Fresh Beer is the Best Beer

I couldn't resist any longer. I put some of my beer in the fridge. A few hours later the taste... a shining success! Tastes just like a great Pale Ale, and one half liter put me on my ass! A tiny bit of a strange aftertaste, but hardly noticeable and plus I popped the top early, it still has more aging to do!

I started right away on my second batch. This time I borrowed a receipe from BeerRate.com, called Evolution Ale. Supposed to resemble a Belgian Tripel. It's still just an extract recipe, no mashing yet.

Here's the ingredient list:
7.5 lbs wheat dry malt extract
8 oz 10L crystal
4 oz caravienne
1.5 lb light honey (added to secondary)
2 oz Hallertauer (60 min) (3 oz for partial boils)
1 oz Tettnager (5 min)
.5 oz coriander
.5 oz bitter orange peel
.5 oz cardamom seeds
Wyeast Liquid Belgian wheat yeast

This time I added the specialty grains right to the water, and used a strainer to remove the grains after 30 minutes of steeping. Also, since I have two carboys now, I chose to do the first stage fermentation in a carboy, using a funnel and strainer to sparge the wort as I added it to the carboy. I attached a hose to the top of the carboy instead of an airlock and will let the foam and residue blow out.

1.042 (1.040 + .002 correction) ~5.25