Brew Day - Amber Ale

It been around a week since my last brew day. Wanted to post an update sooner but have just been busy with other stuff (yeah, I know brewing should be priority).

For this brew session I did an Amber Ale. I'd say it was a very successful brew day and an important one for me personally. This was my 10th batch. As I prepared for this "special" occasion I tried to figure out ways to remember #10. The highlight of the day was the my dad helped me brew. While I live in Ohio, my parents live in New York and they were in for a visit. My dad wanted to see the process of brewing so I was happy to show him. He asked a lot of questions and seemed interested so that was a great feeling. I don't think I convinced him to become a brewer (wasn't my intention anyway), but I think he can respect my obession with it.

This was just my 3rd AG batch and for the first time I had to add some boiling water to the mash to get it up to where I wanted it. Though my strike water was where I wanted it, I had some heat lose in the transfer and still learning to dial-in on my system. I keep taking notes and I'll learn to be better.

I was able to hit all of my numbers and was at around a 85% efficiency so was very happy with that. The beer started out at 1.045 and I just took a gravity reading (one week out) and I was at 1.013. I'll keep it in the fermenter for another 2 week so I'm sure I knock out another point or two and that gets me right where I wanted.

Here's the recipe....

FL Amber
American Amber Ale
Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (G):           5.5
Total Grain (lb):         10.000
Total Hops (oz):          3.50
Original Gravity (OG):    1.046  - Mine came in at 1.045
Final Gravity (FG):       1.012
Alcohol by Volume (ABV):  4.52 %
Colour (SRM):             13.6
Bitterness (IBU):         36.1   (Tinseth)
Boil Time (Minutes):      70

Grain Bill
----------------
6.750 lb American 2-Row (67.5%)
1.000 lb Vienna (10%)
0.500 lb Crystal 120 (5%)
0.500 lb Crystal 80 (5%)
0.500 lb Victory (5%)
0.500 lb Wheat Malt (5%)
0.250 lb Crystal 40 (2.5%)

Hop Bill
----------------
0.50 oz Magnum Pellet (14.4% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
0.50 oz Cascade Pellet (8% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil)
0.50 oz Willamette Pellet (4.8% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil)
1.00 oz Cascade Pellet (8% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil)
1.00 oz Willamette Pellet (4.8% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil)

Single step Infusion at 156°F for 60 Minutes.  - I came in closer to 154°F.

Fermented at 68°F with WLP001 - California Ale

The first taste out of the fermenter was pretty nice as well. I think a nice balance of malt and hops. Still really soon to get the full potential but its always encouraging when a early taste doesn't taste horrible.

On the hops front, the continue to grow. They are not nearly as aggressive as what I see on the message boards but I'm hopefully for at least some harvest later this year.