When you pick up a pint of beer, what’s the first thing you notice? Before the aroma, before the first sip, it’s the colour that catches your eye. From the pale golden hues of a refreshing lager to the deep, inky black of a robust stout, beer colour offers valuable clues about what’s inside your glass.
But what determines the shade of your beer? The answer lies in the brewing process, particularly in the malt and how it’s treated before it meets water, hops, and yeast.
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Why the colour of your beer matters
Beer colour provides insight into a beer’s flavour, body, and even brewing process. A pale golden beer often signals a crisp, refreshing taste with subtle malt flavours, while a deep brown or black beer suggests richer, roasted notes. Understanding beer colour can enhance your drinking experience by setting expectations for taste and mouthfeel before the first sip. But there are always exceptions - just because a beer is dark doesn’t mean it’s heavy, and not all pale beers are light-bodied!
This colour scale gives an approximate guide to colour terms used for beer.
To measure beer colour with precision, brewers rely on standardised scales such as the Standard Reference Method (SRM) and the European Brewery Convention (EBC). These systems assign numerical values to beer colour, with lower numbers indicating paler beers and higher numbers representing darker ones. For example, a pale lager might measure around 2-4 SRM, while a stout could exceed 30 SRM. The EBC scale, commonly used in Europe, assigns roughly double the SRM value for the same beer. While these scales provide consistency in brewing, most people assess colour visually - holding a glass up to the light and observing where it falls on the spectrum from straw to black.
The role of malt in colour
Malt is the backbone of beer colour. Pale malts produce lighter beers like Pilsners and Kölsch, while darkly roasted malts result in Porters and Stouts. The kilning or roasting of malted grains directly influences a beer’s final appearance.
- Straw & gold: Beers that appear pale or golden are usually made from lightly kilned malts. These are common in styles like Lagers, Helles, and Belgian Tripels.
- Amber & copper: As malts undergo further kilning, they develop caramelised sugars that deepen the beer’s hue. Beers like Amber Ales, Märzen, and Bocks showcase these rich, orange-tinged hues.
- Brown & black: Heavily roasted malts create deeper, darker beers. Stouts and Porters fall into this category, often bringing notes of coffee, chocolate, and roasted nuts along with their deep brown or black colour.
Beyond malt: other influences on beer colour
While malt is the primary contributor to beer colour, other factors can play a role. Boiling time can darken the wort, as can the use of caramelised sugars in brewing. Interestingly, some beers introduce unexpected colours - raspberry lambics (framboise), for instance, can take on a pinkish hue due to added fruit.
Your beer’s appearance is just the start!
In WSET beer courses, you'll learn how to assess beer using our Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT), building the skills to describe, evaluate, and recommend beer with confidence. Ready to take your knowledge further? Find the right beer course for you here.
