Color

INTRODUCTION

Ordering of color, that is, creating a system in which it is possible to specify the coordinates of
each humanly visible color in some meaningful way, is a very challenging task that has engaged
the minds of artists, philosophers, chemists, physicists, engineers, psychologists, and others
from antiquity to the present day. The visible color of an object depends on two things: the
way in which impinging light is modified by the object and second, the impression that the
modified light makes on a human observer. This separates the problem of specifying a color
(finding where it fits in an order system) into two parts. In the first, physical measurements are
made of the relative energy at each visible wavelength in the illuminating spectrum and of the
extent to which each wavelength of light is reflected or absorbed by the object. In the
modern world, instruments are readily available which make these measurements to high
accuracy and the first part is relatively straightforward.

In the second part of the problem measurement data are put into a model of human color
vision. Because the mechanisms of human vision are not, even today, fully understood,
because no two humans, even those with normal color vision, see in exactly the same way, and
because the visual system is highly adaptive, the models are complex and are being constantly
refined. Nevertheless, workable models do exist which serve as the basis for color
photography, color printing, color television, and color control in industry.

In the brewing application the additional complexities of part two are enough to discourage
many operators from using it, so today beer and wort colors are most often specified in terms
of physical measurement alone, in particular the extent to which light of wavelength 430 nm
is absorbed in passing through a 1-cm thick sample. This, as measured by a photometer or
spectrophotometer, is the basis of the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC)
Standard Reference Method (SRM) (ASBC, 2006a) and European Brewery Convention (EBC)
[Central European Commission for Brewing Analysis (MEBAK, 2002)] color determination
methods.

SRM and EBC values are points on one-dimensional color order scales. The Iodine, Brand, and
Lovibond scales (DeClerck, 1958, Vol II, p. 332; Lovibond, 1915) which preceded the current
SRM and EBC1 methods are also one-dimensional scales. In these older methods, visual
comparison was made, respectively, to a series of standard solutions of iodine, dyes, or
colored-glass slides. Given a reported beer color in any of these scales, an experienced person
can conjure up an approximate mental picture of what the beer will look like and based on this
the one-dimensional scales can be considered at least partially successful as means of
reporting beer color. The instrumental methods enjoy improved repeatability relative to visual
methods by removing observer variability, but they, in common with the others, suffer from
the limitation of any linear color order system: one degree of freedom. Beer and wort colors
have more than one. If beer and wort colors had one degree of freedom all possible beer and
wort colors would either be an exact match to one of a reasonably limited number of colored
glasses or have a color that falls on a straight line between a pair in some perceptibly uniform
color space. The deviations of actual beer and wort colors from those of the Lovibond glasses
have long been noted, and better matching colors have been suggested (Bishop, 1950) and
adopted, but even the improved glasses do not match all beers and worts exactly and best, but
approximate, visual matches must be accepted in many cases. This means that it is entirely
possible to have two beers with quite different color appearances that are both best matched
by the same Lovibond glass. Sharpe et al. (1992) were motivated by this to develop an
instrumental method based on the Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage (CIE) Tristimulus
system. By considering more degrees of freedom (DOFs), color differences between beers with
the same Lovibond rating can be resolved. The current ASBC Tristimulus method, Beer 10C
(ASBC, 2006b) is similar to the method proposed by Sharpe. Both use the entire spectrum of
the beer. Spectrum, in the context of this chapter, usually means a set of measurements of
absorption or transmission made at wavelengths separated by 5 nm beginning at 380 and
ending at 780 nm.

For the SRM and EBC scales to be completely adequate descriptors of color, all beer and wort
absorption spectra as normalized2 by the measurement at 430 nm would have to be the same.
In fact, they are close to being so. We refer to the hypothesis that they are the same as the
Constant Normalized Spectrum (CNS) hypothesis and will refer to it frequently throughout this
chapter as it is close enough to being true to be a very useful device for exploring and
explaining several aspects of beer color. An estimate3 of the absorption CNS spectrum is

in which  is the wavelength in nm. The origins of this formula are discussed in the Implications
of the CNS Hypothesis section later in this chapter.

The near-truth of the CNS hypothesis was noted during the development of the SRM method
(Fig. 11.1, Stone and Miller, 1949) but as it is not entirely true, the SRM and EBC measures are
not entirely adequate. As an example of this, the author measured two Pilsner beers the SRM
values for which are the same (3.78), one of which when placed next to the other in 5-cm wide
glasses appears about 5% brighter (relative brightness is measured on a scale of 0 to 100) and
yellower (by about five color difference units) than the other. Shellhammer and Bamforth
(Shellhammer and Bamforth, 2008, 2009) describe a similar pair that measured SRM 29.7. To
resolve the differences between the members of these pairs, additional information (more
DOFs) is needed. As the differences are proof of deviation from the CNS hypothesis, one
approach might be to measure the deviations of the beers’ normalized spectra from the CNS.
Of the example Pilsners, one matches the CNS closely (deviation 0.058) and the other less so
(deviation 0.535). The two beers are distinguishable by the deviation suggesting that SRM and
deviation could serve as a two-DOF color descriptor. Though it requires the full spectrum to
calculate deviation, the computation is a simple one.

With a bit more computational effort, the Principal Components (PCs) of the deviation can be
computed. For example, the first three PCs of the first Pilsner’s deviation are -0.189, 0.140, and
0.039, whereas for the second they are 0.719, 0.117, and -0.009. Note that the sum of the
squares of the PCs approximates the total deviation. The SRM (or EBC) and the set of PCs are
candidates for a physical color specification.

Although an SRM-plus-deviation numbers system distinguishes beers with subtle color

differences, one cannot look at the two sets of deviation components and tell that the second
Pilsner is lighter and more yellow than the first. This is the obvious limitation of a system
based purely on physical measurements. The entire justification for pursuing color as a quality
control parameter is that the perceived color of a product influences the consumer’s
impression and acceptance of it and is a major reason for interest in tristimulus-based color
specification, such as the ASBC Tristimulus (ASBC, 2006b) method which as, the name
suggests, take beer spectra as input and produces triplets of numbers from which conclusions
about visible color can be drawn. The ASBC method produces colors that would be seen were
the beer viewed in a glass 1-cm wide. Beer is not ordinarily viewed in a glass that narrow, and
so, again, we have the problem of a system which, although it adds two DOFs to the color
model and is so able to distinguish similar beers, still does not tell us what the consumer is
likely to see. Fortunately, the method is easily modified to compute colors under more realistic
viewing conditions, but that leaves us with the problem of having to decide which set or sets of
viewing conditions are appropriate.

An advantage of the deviation method is that if enough PCs are recorded with the SRM or EBC
value, the spectrum can be reproduced from them with sufficient fidelity that accurate visible
colors can be calculated under any viewing conditions. Of course, saving the original spectrum
data also allows this to be done. The conservative approach, then, is to retain the physical
measurement data, either as the complete spectrum or as SRM/EBC number and PCs and use
them to compute visible color as and when that is necessary for a particular application.

The remainder of the chapter expands on these ideas. We begin with a review of three-
dimensional color spaces and then turn to methods of computing visible colors in them,
pausing on the way to discuss methods for obtaining spectrum data including some practical
aspects of spectrophotometer operation based on the properties of beer spectra. As part of
that discussion, we review the Bouguere-Beer-Lambert law, its relationship to the CNS, the
implications of the CNS, and its use in computing PCs. The discussions are illustrated with
actual beer-spectrum data. Finally, some ideas related to the use of color data in a quality
control/quality assurance (QC/QA) program are presented. As much of the broader general
theory of color as is necessary to support these discussions is included, but readers wishing full
understanding will have to consult some of the texts listed in the references.

Discussion extends beyond simple explanations of how to measure color using current
protocols. Explanations of some of the shortcomings of the current methods and their
underlying principles are given in the hope that further investigation will be stimulated. The
science of beer color (nor of the color of things in general) is not settled.

As color reproduction is not possible in this volume, we cannot illustrate colors or color
differences here. Readers are strongly encouraged to find a computer application that has
what is typically called “color picker” capability. This widget allows the user to select colors in
any of several color coordinate systems and displays a patch of that color on the screen. By
moving the color controls in a picker, the reader will gain insight as to what the colors we are
discussing look like and how much a specified change in color (color difference) changes their
appearance.

HUMAN COLOR PERCEPTION THREE-DIMENSIONAL COLOR SPACE

Colors as perceived by humans have three attributes. The first, hue, is associated with color
names blue, green, yellow, red, and purple. These are usually envisioned as lying on the
circumference of a circle. Intermediate colors are often given names based on combinations of
the basic names such a blue-green or yellow-red. In the Munsell system, on which many of the
current systems in use are based, five inter- mediate colors, blue-green, green-yellow, yellow-
red, red-purple, and purple-blue are defined for a total of 10 which, in this system, are spaced
at equal angles around the value (black, gray, white) axis. Purple itself is an intermediate color
as it is a mixture of red and blue. The other unitary colors, blue, green, yellow, and red are
unique in that no one of them contains any of the other three. Beers have hues which range
from slightly greenish yellow to red.
The second attribute indicates, for example, how red a color is compared to an achromatic
stimulus of the same brightness, or put another way, how intense or pure the color is, and is
usually given a name such as purity, saturation, or chroma. Pinks are lacking in this attribute,
bright red is not. To see very pure (saturated, high chroma) colors, use a color picker in red,
green, blue (RGB) mode with one of the three set to full on and the others to 0. The light from
laser pointers is, being single wavelength, as pure as it is possible to be.

The third attribute is related to the brightness of a color, that is, where it falls on a scale
between black and a reference white. It is given names like luminance or value.

This method of describing color suggests a three-dimensional space with a vertical axis of
luminance (black at the bottom, white at the top) with the different hues arranged along the
circumference of circles with chroma being the distance from the luminance axis to the point
describing the color. Hue is then representable as an angle relative to a reference hue in a
plane perpendicular to the luminance axis at the luminance level of the stimulus. A well-known
system attributable to Munsell is in wide use today and was the basis for other systems such as
the Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage L*a*b* (CIELAB) system which will be discussed
extensively and in which we will perform color difference calculations. The coordinates in the
Munsell system are hue, chroma, and value. Readers unfamiliar with the Munsell, or a similar
system, should seek a picture of the Munsell “color tree” on the internet5 or in a textbook.

The Munsell system clearly uses cylindrical coordinates. The CIELAB system uses Cartesian
coordinates called Luminance (this is the same as Munsell value), a*, and b*. The relationships
between a* and b* and the cylindrical hue and chroma coordinates will be developed later.

The color an observer sees when he looks at beer depends on five things:

1. The nature of the light (noon full-sun daylight, shadow, tungsten light, fluorescent light.)
that illuminates the beer
2. The way in which the light interacts with the beer
3. The length of the path the light takes in passing through the beer
4. The angular subtense of the beer at the observer’s eye
5. How the observer’s brain processes the signals sent to it by the color sensors in his retina

Of these, only the second depends solely on the beer. By taking and recording absorption (or
transmission) measurements at a sufficiency of wavelengths (spanning the visual spectrum of
380e780 nm) spaced sufficiently close to one another (spacing determined by nature of
spectra), we completely capture the beer’s color properties, and we could stop at this point.
Once the physical color data has been captured and stored or suitably encoded, any of the
color measurement methods described in this chapter can be implemented. Items 1, 3, 4. and
5 on the list need only be considered if visible color is to be computed.