Christmas has come early

The work and love that I have poured in to my first beer has come to fruition. I tried my beer tonight and in almost all accounts I believe that it is a success. There are, of course, a few things that I need to improve upon, but over all it is fantastic. I brewed a Pale Ale with the following recipe:

4 lbs. Pale Malt Extract
4 lbs Pilsen Malt Extract
8 oz. Caramel Malt
2 oz Amarillo hops (1 oz for bittering, and 1 oz for finishing)
California Ale Yeast

I steeped the grains for about 15 minutes at 160 deg. and boiled the extract for about an hour. I then cooled the wort and added the yeast to the mix and let it ferment for 8 days. I then bottled it, and let it sit another 10 days.

The final gravity was 1.012 and the ABV is about 4.8%

It has a nice floral flavor from the hops and goes down extremely smoothly. The only problem that I have run into is that it isn't as carbonated as I had expected. I used 3/4 cup of corn sugar for about 5 gallons of beer, waited 10 days, and it is only slightly carbonated. It reminds me, actually, of a cask ale. I think it has great taste, aroma, color, and it is easy to drink. I am already planning on brewing my next batch within the next couple of days, hopefully I can keep enough of the pale ale around to last me until the next one is ready.

Cheers!