - 14
English Golden Ale	4 - 8
Bavarian Weizen	4 - 10
Bitter, ESB	8 - 14
Märzen	7 - 15
Imperial Pale Ale	5 - 11
Bière de Garde	6 - 13
Dunkel Weizen	9 - 13
Amber Ale	11 - 18
English Brown Ale	12 - 22
Bock	15 - 30
Porter	20 - 40
Oatmeal Stout	25 - 40
Baltic Porter	17 - 40
Foreign Stout	30 - 65
Imperial Stout	50 - 80
Source: Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher

Morey Equation

• This equation is typically used in beer software to approximate color.
• SRM = 1.4922 * (MCU ^ 0.68590)
• good for color < 50 SRM
• MCU = grainColor * grainWeightLBS / volumeGallons

degress Lovibond

• Was the first scale to officially and uniformily measure the the color of beer in the 1860s.
• A sample of the beer was placed in a "Tintometer" and compared with several glass slides.
• The color disc that most closely represented the beer was than assigned to the beer.

European Brewing Convention

• Another measurement of color for beer. The scale is approximately double the SRM scale.

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