Martinez Mild Amber

Brew #: 31
Brew Date: 20 March 2014

Ingredients
7 lbs ultralight liquid malt extract
1 lb 60*L Crystal malt
4 oz Carafa II malt
1 oz. Northern Brewer hop pellets (bittering, @ 60 mins.)
1 oz. Northern Brewer hop pellets (flavoring, @ 10 mins.)
1 oz. Northern Brewer hop pellets (aroma, @ 1 min.)
1 tab. Whirfloc clarifier (@ 5 mins)
2 vials White Labs WLP001 California Common ale yeast
6 gals. distilled water
0.5 oz Northern Brewer hop pellets (dry-hopping addition)


Procedure
Put 2.5 gals distilled water into kettle.  Added grains in grain bag and let steep until water reached 170*F.
Removed grains, and raised heat to bring liquor to boil.
Once boiling, added malt extract.
Returned to boil and added hop pellets and clarifier at the minutes indicated from end of boil.
After 60 mins boil, removed from heat.  Cooled kettle with lid on in ice water bath.
Poured wort into fermentation bucker containing 2.5 gals of distilled water.  Added 1 gal. of distilled water to bring level up to 5.5 gals.


Gals. in kettle: 2.5
Gals. lost to boil: 0.5
Gals. in fermenter: 5.5


Fermentation notes
3/20 Pitched yeast at 76*F.
4/6 Transferred to secondary. Gallons in secondary: 5.  Tasting notes: Very low hop character, notable sweetness. (I wonder if the yeast crashed.)   Other: I noted that the lid to the bucket was not on securely.
4/8 Added a dry-hopping with 0.5 oz of N. Brewer hop pellets. (Let's see if we can give it a bit more of a nose and a tad more flavor).
4/10  Tasted again this afternoon. Watery, little hop character, no body, almost no flavor.  Threw it out.

O.G.: 1.036
F.G.: ----
ABV: ----

Mild Ale

Brew #: 26

This recipe takes off using Charlie Papazian's Righteous American Real Ale, from The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, as a starting point.   The primary variations are use of California ale yeast instead of an English-style yeast, and the addition of grains to add a reddish tint.

5 lbs amber DME
6 oz. Carafa III malt
1.5 oz. Cascade hop pellets (6.4% AAU) - bittering
0.5 oz. Kent Goldings hop pellets - aroma
1 tablet Whirfloc clarifying agent
6 gals. Arrowhead bottled water
2 vials of White Labs California Ale Yeast (WLP001)


Brought 1 gal water to 110*F. Added Carafa malt to it and raised temp and held to ~170*F for more or less 10 mins.

Brought 5 gals of water to boil in pot, sparged grain water into this.  Returned to boil, and added DME and bittering hops.    At 1 to end of boil, added aroma hops and clarifier.  Removed from heat at 45 min. mark.

Cooled wort and racked to fermenter.   Pitched yeast at 77*F.

Gals. in boil: 5
Gals. in fermenter: 4.75
Boil: 45 mins
OG: 1.044
FG: 1.010
ABV: 4.5%
IBUs: 35.3 - 38.8

10/15: Racked to secondary fermenter.
           Tasted beer.  Initial impression: light, refreshing, nice bitterness.
10/18 Transferred to keg for carbonation stage.