The Martian Amber Ale

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Homebrewing is at its most fun for me in exploration. I’ll admit that with nearly 20 years of experience, I’m now pretty familiar with many ingredients and styles, so truly novel brews aren’t as common as they used to be. So, I was pretty excited when I read about a new malt from Gambrinus, called “Mars Malt,” which is marketed as a base malt that produces a red wort. The flavor description made it sound like a turbo-charged Munich, with all of the flavor characteristics one would expect there.

After seeing Denny Conn post on the AHA Forum about his plans to make a SMaSH altbier using Mars malt, I was inspired to make my own SMaSH recipe, aiming for an American amber ale. American ambers and altbiers are quite similar in strength, color, and bitterness, and so I think the recipes can be swapped around in creative ways. For an American amber ale SMaSH, I decided to focus on Centennial hops, because the pine and citrus work perfectly for that West Coast flavor. Yeast needed to be something clean and fast; although I often lean on WLP001 and BRY-97, I usually forget about Nottingham as another option. Although a British yeast, it’s another classic of American brewing, and does a good job of staying out of the way of the malt and hop flavors. Plus, Nottingham ferments fast and drops clear, both positive qualities for this project.

Because this was an experimental batch, I aimed for 2.75 gallons rather than my usual ~5 gallons. Gravity targeted Gambrinus’s recommended strength of 1.048 to maximize red color, and it also would keep the alcohol level in check. The hopping level was pretty standard for an American amber ale, and I kicked in some dry hops to maximize flavor and aroma. To avoid too minerally of water, I cut my tap water with some RO water, and built in epsom salt to boost the sulfates and enhance the hops.

I had fun putting together a logo/label for this recipe–it’s fairly simple, with a NASA-sourced artist’s image of Mars viewed from orbit, with a NASA-inspired font. All were freely available, and none were AI.

The Martian Amber Ale

  • 6 lb. Mars malt (Gambrinus)
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 0.5 oz. Centennial hop pellets (8.1% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Kick carrageenan tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 0.5 oz. Centennial hop pellets (8.1% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Nottingham ale dry yeast (Lallemand)
  • 1.5 oz. Centennial hop pellets (8.1% alpha), dry hop in primary

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute infusion mash, 152°, full volume mash
  • 1.048 o.g., 1.008 f.g., 5.3% abv, 33 IBU, 14 SRM
  • Water built from Claremont tap water and RO water to hit target parameters of 78 ppm Ca, 23 ppm Mg, 58 ppm Na, 107 ppm SO4, 78 ppm Cl, 85 ppm bicarbonate
  • 2.75 gallon batch

Procedure

  • I built the water up with 2.75 gallons of tap water (with a Campden tablet), 1.5 gallons of RO water, and 3 g of epsom salt.
  • I heated the water to 158°, before adding the grains and holding at 152° for 60 minutes, with recirculation.
  • After 60 minutes, I heated the mash to 168° for 10 minutes, and then pulled the grains.
  • In total, I collected 3.9 gallons of runnings at a gravity of 1.041, for 73% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, adding hops and finings per the recipe, maintaining a 60 minute boil.
  • After 60 minutes, I chilled the beer to 68° and let it settle for a bit before transferring to the fermenter and pitching the yeast.
  • I brewed this beer on 17 January 2026. It had a starting gravity of 1.049, a pretty good match for my target gravity.
  • Because ambient temperatures were pretty cool, I let the beer sit out. It was at 66° by the next morning, with regular bubbling through the airlock.
  • The beer was up to 70° by the morning of 19 January, so I moved the fermenter to a cooler room. This is still well within the optimal range for Nottingham, so I’m not too worried.
  • The fermenter was down to 66° by the evening of 19 January, and I moved it to a warmer room overnight.
  • The fermenter was down to 62° by noon on 20 January 2026. I added the dry hops at this point; when I opened the fermenter, the krausen had fallen pretty much entirely.
  • I cold crashed the beer on 24 January 2026, and kegged using a closed transfer on 1 February 2026.
  • Final gravity was 1.011, for 5.0% abv.
A glass of reddish amber beer with a foamy ivory-colored head, sitting on a stone surface surrounded by leaves.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Clear, reddish amber beer, with a tall and persistent ivory head–it’s fluffy and gorgeous!
  • Aroma
    • Prominent bready aroma, slightly toasty; more dark bread than light. Very malt forward. Resiny hops at a moderate level.
  • Flavor
    • Medium-high maltiness, with dark bread character. Bitter, with a citrus and pine hop character. Clean yeast quality.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium-light body, medium carbonation, dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a pretty good SMaSH. The body is a touch thin, and I might recommend a mash at 156° or 158° in a future version. Alternatively, I might add a bit of crystal 20 or crystal 40. Overall, this is an interesting beer and a worthy experiment.
  • Overall
    • 7/10

Dunkel-Osteus 2025

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Another year, another run at my Munich Dunkel recipe. This is my fourth time brewing this one, although the last instance was in 2021. The malt bill is exactly the same, but I swapped in Perle for Magnum and Munich Lager yeast (WLP860) for W34/70. The former change is one of convenience; the latter change is to accentuate the maltiness of the beer a touch. After my previous brews with WLP860 dry yeast, I’ve learned to accept that it’s a slow starter, and not worry!

As a fun side project, I redesigned the logo for this batch (below), using a recent re-interpretation of the size of Dunkleosteus. I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Human silhouette by Gabriela Palomo-Munoz; Dunkleosteus image by Russell Engelman. CC-BY 3.0.

Recipe Name

  • 10 lb. Munich II malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 lb. Carafa Special II malt (Weyermann)
  • 6 oz. melanoidin malt (Weyermann)
  • 1.1 oz. Perle hop pellets (6.3% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 Kick carrageenan tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 2 pkg. Munich lager dry yeast (White Labs WLP860)

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute full volume mash at 152°, with mash-out at 168°
  • 1.050 o.g., 1.014 f.g., 4.7% abv, 25 IBU, 23 SRM
  • Claremont tap water
  • 5 gallon batch

Procedure

  • I heated 7.4 gallons of water to 158°, added a Campden tablet, and mashed in. I held the mash at 152° for 60 minutes, with recirculation, and then raised the temperature to 168° for a 10 minute mash-out.
  • Once the grains were removed, I had 6.5 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.045, for 71% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, addings hops and finings per the recipe.
  • After a 60 minute boil, I turned off the heat and chilled to 67° before transferring to the fermenter.
  • After chilling the beer down to 50°, I pitched the yeast.
  • I brewed the beer on 6 December 2025. Starting gravity was 1.052.
  • The fermentation chamber was held at 52°. Knowing that the dry WLP860 is a slow starter, I peeked into the fermenter and saw a small amount of krausen on 10 December 2025.
  • I moved the beer to ambient on 3 January 2026, and kegged it on 24 January 2026. I carbonated the beer with forced carbonation.
  • Final gravity was 1.014, for 5.0% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Very clear, dark brown beer with deep garnet red highlights, pouring with a persistent light tan head.
  • Aroma
    • Rich bready malt aroma, with a medium level of chocolate character. No hop or yeast character to speak of – it’s all malt!
  • Flavor
    • Medium high maltiness, with a toasty breadcrust quality and a bit of chocolate. Medium bitterness, with a slightly spicy aspect. Clean yeast character.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium body, medium carbonation, smooth finish, slightly dry.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is such a highly drinkable recipe–probably one of my favorites. There’s not much else to say; it’s a good beer!
  • Overall
    • 10/10

Dimorphos Kellerbier 2025

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Back in 2021, I made my first kellerbier; it was a great lager for the winter months and was worth rebrewing in one form or another. The 2025 version (consumed in the early days of 2026) is in the same ballpark as the 2021 version, but has a number of minor changes. The base malt percentages are very slightly tweaked, and I subbed in Carared for Mela malt. North Brewer, rather than Magnum, is the core bittering hop. Finally, I focused on whole hops and moved them to the very last 10 minutes of the boil, to amplify hop aroma and flavor.

Recipe Name

  • 5 lb. Vienna malt (Weyermann)
  • 4.25 lb. pilsner zero malt (Viking)
  • 1 lb 2 oz. Barke Munich malt (Weyermann)
  • 4 oz. Carared malt (Weyermann)
  • 2 oz. Carafa Special II malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 1 oz. Northern Brewer hop pellets (6.1% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1.1 oz. Hallertauer whole hops (est. 3.0% alpha, South Dakota origin), 10 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Kick Carrageenan tablet
  • 1.1 oz. Hallertauer whole hops (est. 3.0% alpha, South Dakota origin), 5 minute boil
  • 2 pkg. Diamond lager yeast (Lallemand)

Target Parameters

  • 1.049 o.g., 1.007 f.g., 5.5% abv, 29 IBU, 10 SRM
  • Full volume step mash with recirculation, held at 142° for 40 minutes, 156° for 40 minutes, and 10 minute mash-out at 168°
  • Claremont tap water

Procedure

  • Starting with 7.4 gallons of tap water, I added a Campden tablet and heated the water to 147°. Next, I mashed in with the grains and 3.7 mL of 88% lactic acid to adjust pH. I held the mash at 142° for 40 minutes before raising it to 156° for another 40 minutes. Finally, I mashed out at 168° for 10 minutes before removing the grains.
  • In total, I collected 6.5 gallons of runnings at a gravity of 1.044, for 71% mash efficiency.
  • After bringing the runnings to a boil, I added the hops and finings per the recipe, across 60 minutes of boiling time.
  • I chilled the wort to 67°, transferred to the fermenter, pitched the yeast, and then chilled down to 52° in the fermentation chamber.
  • I brewed this beer on 22 November 2025. It had a starting gravity of 1.052.
  • The beer fermented at 54° until 1 December 2025, when I moved the fermenter to ambient (~60°).
  • I kegged the beer on 23 December 2025. Final gravity was 1.016, with an abv of 4.7%.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Brilliantly clear, light copper beer, with a creamy and persistent ivory head
  • Aroma
    • Rich bread crust aroma at a medium level, with medium-low spicy hop note. Clean fermentation character.
  • Flavor
    • Malty rich flavor, with notes of bread and dark bread crust. Medium-high bitterness, with a slightly herbal hop character. Clean fermentation character.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium carbonation, medium body, off-dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is an enjoyable beer! I have no major comments or adjustments to suggest. If I make this again, I might go with a more characterful yeast; perhaps White Labs’ Munich Lager or something similar.
  • Overall
    • 8/10

Six-Shooter Abbey Singel

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golden yellow beer with white head in tulip glass, sitting on weathered wood

Exploring even more styles that I have not brewed previously, and continuing in the world of Belgian beers, Belgian single is a good goal. This one was spurred by a recipe from the Fall 2025 Craft Beer & Brewing magazine. My version is very close to the published original, although I substituted Willamette for Styrian Goldings (an acceptable substitution according to Hopslist). The yeast was also a slight switch–the original recipe called for Wyeast 1388 Belgian Strong Ale; I couldn’t get this easily, but Fermentis WB-06 is supposed to be equivalent.

Six-Shooter Abbey Singel

  • 6 lb. Synergy Select pilsen malt (Briess)
  • 6 oz. biscuit malt (Dingemans)
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 4 oz. white cane sugar (added to boil)
  • 1.25 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfrueh hop pellets (2.5% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1.25 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfrueh hop pellets (2.5% alpha), 15 minute boil
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 0.5 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 0.5 oz. Willamette hop pellets (5.8% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Safbrew Wheat dry yeast (Fermentis WB-06)
  • 0.5 oz. Biofine Clear, added to keg

Target Parameters

  • 85 minute infusion mash, 149°, full volume mash
  • 1.054 o.g., 1.012 f.g., 5.5% abv, 31 IBU, 5 SRM
  • Water built from RO, with target of 53 ppm Ca, 6 ppm Mg, 6 ppm Na, 73 ppm SO4, 67 ppm Cl
  • 3 gallon batch

Procedure

  • Starting with 4.5 gallons of RO water, I added 0.25 g salt, 1 g epsom salts, 1.5 g gypsum, and 2 g calcium chloride in order to hit my water chemistry targets.
  • I heated the water to 154°, added the grains, and then held the mash at 149° for 85 minutes, with recirculation.
  • Then, I raised the mash temperature to 168° for 10 minutes, before pulling the grains.
  • In total, I collected 4.1 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.043, for 73% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, added the sugar, and boiled for 60 minutes while adding hops and finings per the recipe.
  • After the boil, I chilled the wort to 74° before moving into the fermentation chamber for the final cool-down to 66°.
  • Starting gravity was 1.057. I brewed this beer on 8 October 2025.
  • Once I pitched the yeast, I held at 66° for fermentation. Vigorous activity kicked off within 12 hours.
  • I pulled the beer to ambient on 11 October 2025 for a few hours (while chilling another beer) and then returned it to the fermentation chamber at 67°.
  • The beer was still occasionally bubbling on 18 October 2025, with a bubble through the airlock every minute or so.
  • I kegged the beer on 8 November 2025, adding 1.65 oz. of corn sugar to start carbonation and scrub any oxygen. Although I used an open transfer, I purged the keg after kegging.
  • The keg was held at ambient for a few weeks, before chilling to 34°. I added Biofine Clear on 30 November 2025.
  • Final gravity was 1.006, for 6.7% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Light gold beer, decent clarity but a slight haze; pours with a persistent and fine white head. Good lacing.
  • Aroma
    • Fresh pear and melon yeast character at a moderate level–amazing! It smells fantastic. A low doughy malt aroma is also present. The aroma is perfect!
  • Flavor
    • Doughy fresh white bread malt character. Medium low pome fruit yeast character. Medium-high bitterness, with a spicy quality.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium high carbonation. Light body. Dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a really, really good beer–I love everything about it, except for the annoyingly persistent haze. Even with fining, it just hasn’t cleared up completely. That said, the aroma is amazing! It’s interesting that WB-06 is suggested for German wheat ales or witbiers; even with adjusted fermentation conditions, I’m hard pressed to see how it would be in that style. The banana and clove aren’t there. The liquid yeast versions of WB-06 (White Labs WLP570 or Wyeast 1388) are also supposed to be slow flocculators, so if clarity really mattered I might try a different yeast strain. I really like what WB-06 brings for aroma and flavor; it’s interesting without being in-your-face. I’m also pleased with how the mash+yeast choices made an appropriately dry beer. I would brew this recipe again! (but probably in the same batch size – 5 gallons might get a little boring)
  • Overall
    • 7/10

Brew Year’s Resolutions 2026

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I’m pretty satisfied with my brewing at the moment, which makes sense after nearly 20 years in the hobby! 2026 will be a year of small goals–but I do think it’s important to set some.

  • Submit something for publication about AquiloPils. It’s a cool story, there’s a cool label, and I have had intentions of writing it up, but just never made the time.
  • Improve my pH management. I’ve never really stepped up to serious pH measurement, mainly because good equipment is fairly expensive and finicky. In the past, I used cheap pH meters, but they’re not built to last. A few projects–such as Salty One Gose–would benefit from more precise pH data, so 2026 is the year to do this.
  • Rebrew Salty One Gose. Related to the goal above, this recipe ended up pretty good but I think will be stellar once I dial in the appropriate level of sour.
  • Embrace dry hopping for pale lagers and similar beers. I have avoided this due to concerns about haze, but I feel that I am missing an opportunity to get a subtle “pop” of hop aroma and flavor in my German pils and kölsch recipes. During the past year or two, I’ve been focusing on late kettle additions, and they have sometimes done well, but I feel like I’m often missing something. I aim to try this with a batch or two and see what happens.
Beer in stock photos always seems to be leaving a mess on the table. Why is spilled beer a trope? Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com