2/2/08 - Made a 2.5 L / 1 lb. DME yeast starter.  I've been swirling the starter several times per hour since I'm planning on using it tomorrow and wanted to get as much yeast growth as possible.

I plan on modifying the original mash schedule to 145 for 90 minutes to maximize the fermentability of the wort.  This high fermentability should make for a very 'dry' beer (low FG) which is preferred in this style.

2/3/08 - Pretty terrible brew day (a lot of spilled water all over the garage), but the beer should be good. I started the mash before church, held it between 145-148 for 3.5 hours before I started lautering!

I tried chilling my starter in the fridge to get some of the yeast to settle, it ended up blowing the bung out and foaming over inside the fridge.  I couldnt get any seperation in the starter so I pitched the whole thing.

I definately need to get the starter going further in advance in the future so I can decant the wort and pitch only yeast, my volume in the primary is too high.

2/4/08 - Pretty good fermentation signs within a few hours of pitching, this morning there was quite a bit of krausen, although no blowoff.  Fermentation raised the temp to 69-70 degrees. 

2/15/08 - Transferred to secondary, I racked another brew right on top of the yeast cake.  Tasted very yeasty when warm with a tasty roastiness.

2/25/08 - Transferred from Secondary to keg, had about 32 oz too much volume...so I drank it of course.  Very good, roasty, and finishes very dry.  Even not carbed at 50 deg it is excellent, I'd love to keep this on tap at all times.