Today’s infographic is another one created by Eddie’s Alehouse in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, this one showing a list of kinds of beer, with their range of color plotted on a chart, divided by ales and lagers.
You’re not missing anything. SRM, which is the Standard Reference Method generally stops at 40 to represent the darkest color black, just as the EBC (used more commonly in Europe) goes to 80. But like IBUs, theoretically, it’s 40+ and it is possible that you could have a color black that’s higher than 40. How you would measure that is another problem, because as far as I know there isn’t a way to accurately measure an SRM of 100. I suspect that Karl Strauss is having a bit of fun and just threw that round number out there to indicate that the beer is really, really dark. I’ll have to ask next time I see someone from the brewery, but that’s my best guess.
Chad Irwin says
I see a recipe that says SRM 100: https://www.karlstrauss.com/beer/wreck-alley-imperial-stout/
Your chart only goes to 40, what am I missing? Thanks, Chad
Jay Brooks says
You’re not missing anything. SRM, which is the Standard Reference Method generally stops at 40 to represent the darkest color black, just as the EBC (used more commonly in Europe) goes to 80. But like IBUs, theoretically, it’s 40+ and it is possible that you could have a color black that’s higher than 40. How you would measure that is another problem, because as far as I know there isn’t a way to accurately measure an SRM of 100. I suspect that Karl Strauss is having a bit of fun and just threw that round number out there to indicate that the beer is really, really dark. I’ll have to ask next time I see someone from the brewery, but that’s my best guess.