Red Ale Update

I brewed the red on Tuesday after the boys went to bed. I started the process at 6:30 PM and crawled into bed at about 2:00 AM. This brew did not go to plan. That's funny because so far only my first beer went off without a weird hitch. This time my efficiency sucked. For some reason, I couldn't get my mash temperature above 146f. The sugars didn't convert properly and I received an OG of 1.030 which would give a maximum ABV of 3.9% and probably end up as 3%. Unacceptable. I had no other option but to raid the pantry for some tasty fermentables. I decided upon 1 1/2 cups of wildflower honey. I added the honey at 15 minutes left in the boil. My OG turned out to be 1.050 / max 6.4% ABV. That's a lot better and the wort tasted nice. The recipe called for .5 OZ of Goldings hops at the end of the boil and in an impulsive move, I threw in an ounce instead. The hops I buy come in 2 Oz packages so I decided not to save the hops for a few months down the road but to use it now. The yeast is presently doing its job. Looking forward to trying it.

Cali Common Ale Update

Last night, I pulled out a sample of my Cali Ale for a hydrometer reading and a taste. The OG was 1.050 and the FG is 1.006 which makes a 5.7% ABV. I was really quite worried about that since my first yeast was a failure and I just pitched the American Ale Yeast straight in the fermentor without a starter.
There were also no off flavours or weird tastes. At first, I thought there was a skunky taste but Stefanie told me that I was just trippin' and it was just a hoppy taste.

I'm cleaning the bottles now and will be bottling in the next couple of days.

A Rocky Start

After the stress of a failed Yeast starter, the beer is now fermenting. 12 hours after I pitched the new pack of yeast, the airlock was chugging away once every four seconds. 16 hours past - once every two seconds. The krausen looks pretty good and there's no weird odours. So far, so good. Fingers crossed though.

I'm not sure what I'm going to call this beer. Hopefully, not "sink drink". It is not a Cali - Common anymore, it is more of a Bastard Aleger.

Cali Common Yeast Starter

I sure hope I didn't bung this up. I smacked the WYeast 2112 at noon and by 6:00PM, there was no expansion in the packet. I went to MrMalty.com and it told me to make a 2.1 liter starter. That seems like a lot. I am also worried because I didn't notice the manufacture date of the yeast when I bought it. It was October 20, 2010. Wyeasts are good for 6 months after the manufacture date.
I did a gravity readings of the starter: O.G 1.050 F.G 1.050. I pitched it anyway. 17 hours later, there was absolutely no activity - so I emailed the beer store and the owner replied with: "The best advice I can give you is to get a viable yeast into that beer as soon as you can. Even getting a dried yeast in there is better than leaving it longer. If it sits for too long without activity there is a greater chance for bacterial spoilage"
So, as soon as my wife came home from work, I raced out of the house, drove across the city in rush hour and picked up another pack of Wyeast. Instead of the Cali-Lager, I picked up the American Ale Yeast. My first beer used that yeast and it turned out fantastic. I smacked it in the car, and by the time I got home, it was already starting to inflate. I quickly sterilized everything I needed to and pitched the yeast.
I sure hope I didn't bung this up.